"Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law . . . I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word." (Psalm 119: 136, 158, NKJV).

It is difficult to watch intense grief. We have all seen, or personally felt, the aching hurt that comes with loss and brokenness. Raw emotions rise within the person suffering. As we see their anguish, we struggle to find just the right words that we hope will bring comfort.

There is another kind of grief that every child of God should feel, and that is grief over sin. God hates sin, yet it seems that His people have learned to coexist and even tolerate it. Sin no longer disturbs us as it should. But sin is an affront to God's holiness.

Psalm 97:10 instructs, "You who love the Lord, hate evil!" According to this verse, there is no gray area in which we can coexist.

GRIEVING FOR SIN

In Scripture, we see several examples of this deep grief for sin. Our greatest example of such deep agony was as Jesus prayed in the garden the night before His crucifixion. Pouring out His soul in prayer, His agony over the weight of our sins was so great that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44). Do we really hate evil? If so, we will feel that same agony Jesus felt.

Tears are very much a part of the grieving process. Jeremiah, who is called the weeping prophet, implored the people of Israel to turn back to God. But no one seemed to listen to his plea.

"I listened and heard, but they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?'" (Jeremiah 8:6, ESV)

Then Jeremiah cried out:

"Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1, ESV)

Ezra, the scribe and priest, grieved over the backslidden condition of those who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity. Seeing their disregard for the commandments of God, Ezra "ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity." (Ezra 10:6 NKJV).

Are we willing to mourn and cry as Jeremiah and Ezra did?

How to Pray for a Sinful World

James 4:8-10 tells us to purify our hearts and humble ourselves before the Lord. As we come to Him in repentance for our own transgressions, we will then be able to intercede for others whose sin has separated them from God.

Here are some prayer points to use as you cry out to the Lord:

Pray that they will see their sin as God sees it (Isaiah 59:2).

Pray for the Word of God to penetrate their hearts (Hebrews 4:12).

Pray for them to experience godly sorrow and true repentance (II Corinthians 7:10; Matthew 3:2).

Pray that others will speak truth into their lives (James 5:19-20).

Pray that God will give them a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26).

"The more a true saint loves God, the more he mourns for sin." - Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Devotion by Mary Loudermilk