FOR CRYING OUT LOUD
Suggested Reading: Joel 1
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
A view from atop of Masada. The "snake path" seen in the centre of the photograph was the only access to this mountain fortress until the installation of the cable car. Masada represents the war torn history of the Jewish people. Joel 2:3 speaks of "a desolate wilderness."?
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: Joel 1:14,19a
Declare a holy fast;
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
…O Lord, to You I cry out!
When in trouble “CRY OUT!” There are two ways to do this: (1) In a sacred assembly together with the elders (leaders of the church) in fasting and prayer. And (2) In our personal prayer times. According the the prophet Joel, when hungry and thirsty, even the “beasts of the field” (cattle, etc.) “cry out” to the Lord! Cattle will “bawl” when they are hungry or thirsty.
Joel reminds his hearers of a time in the past when chewing, swarming, crawling locusts descended on their land and stripped away in hours every vestige of plant life. The people had no refrigeration, no freezers, and no canned foods such as we have in today’s developed world. Yes, they probably had stored in advance some grain products and dried foods, but they were in big trouble! These people knew what to do! No doubt they had sung Psalm 50 from their hymnbook, the Psalms. The Temple worship leader, Asaph, had composed a song of worship in which God says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).
The theme of disaster runs throughout Joel’s book. There are the locust plagues, famine, raging fires, invading armies, and fearful phenomena in “the heavens” (cosmos). But Joel does not give way to despair. Hopeful promises from God are interspersed between pronouncements of the judgments which the people have brought on themselves.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I am blessed with food and drink in abundance; some of these provisions are the result of modern technology along with the plants that You have created. But modernity has also brought with it bigger troubles than ever, it would seem. I think about today’s world and I cry out to You! I pray the promises You have made to humanity and to me personally. As Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, reminded me, You said, O Lord, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). I cry out to You in the Name (the Person) of the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah). Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
The “Crossroads” ministry, as of today, has received more than 10,000,000 telephone calls from people crying out to the Lord, with the help of our prayer partners. Through the years we have referred to Jeremiah 33:3 as God’s telephone number. I’ve called 1-866-273-4444 (our 24/7 prayer line) from home, on the road, and even from my office upstairs, when I was President, to the Prayer Ministry Centre in times of trouble. What a blessing! Jesus said, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven” (Matthew 18:19).
When Joel says that even the beasts of the field “cry out” to the Lord, I thought of the many times when, as a teenager, I would do Sunday chores for a local farmer who worked at another job and wanted a day off. I would arrive in the morning to find the cows during the winter bawling for their morning supply of hay. I would oblige them and while they munched contentedly, I would milk them. There were only a dozen or so to be milked, so it was not difficult. I learned quickly why the farmers in my Dad’s church had such strong handshakes. There is a branch of philosophy that says, “Learn from the animals.” Many times over the years I’ve “bawled” and would “cry out” to the Lord! The way I bawled did not sound like the cows, but it surely was an indicator of the fervency level of my prayers. James wrote, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!” (James 5:16b). The righteous part I leave for God to judge, and I claim that promise from God.
Yours for “crying out” loud, if we feel we need to and we don’t bother others too much!”
David
Lord, in our desire to express our deepest concerns to You, may the language of our inmost being be expressed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. May all our strength and tenacity push back any threatening clouds and reach beyond the visible and natural to Your very throne. May Your power and grace have dominion over the concerns of our hearts, as we give You all glory, honour and praise! Amen.
Amen
I certainly agree with your prayer, David.
Amen, amen, and amen!! Beautiful prayer–thank you, brother David!
Amen!
Amen
Thanks for your faithfulness, David; gentle reminder to call the prayer lines at Crossroads; “humble handshake” memory with the cows; and pulling it altogether into another remarkable message connected with Joel 1! It presents a soft reflection of how the past has nurtured you, just as fasting and prayer are ways we are nurtured by the Spirit–less consumption and more connection with God. Jerry Esonu, a leader in our church who moved away from Kingston a few years ago, fasted and prayed for days on end. Our Sunday evening prayer group with him was filled with wailing! He taught me how to be more connected with the Spirit of God–how I miss him at our church! Joel 1 and your message, David, have certainly been a great reminder to me!!
