Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner. –Lamentations 2:19

Today’s key verse is one I will be breaking down and discussing over the next few blog posts. For now, I want us to notice the first sentence of this verse, where God commands us to pour out our hearts to Him.

When this verse was written, Jerusalem had been destroyed. God’s people had turned from Him and been disobedient. The people had strayed, sin was everywhere, and a nation once founded on godliness had turned to rebellion. Does such a time sound familiar to you in 2017?

As punishment, God allowed the city to be ruined. With the Babylonians overtaking Jerusalem, chaos would have ensued. Families are displaced, religious customs turned upside down, and the horrors of war everywhere. Yet, even in the midst of consequences the people brought upon themselves, God is still present. He wants to hear the cry of the people. He wants to hear them pour out their hearts.

To pour out one’s heart is humbling, something the people of Jerusalem needed. They had stopped being humble to God, and were not giving Him their hearts. I, too, have been guilty of this. I have gone through phases of life where instead of pouring out my heart to God, I stayed silent and distant. My humbleness was gone. You can read about one of these times HERE.

Friends, this is the core of what I want to share today. I believe, firmly, that pouring out your heart to God is the key to praying effective prayers and releasing God’s power into our lives. He knows our hearts, wants, praises, and longings without us even saying. He knows these things because He is God, but He wants us to TELL Him what is in our hearts. When we make the decision to pour out our hearts to God we are trusting Him, building a relationship with Him, and keeping no secrets from Him. To communicate with God so openly is humbling and exactly what He wants. Such open communication allows us to better FEEL His presence, HEAR His guidance, and OBEY His will. When we pray for our children, pouring out our hearts is a key to seeing successful results.

As you pray for your children, I want to encourage you to hold nothing back from God. Whatever emotions and fears you encounter, please tell Him! Be completely open and honest when praying! If you need to cry, yell, or raise your hands to God- do it! You will find that by doing so, your relationship with the One who created the beautiful children you are praying for will be strengthened and blessed.

Challenge: Go to your child today, and tell him/her you are praying for him/her. Ask your child what you can pray about for him/her. Perhaps he/she has a struggle or fear right now?

If you have a child that is in the womb or is non-verbal, choose a specific struggle you think they might be experiencing. It could be health related, or about their future. If you need help choosing, ask God for guidance.

Then, pour out your heart to God, and pray over this specific topic.

What I love about this challenge is we are clearly communicating to our children multiple things:

1. First, we love them enough we want to pray for them.
2. Second, we show our children we believe God and prayer are real and powerful.
3. Third, we invite our children to share any struggles they have with us, and together we will take those struggles to the Lord.

This post was originally published in the online praying event I am currently hosting on Facebook. If you would like to join myself and many other women who are praying for our children over the next 14 days, you can do so by clicking HERE. We would love to have you!