THE POWER OF CRYING OUT

• THE POWER OF CRYING OUT Bill Gothard has written a 60 page booklet about a special kind of prayer. “Crying out”, he says, causes the child of God to have a special power with his heavenly Father. Every earthly father can relate to and understand this principle. When our children whimper, or ask us for something, it is not the same as when they cry out. When children cry out we immediately drop what we are doing and come to their aid. Gothard suggests five factors involved in crying out to God.
• 1 Recognizing my helplessness.
• 2 Conquering my pride.
• 3 Experiencing hopelessness.
• 4 Surrendering unconditionally.
• 5 Knowing that God can deliver. The Bible is filled with examples of crying out to God for help. Four examples are found in Ps. 107. First we read of those wandering in desert wastelands (vss. 4,5). Second we read of prisoners in iron chains (vss. 10 - 12). Thirdly we read of those who are so near to death that they loath all food (vss. 17, 18). Finally we read of sailors beset by storm. They reel and stagger like drunken men and are at their wits’ end (vss. 23 - 27). In each instance deliverance came when they cried out to the Lord (See verses 6, 13, 19, and 28) Ken Pierpont knew that self-control was a good character quality and fruit of the Holy Spirit. He weighed 300 pounds, however, and could not control his weight. He had tried many different weight-loss programs to no avail. He read books on nutrition and tried to change his eating habits, but invariably fell back into his old habit of over eating. Finally, he was so desperate for help that he cried out: “O God, deliver me from being overweight and give me self-control”. Since that day in June 2000, Ken had self control for every meal and in six months reached his ideal weight of 195 pounds. Check out his Web site at www.kenpierpont.com.

The Dallas Morning News ran an article on Oct. 28, 2001 entitled: “Gunman faces off with prayer’s power”. Sherman Jackson was on his way to church with his seven year-old daughter, Alexa. A man in his 30's on Northwest Highway asked him to help jump start his car. A few blocks later, however, the man produced a gun and demanded money. Jackson gave him his money clip but the enraged robber demanded more. Jackson had some Gideon Bibles to give to the homeless, and had put a dollar in each Bible. The gunman spotted these dollar bills and accused Jackson of lying. At that time something came over Sherman Jackson and he began to pray out loud: “Father in heaven, hear my cry and deliver me from this present evil . . . “ Suddenly Jackson slowed down and made a U - turn. The gunman jammed his revolver into Jackson’s chest and began pulling the trigger. The hammer came back but Jackson didn’t flinch. “I want to tell you about Jesus” he said to the gunman. The startled robber began to cry. After preaching Christ, Jackson asked for his money back and then dropped the robber off at his car with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other. Garland police detective W. A. Ellstrom observed that this was one of a rash of 15 or so identical robberies in the area of Northwest Highway and LBJ Freeway. The Hebrews cried unto the Lord for deliverance and He heard their cry. Moses cried unto the Lord and God showed him a tree that could make bitter waters sweet. Jehosaphat cried unto the Lord when surrounded by the enemy and God delivered him. David wrote: “In the day when I cried thou answerest me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul”. Elijah cried unto the Lord for the son of a widow. “He stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord . . . “ The child was brought back from death. A troubled father came to Jesus and cried out with tears: “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief”. Jesus healed his son. A distraught mother cried out to Jesus for her afflicted daughter. She cried: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil”. Jesus healed her daughter. When Peter was sinking in the troubled sea he cried saying: “Lord save me”. Jesus stretched out His hand and answered his prayer. Blind Bartimaeus was so desperate for sight that he cried: “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me”. Jesus healed him. Perhaps the next time you face a hopeless situation, you too will “cry out” to the Lord.