Mourning Has Broken

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4

“The mourning here brought to view is true heart sorrow for sin . . . And as one is drawn to behold Jesus uplifted on the cross, he discerns the sinfulness of humanity. He sees that it is sin which scourged and crucified the Lord of glory. He sees that, while he has been loved with unspeakable tenderness, his life has been a continual scene of ingratitude and rebellion. He has forsaken his best Friend and abused heaven’s most precious gift. He has crucified to himself the Son of God afresh and pierced anew that bleeding and stricken heart. He is separated from God by a gulf of sin that is broad and black and deep, and he mourns in brokenness of heart. Such mourning ‘shall be comforted.’ God reveals to us our guilt that we may flee to Christ, and through Him be set free from the bondage of sin, and rejoice in the liberty of the sons of God. In true contrition we may come to the foot of the cross, and there leave our burdens.” – Thoughts from The Mount of Blessing, pp. 9-10

Heart Questions:

Have you ever taken time to fully realize what Jesus accomplished for you in the darkest hours of His dying? As you behold the uplifted, crucified, sin-bearing Savior, will you let these scenes penetrate your heart? As you internalize His agony of experiencing the second death in your place, will you let it open your eyes to see the filthiness of your favorite sins? Why not today start mourning for your sins, especially for those which you have been unwilling to give up? Confess them to Jesus! He will gladly forgive you. He will comfort you. And He will give you victory.

Praise Reports:

• Diane T.: “Praising God for the opportunity to attend the Virtual ARME Bible Camp! What a rich blessing during this time.”
• Iris R.: “I was addicted to binge-watching Netflix. I would read a few Bible verses and try to justify myself, and then continue watching. After a week of prayer at our school God convicted me to delete the app. After a while I went back on and started to watch only Bible movies, but I couldn’t control myself, I was back under Satan’s control. I cried out to God. The next day my pastor gave me as a present the Andrews Study Bible. I rejoiced, and with tears thanked God for His intervention. He reminded me of Philippians 2:13 ‘for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.’ I praise God for convicting me and fulfilling His promise.

Day 59 - Prayer Focus

• Pray for a clearer understanding of what really happened at the cross. Pray for God to help you hate sin, and love righteousness.
• Pray for the canvassing work in Malawi as well as for financial support to start a sanitarium and medical missionary work in that region.
• Pray that people won’t get derailed with conspiracy theories, but fix their eyes upon Jesus, and His truth.
• Pray for the members of the Peter’s Rest Seventh-day Adventist Church on St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Their church building completely burned down. Pray for wisdom as to how to move forward. Pray that this loss will be turned into a victory for Jesus.

Going Deeper: Additional reading suggestions for this week

• Ellen White, Steps to Christ, chapter 3 "Repentance" Click Here to Read

• Mark Finley, 10 Days in the Upper Room

Download this week's devotional and prayer requests!

Visit the We-Pray Online Prayer room or leave your prayer requests below!