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I'm often asked about the difference in the prayer lives of people in many of the countries where I travel and the prayer lives of my own fellow countrymen. One of the great differences that I would easily recognize is that of passion. When I have seen God move mightily in other countries, there's normally a hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God to come to His people. I sense that there's a great prayer movement that's been launched in America, but I also sense a lack of passion. We seem to want revival, but I find little hunger and thirst for a deep move of God.
Hunger for God is often
expressed through tears. The Bible says, "Those who sow in tears will reap
with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return
with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him" (Psalms 126:5, 6 NIV). God
holds the tears of His saints close to His heart. Our tears are an expression
of the heart of God. They show the compassion of God, because so many are lost
and dying without Christ. They manifest the holiness of God because of the lack
of righteousness within the land.
I was preaching a large
evangelistic meeting in Western Europe a few
years ago. One evening it was determined that we needed to call the leaders of
these meetings together for an evening of prayer. Therefore, we met on Thursday
evening to seek God for revival in the land. One of the key leaders began to
weep for souls. He began crying because of his friends who were without Christ.
As he was weeping, some of the other leaders immediately stopped the prayer
meeting, because they felt it was becoming too emotional. They were concerned
about someone who would weep while praying.
Compare that to a recent
experience I had in Egypt.
When I first arrived in the country, I inquired about the kind of praying that
had been taking place in the country for this series of meetings. One of the
leading pastors told me, "Sammy, I think many people are going to have to
give their pants away to the poor."
"What do you
mean," I asked quizzically.
"People have been
praying and fasting so much for these meetings," my friend continued,
"that they have lost much weight. So many are weeping for their relatives
and friends that they have fasted for a long time."
God
answered their prayers. Tens of thousands were born into the kingdom of God.
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled" (Matt. 5:6 NIV). When we begin praying with the
same kind of hunger with which the Egyptians prayed, we'll see God move in a
mighty manner. We'll be filled with a sense of God's glory and power. God is
looking for men and women who understand His heart and hunger to see His
righteousness among His people. We need to pray. We must pray. Yet, we must
pray with a renewed passion for the lost - for those who've never met Christ.
When we begin to pray with such a hunger, our hearts will be filled.
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