Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Consider, and call for the mourning
women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
let them make haste and raise a wailing over us,
that our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.”
—Jeremiah 9:17–18
God's call to Jeremiah certainly catches my attention: “Call for the mourning women to come.”
The prophet was in the midst of a painful circumstance. The leaders of Judah had not learned anything from the destruction in Israel, and God told him to look for women who were professional wailers, to urge them to come and cry out so that the city of Jerusalem would also be encouraged to cry for itself. They needed to cry out because their city had been shattered.
“Hear, O women the word of the LORD, and let your ear receive the word of this mouth; teach your daughters to lament, and each to her neighbor a dirge” (Jer. 9:20, emphasis added).
These women were not only to weep but also to teach their daughters to weep—to cry for their city. Death was all around them. Destruction. Devastation. Desolation. Verse 22 paints a very vivid picture: they could not even bury all the bodies. Sound familiar? Do you notice any similarity to what some areas have experienced in these days?
Cry Out! is a call for the mourning women. It’s an urgent invitation to come to the Lord with repentant hearts, burdened by the pain of our nations, and to cry out to God for mercy.
God has created us with emotions to empathize with those who suffer. Today, let us gather our voices as one and let us cry out. Let us ask the One who can heal our land to bring healing and freedom to the many captives who are close to us and who need to find salvation. Let the mourning women come.
How to Pray
Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come. (Ps. 102: 1–2, 12–13)
What to Pray
- Pray for women to have courage to cry out.
- Pray for women to teach their children to grieve over sin and to cry out to the Lord for revival.
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