The reason why a person cries during prayer varies from person to person. The reason might be from sadness over wrongdoing (sin), a deep sense of joy, or grief. The other reason a person might cry during prayer is the overwhelming presence of God.
No matter the reason you cry during prayer, be comforted in knowing that your tears are counted and seen by an awesome and loving God.
Before we talk more about prayer, I want to encourage you if you’re not saved by grace, to learn what it means when you accept salvation. Knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is the most important decision of your life, so it’s worth mentioning before we get started on crying during prayer.
Humility | The Power Of Tears In Prayer
When a person comes to God in brokenness and humble in spirit, God responds in a way that no human being can do. For God gives grace, something that a human cannot truly give for they have no control over it.
Surely He scorns the scornful,
Proverbs 3:34
But gives grace to the humble.
This means that there is something that we can do in order to attract more of God’s grace into our lives as Christians.
We must humble ourselves.
When we cry during prayer it cannot come with a fist in the air making demands of God. Instead, we come humbly with our faces to the dust like the Psalm in Psalm 119 who says, ‘his soul clings to the dust.’ (Psalm 119:25).
How Crying Heals The Heart
There is a medical explanation of how crying heals, it states that crying releases chemicals in the brain that help us feel better and promote a sense of well-being within us.
That’s great, but I’d like to take that a step further and say we were designed to cry, and God designed the body to help us heal through the act of healing. Yes, it releases chemicals in the brain, but it does much more than just that.
When we cry during prayer with a humbled heart, we are surrendering strongholds kept locked up in our hearts and in our minds.
You know the strongholds you have kept away from God, as we lose them, and they are revealed to us by God to be areas not in our control, God brings healing.
We know through the tears we shed in prayer and in this life, God is working on our behalf day in and day out.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
How To Develop A Closer Relationship With God
Crying during prayer can be a sign of our closeness with God. Whether or not that closeness is there is between the person and God for this is a matter of the heart.
When we are trusting in God and we focus on God, our relationship deepens.
What I do want to take a look at is some passages in the Bible of what a close relationship with God looks like and how tears play a role.
8 You number my wanderings;
Psalm 56: 8-11
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
This Psalm was written by David after he had been captured by the Philistines in Gath. He was in a dark place, most likely feeling a bit hopeless if he were to shift his focus away from God.
Look at his heart as he knows the reality of those tears trailing down his cheeks. Verse eight, ‘Put my tears into your bottle…’
This man of God knows that God sees his tears.
This man of God knows that God is watching over him, even though his circumstances are not ideal at the moment.
This man of God knows God doesn’t want us to worry.
His confidence continues in verse nine. ‘This I know, because God is for me.’
And again in ten. ‘In God (I will praise His Word)…’
Verse eleven tells us how this is all possible for David. For his trust wasn’t in his ability to control the situation, but his trust was in God. He had no zero fear knowing God was with him.
A closer relationship with God comes through trusting God in difficult times.
Is Crying A Gift From God?
Crying during prayer or any other time can be a gift from God when it works in our lives to produce a work that glorifies God.
For instance, if a person cries in prayer as they are dwelling on the Cross and the payment of what Jesus did, it brings glory to Him. It causes them to praise Him and exalt His name higher.
It’s a gift from God because Scripture tells us every good and perfect gift is from God.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
James 1:17
Is Crying A Sin In The Bible?
Crying is not a sin in the Bible. There are times in which people cried over their sin, for instance after David had his affair with Bathsheba (Psalm 51), but there are no instances of the act of crying being a sin. Furthermore, Jesus wept three times in Scripture, John 11:35; Luke 19:41; Hebrews 5:7-9.
The motivation behind the tears is a better place to focus.
It always comes down to a matter of the heart.
If you’re remorseful over sin, crying out to God, and asking Him for forgiveness, He will listen to you.
He can see your heart, the real you.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
True Rest Is Found In Jesus
The weariness of the days can bring you to a place of crying during prayer and Jesus understands that clearly. That’s why He extends an invitation to anyone willing to listen in Matthew eleven.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Yes, we must be humble when we show up crying in prayer, but God gives us comforting reassurance in the passage above. He tells us that He is here to give us rest.
Not relaxing on the couch after a long day, but real and true rest.
We find that rest for our souls when we come to Him and take on His yoke (submit) and learn from Him.
We can live like Jesus in our lives and in our relationships.
God’s love is kind, merciful, and gracious towards us.
If we find ourselves crying during prayer, it’s not a time to become worried or upset thinking something is wrong, but instead a time to listen through the tears.
Ask yourself, What does God want me to learn through this?