Cry Out

 August 17, 2023

““Arise, cry out in the night, 

At the beginning of the watches; 

Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.

 Lift your hands toward Him 

For the life of your young children, 

Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.””

—Lamentations 2:19 

Jerusalem had been sacked by Babylon. The destruction of property was nothing compared to the unimaginable brutality of the conquering army. Wanton rape, murder, and torture were a daily occurrence. Jeremiah saw it all, and composed a lament in response, from which the above words come. We are not seeing the destruction of cities or an unchecked military rampaging through the streets, but we are seeing the destruction of our children in poverty, drugs, child abuse and trafficking. Jeremiah’s cry should be ours, too.

When was the last time I prayed like Jeremiah taught? When last did I prostrate myself before the Lord on behalf of the children of our land? How much have I busied myself with trivial pursuits when I could have been praying and working for the salvation and deliverance of our children and youth? God has laid the Creek Kids on our hearts. We are praying continually for them, asking our Lord to open their hearts and eyes, and to open our mouths so Jesus can rescue them from the chaos and destruction to which their present path leads? We are praying, but it’s time to up our game and cry out in the night, to pour out our hearts like water before the face of the Lord; to lift our hands toward him for the life of our children.