God's Emotions--And What They Mean For UsНамуна

Burden-Bearing in Prayer

Do our emotions have an impact on our prayers? Having an intercessory prayer burden is like the process of giving birth, which is often an emotional experience. In the New Testament, when Paul expressed his parental feelings toward the citizens of the whole region of Galatia, his apostolic burden was to “birth” them in Christ. He could not just pray once for them and wave his hand to claim their salvation and maturation in Christ. He had to carry them inside his heart and soul, and it mattered more than anything to him that he be able to carry them successfully to birth: “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you…” (Galatians 4:19–20 KJV). In the original Greek, the word odino, translated as “travail in birth,” means “to feel the pains of child birth,” or “to travail.” A number of Old Testament passages also speak directly in terms of “bearing young” in prayer. (See, for example, Isaiah 21:3 KJV; Micah 5:3 KJV.)

Travailing Prayer

Such passages have to do with straining and yearning until a certain outcome transpires. Thus, the idea of burden-bearing, or travailing, is entirely scriptural. This may help you understand what is going on inside you, at times, during prayer. Have you ever felt that you are supposed to carry something in prayer and not stop carrying it, even if it takes a long, long time to see results? Other things you may pray for only once, but not this thing. It burdens you, and you may even groan as if you are in pain.

The birth of a child is one of the most painful and exhausting processes, yet one of the most miraculous and sacred times in a woman’s life—truly a time of awe and wonder. And, spiritually speaking, this is the experience that God uses to bless all who care and bear in prayer! It is when our hearts beat in union with God’s heart.

E. M. Bounds wrote many books about prayer, and the following, from The Necessity of Prayer, is a sample of what he said about “importunate prayer”:

The wrestling quality of importunate prayer does not spring from physical vehemence or fleshly energy. It is not an impulse of energy, not mere earnestness of soul; it is an inwrought force, a faculty implanted and aroused by the Holy Spirit. Virtually, it is the intercession of the Holy Spirit of God, in us.

“Importunate prayer” refers, of course, to the story of the “importunate (troublesome and persistent) widow” in Luke 18:1–8, whose burden was receiving a just settlement from a reluctant judge. She made her request so many times, with such fervor, that the judge finally relented and granted her request.

The Emotions of Burden-Bearing

All of this burden-bearing and travailing involves…guess what? Emotions and feelings—lots of them. This rather emotive form of intercessory prayer may involve every part of a believer’s being—spirit, soul, and body—with a special emphasis on the heart as the seat of the emotions. Wesley Duewel gives us these insights in his book Mighty Prevailing Prayer: “A prayer burden is a spiritual concern on the heart of God that is imparted by the Holy Spirit to someone whose intercession the Holy Spirit desires to use.… It is a specially sacred level of prayer intensity and prayer responsibility.”

Burden-bearing is another way of sensing, discerning, or knowing the voice of the Holy Spirit, and it has occurred throughout Jewish and Christian history. The senses involved can range from gentle nudging of thoughts to gut-wrenching weeping and travail of heart and soul.

When God is easing a prayer burden onto you, it may start tenderly with gentle sensations. It increases gradually to the point of feeling like the wrenching pains of childbirth or a volcanic eruption inside. The presence or glory of God—the kabowd, in Hebrew—is weighty by definition, and the weight increases as a person responds to it. If God wants you to pray in this manner, you might see the following stages of development:

• You begin to sense a spiritual concern. This concern is granted by God; it is not something that you conjure up on your own. 
• The concern develops into a prayer burden, and it becomes very personal and heartfelt.
• You may become aware that this is a sacred trust when you find yourself carrying this growing concern as a mother carries a child forming inside her during pregnancy.
• You will need to sustain your focus until the promise can be birthed. You may well need the support of others to be able to carry the burden, even enlisting others in this intercessory task.
• You may experience a purging fire of the Holy Spirit during the time you carry the prayer burden.
• Finally, release will occur when the promised result comes to pass (or when you receive an assurance that God has already answered and the manifestation will soon appear). You will have a sense of relief and overwhelming joy as the plans, purposes, and destiny of God manifest themselves in the natural realm.

You should know how important your senses are to this kind of prayer. Without your sanctified senses, you can’t pick up on the first hint of a prayer burden, let alone carry it all the way, through thick and thin, to the completion of your assignment. Your entire emotional capacity gets engaged in this kind of prayer. When a burden of the Lord is transferred into your heart (and gut), you become a “Burden-Bearer.” 

Jesus’s Burden Is Easy

Too many intercessors carry the burden for too long, though. When they do that, it bears them down and wears them down. Remember that a prayer burden comes from God, and you are supposed to carry your share of it only until you can return it to God with your task accomplished. You are never meant to carry it forever. Jesus tells you, “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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29–30 NKJV). When you are yoked with Jesus, He is carrying most of the burden on His strong shoulders; He needs you only to share it with Him, not take it all upon yourself.

This word to the wise comes from years of personal experience—pick up only what is your assignment from God. Carry it by His grace, and then give it back to Him. Be a happy burden-bearer, even if the weight is almost too much for you. Don’t be a heavy-laden intercessor. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3 NKJV).

PRAYER OF A PASSIONATE HEART

Holy God, I exalt Your majestic name! I count it an honor to carry Your plans, purposes, and pursuits in prayer. I am so grateful that You would trust me with Your heart and that You want me to know how You feel about a given situation. I surrender to You to be a burden-bearer, in Jesus’s magnificent name. Amen and amen!

Reflecting Our Creator

As we conclude this devotional, let us remember that our Father God wants to help all of us, whether we consider ourselves “sensitive” or not, to grow and mature in our emotional responsiveness. He gave us our emotions, our feelings, our sensitivity, so we could better hear Him and follow His direction. Our feelings are part of our relationships on many levels, including our relationship with Him, our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our relationships with our natural family members and others.

To have balance in our lives, we must avoid the instability of walking by our feelings or emotions alone by being grounded in God’s Word. But as we integrate the diverse dimensions of sensitivity into our lives, we can learn to be tender and sensitive, living from our hearts instead of responding only in a cerebral or compartmentalized way. As we yield to the Holy Spirit, we can be more caring toward others and better at communicating with people. For all our lives, we can continue to grow in our revelation of the full nature of God, increasingly reflecting the emotional qualities of our Creator, who has made us in His image.

We hope this plan has encouraged you. Explore other resources at https://www.whitakerhouse.com/book-authors/james-w-goll/.