“As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.”
Luke 3:4

There’s a sound that God wants to release in the earth. It’s a cry of intercession, a cry of desperation, a cry of victory. It’s a sound that breaks through, a sound that shifts things in the Spirit, a sound that grabs the attention of Jesus. It’s a sound that prepares the way of the Lord. Can you feel the stirring? Can you feel the shift? God is awakening an army to call upon the Lord. It’s time to cry out to God!

Have you ever cried out to God? I mean, you actually lifted up a cry from deep within and made a loud sound?

I remember when the Lord asked me to cry out to Him during a time of praise and worship. I was at Christ For the Nations Bible Institute in Dallas, TX for a night of worship. In the middle of the song, God said, “Cry out to Me.” So I let out a measly yelp…lol.

Apparently, that didn’t satisfy the request of the Lord. He said again, “I want you to cry out to Me.” Now, usually that happens at the end of the song, where my voice can hide in the sound of the clapping, cymbals, and other people’s shouts. But this was in the middle of the song.

So after my measly, half-hearted attempts to get out of actually crying out, I lifted up a cry to the Lord. What freedom came as a result! I broke through the fear of what others would think of me and I discovered a powerful way to engage with the Lord!

The cry makes you engage from a deeper place. You can’t cry out passively. You have to break through passivity and the fear of man. The cry declares that you are devoted; that you are all in for Jesus; that you want Him more than anything. Your Spirit-led cry releases breakthrough in the atmosphere and makes way for the Lord.

When John the Baptist came on the scene, he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that said there was going to be a voice of one crying in the wilderness. His job was to prepare the way of the Lord. In other words, the cry prepared the way for the Lord. It was an awakening call.

Then Jesus said in Matthew 11:12, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

Life in the kingdom isn’t a passive wimpy and silent experience. Many times it’s a violent breaking forth into the things of the kingdom! One of the ways that violence is demonstrated is when a cry comes from your spirit!

And let’s just be real, there are things that you can’t fully express without a cry! Or a shout! Or lifting up a loud sound!

Here are a few ways we can lift the cry:

1. Victory and praise

I love this verse:

“Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
Psalm 118:15 NIV

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous! Do they resound in your house? In your church?

When God works for us a great victory, we should lift up a shout of joy and victory!

He has done great things for us and calls for a cry of praise. A loud praise. A praise that engages from the depths of who you are.

2. Desperation and hunger

There are times when we desperately need a breakthrough. That’s not the time to be passive or silent. It’s a time to cry out to God!

That’s where ex-blind Bartimaeus found himself.

“And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.”
Mark 10:47-49

He was desperate for a breakthrough. So he called on the Lord. He didn’t let the naysayers stop him. He cried out! And he received his miracle.

Are you in need of a breakthrough? It’s time to lift a cry that makes Jesus stand still. It’s time to lift a cry that grabs the attention of God. Some things just don’t shift without a cry. It’s time to break through the silence, break through the passivity and apathy.

The Psalmists found themselves in a place of hunger for God and crying out.

“As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God!”
Psalm 42:1 NET

Do you find yourself in a place of numbness between you and God? It’s time to awaken your hunger again!

Even if your relationship with God is vibrant, there’s always more of Him! Knowing God is an endless pursuit. The cry declares, “I want God!”

Hebrews 11:6 says that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. Cry out to Him for your breakthrough. Cry out to Him as you seek to know Him more. If you don’t know what to say, you can always borrow the words of the psalmist or Bartimaeus.

3. Prayer and intercession

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Romans 8:26 NASB1995

This is what I’m really getting at in this article: The cry of intercession.

There are times when we cry out in prayer like Bartimaeus did. Then there are times when we don’t have words to say and it’s a groan in the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit wants to give you groanings too deep for words!
There’s a cry deeper than the deer, there’s a sound stronger than the blind man’s!
It’s the cry of the Spirit groaning from within!

It’s the voice of ones crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord!”

God wants to birth something new on the earth and He wants to use your cry! The same way John the Baptist was a voice crying out that prepared the way of the Lord, God wants to raise up the sound of intercession in the land to bring in a mighty move of God!

On a recent Sunday, I was leading worship and saying this same thing. Right when I said, “There’s a cry greater than the blind man!” my mic cut out. Reminds me of when Bartimaeus was crying out and the people around him told him to be quiet. But he refused to be quiet and cried out all the more. His cry was greater than the resistance.

When we partner with God to lift up a cry, it breaks things in the Spirit realm. It shifts the atmosphere. The crooked places are made straight, the rough places are made smooth. And every enemy would love to shut you down. But don’t silence your voice!

The breaker anointing is in the cry! The cry releases breakthrough!

Have you felt the call to pray lately? Have you felt the call to cry out?

God stirs His people for intercession because He wants to birth something new. Prayer is the avenue through which we partner with God to bring His will to earth.

Will you answer the call to cry out to God?

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
Luke 18:7 NIV

God is raising up the sound of intercession in the land. That sound is the landing place for God to come and move! Cry out in prayer for to God to move in your family, in your church, in your city!

CONCLUSION

There’s a cry from your spirit that is waiting to be released. There’s a cry that catches the attention of God. There’s a cry that carries the sound of the Spirit. There’s a sound of intercession and a sound of breakthrough that’s waiting to be released through you.

It’s time to lift up the cry! Cry out to God! Release the sound!

“I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.”
Psalm 57:2

Question: Have you ever experienced the power of crying out? Share in the comments how you’ve seen God move through the cry.