Thank You, God, for your blessing over my friend, Jean, and I ask for everyone to pray for her continued healing and protection with the mighty wings of angels around her. Wishing fellow saints a blessed day!
Father God what a privilege we have to bring others before you, because of Jesus, and so we ask you to come alongside Jean, Beverlee’s friend, and continue the healing in her body and protection. May your angels surround her and give comfort and ease of pain if any is there. WE cry out to you in the blessed name of the greatest healer JESUS! Amen
Thank you sister, Catherine! Amen!
God bless you precious saints in the Lord. We cry out in prayer to you Lord for the complete healing of Jean. Heal your people in Jesus name. Amen.
Yes Lord we lift up Jean and thank you for her continued healing in Jesus name Amen
Also being raised on a farm the bawling of cattle was always heard but its nice to accociate our crying our with a bawling of cattle we all need to cry out for Gods help I know I cry out daily God help me God help because without Him I can do nothing
God help Jerusalem I pray for the peace of Jerusalem and God help every believer to cry out to you and Thank you Lord Jesus the son of the living God open doors you want opened and shut doors you want shut help me to walk through all the open doors with your boldness and speak through me as your earthen vessel in Jesus name Amen
God Bless all the bloggers and Thank you for healing David and Miranda and Ronda and Corrina and Deborah and all the prayers gone up for every person we prayed for healing in your precious Holy name Jesus Christ our Lord Amen
Thank you, sister Brenda, for your prayer, this morning, and continued prayers. Shutting doors that need be closed and opening new ones, in Jesus’ name. Praise God prayers have been answered for your dear ones!
Praise God for he healing of your lived ones Brenda. Blessings,
Praise God for the healing of your loved ones Brenda. Blessings!
Thanks for sharing this morning Rev. Mainse and fellow bloggers. I can’t rest until my dogs and cat are fed each day. Even feed Canada geese, deer and hungry elk around our beautiful acreage each day. It gives me great satisfaction to see the animals fed and content. God must feel the same way when he feeds us physically and spiritually.
God bless us all.
What a blessing it is for believers that we may “cry out to the Lord”, and to ask others to pray on our behalf.
Praying for fellow bloggers and readers.
I have cried out very loudly at times, and then felt the loving arms of my Saviour around me whispering “it will be okay, I AM HERE?” What a Saviour!!
Great reading today once gain. Blessings to all.
Heavenly I offer a prayer for all those reading this blog that You will continue to minister to them through your Word and in fellowship with other believers. I especially pray for those we haven’t heard from in a while, Scott, Brad, Janet and Marla, I hope they are still with us in this journey and you are working whatever needs to be work out in their lives. We ask this in the name of your precious Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
* the first line should read Heavenly Father
Amen ! God bless you Dona We miss each other when we don’t keep in touch . God take care of all your people. You love us every one, more than we can comprehend. Glory to you Lord . Help us pray.
Heavenly Father, forgive us for being so stubborn and hard hearted. It is unfathomable that the Soveriegn of the Universe has to stoop to such measures to get us to pay attention. Forgive us and help us to focus on you. In you alone all our needs are met. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.
Amen Amen
Oh, how I needed to hear this today!! Thank you Pastor David and fellow bloggers.. I cry out to God today to help in a situation that seems impossible. I think of the song, “God will make a way, where there seems to be no way”. Here is a link to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zo3fJYtS-o
Blessings and prayers for all blog-buddies today!!
The book of Joel has always been one of my favorite books as the Lord has made many of the verses real to me over the years for example, may the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar. We are in the last days as I read that the last days started at Pentecost so Joel is very relevant to our days. In my spirit I am hearing “big John Hall” singing “Blow the trumpet in Zion, Zion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain.” For the last few weeks, I have been crying to the Lord to show me what to do with this house for repair to make it easier for me in the winter. Would you please say a prayer for me dear friends as I value your prayers. You looked great yesterday, David. Lovely spring day today and a lot of snow to melt. The Lord sent a bluejay along the last two days to sing to me. Praise God!
