Praying with Tears

When He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, [He] was heard because of His godly fear. Hebrews 5: 7 The life of Jesus provides the model for our prayer lives. God is seeking to mold us into the image of His Son (Col. 1: 27–28). If we are to act like Christ, our prayer lives must be conformed to His. Many Christians are unwilling to pay the price that Jesus paid when it comes to interceding with God. Jesus’ prayers came with vehement cries and tears and, “because of His godly fear,” He was heard by the Father. Why, then, did the Father refuse His request? It was not due to any sin in Jesus’ life, nor was it because the Father did not love His Son. The Father said no, despite the unfathomable love He had for His Son, because He knew He could not spare His Son and save a world. Likewise, the Lord cannot always spare you and your family and complete His redemptive work in those around you. Are you willing for God to deny your pleadings? Will you intercede with the Father so deeply and intimately that even in the midst of your tears you are able to say, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done”? The Father will always relate to you out of the context of His love for a lost world. Has God said no to one of your requests recently? Accept His answer. Have you been learning obedience through what you have been suffering (Heb. 5: 8)? If you have, God may choose to make you a source of salvation to others even as He did with His Son.” —Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, Experiencing God Day by Day

The prayer life of Jesus wasn’t polished or distant—it was raw, fervent, and marked by tears. Hebrews 5:7 paints a picture of Christ crying out to the Father, not out of doubt, but out of deep reverence and godly fear. He prayed to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard—yet the answer was “no.” Not because of sin or a lack of love, but because redemption required surrender. This moment in Gethsemane reveals the heart of intercession: not merely asking for rescue, but offering ourselves in obedience, trusting that God's love for the world is working through our surrender.

When God says no, it does not mean He is absent—it may mean He is doing something greater. Just as Jesus was made perfect through suffering (Heb. 5:8), we too are formed through seasons of denied requests and unanswered longings. But as we learn to pray with Jesus—“not my will, but Yours be done”—our lives become part of His saving work in others. This kind of prayer costs us something. But in losing, we become vessels of hope and life. Will you trust Him with the no, knowing that He is shaping something eternal through your tears? —DH