God bless you Ger, God loves you so very mush and he is interested in helping you from the greatest to tiniest detail of your life . We pray for inspiration from God , what he will have you do with your home . Thank you Lord in advance. In Jesus Name.
Yes, thank God for all the healings among our friends and loved ones and we pray for Beverlee’s friend Jean that You will meet her need today. In Jesus Name. Amen!
thank you fellow bloggers for sharing from your hearts…went to Huntley Street in Burlington yesterday with friends…the 5 of us were greeted warmly by Chuck …Ann Mainse and later Ron and Moira also….as we were there to hear the telecast and see one of our favorite worship leaders Robin Mark record two of his newer songs along with a short interview….and a nice tour of the wonderful Crossroads facilities…everyone was so kind and gracious…thank-you to you all for your ministry to HIM 🙂
Heavenly Father, I bring to you all the needs of my brothers and sisters in Christ in the name of The One and Only Jesus Christ ,Our Saviour, Our Councelor, Our Messiah, Amen.
Yesterday I went to the advanced polling for the provincial elections of Quebec. Holding very firmly to my Bible As I was waiting to vote I read :
When the rightous thrive, the people rejoice,
When the wicked rule, the people groan. ( Proverbs 29 : 2 )
If a ruler listen to lies,
all his officials become wicked. ( Proverbs 29: 12 ).
Monday the 7th of April 2014 will be election day here , and it is critical to bring back God Almighty in the middle of a very dark province , so it is with a wailing heart that I cry out to The Lord , so may I ask from all of you to join me in letting God do what seems impossible. May the leaders that will be voted bring back the Judeo- Christian values of our ancestors who were the foundation
of this province and our wonderful country of Canada.
Thank you Dear David M. for your precious daily blog .
Have a blessed day everyone on this beautiful sunny spring day.
xxxx Carole.
Yes, Carole, we agree in prayer with you for the elections in the province of Quebec. We believe God to do the impossible and let it be so Lord!!!
Here is the link to the song “I Bowed on my knees and cried Holy” with Michael English and the Gaither Vocal Band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouvfpmgP7D0
I hope you enjoy it. Blessings!!
Yes Amen to all the prayers for our country. We lift up our voices to you Lord. We are all in so much need of your guiding hand. Hear our cries Lord. Show us what to do.
Try this video, don’t know how to pull it up on utube. The title is, And all the people said amen, by Matt Maher. Blessings forward today to all!
Hi Susan: Blessings to you as well. What a great song. Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG04jJuMCGY
Thanks Ruby for doing that.xo.
Dear ones In Christ – I have not been here for some time, due partly to being ill with the flu!
Today as I “bawl” out to The Lord for unsaved loved ones and for healing of cancer in so many, I just received an email about the movie “Noah” coming to theatres. I had been so excited about this movie, thinking how great it is that so many Christian movies are coming out – especially on the heels of the movies, The Bible and the Son of God! But I read in the email sent to me that this movie is totally unbiblical depicting among other things..that the fallen angels were GOOD, helped Noah to build the ark and some other very horrible stuff about that wonderful man of God.
Rev David and/or any others who read this, please can you confirm whether this movie is something Christians should see?
Thank you for your time..
Blessings
Shantha
Hi Shantha. I heard it wasn’t true to the bible…kind of a David Suzuki type movie. Hope this helps.
I saw a trailer of it, Shantha, it is not an historical Christian perspective of Noah, by any means. Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkS_d6W7EYA
I have not heard about this movie , but lets put our prayers together for some one after seeing this one to put one out that is true to the Bible and that will make even a bigger impact on the people.
Yes, we are very concerned about the election in Quebec and will be praying Carole. Thanks for the song links sisters. They are a blessing.
Thank you so much Lynda, Beverley and Pat..
I did see the trailer on the internet…So I believe that Christians should avoid this movie nor suggest it to unbelievers.
Blessings
Shantha