May my heart break with the things that break the heart of God...

This is a dangerous thing to pray. Right up there with "Lord, make me patient" and "Lord, break me down that I may become more like you." Why do I say dangerous? Oh let me tell you.......its because these are prayers that the Lord loves to answer. These are prayers that you can pray confidently knowing that the answer will be yes. We can have that confidence because we know that all of these prayers are perfectly aligned with the heart and will of God; we know He perfectly happy to make these things come to pass in our lives.

So praying "may my heart break with the things that break the heart of God" is a very dangerous prayer indeed.

I think I first started praying this prayer about a year ago. It also happened to be around the time that I was praying for a friend of mine who was not walking with the Lord. We had many long conversations via facebook concerning the existence of God, the goodness of God, the way He chooses to speak. At times it was frustrating and seemed fruitless but God is faithful. But, more than just working in this friend's life, He began working in my life. As I began praying this prayer, God did indeed begin to answer.

And it hurt.
I got this tiny glimpse into the way God's heart breaks over us as we stray. The burden of the sadness for this friend was so heavy, almost to the point of being too much to carry....I remember crying over it a few different times. That burden mixed with the longing that this friend would come to know the Truth made me kind of a mess. Praise God that He is able to carry all of that and more, none other could bear such sadness...

Now the thing is, if I am truly striving to follow after Christ in all I do, that includes my heart breaking for what breaks His. Lord, I don't want to shy away from confusion and heartbreak and suffering....I want to rush to meet it with the the hope that you have given me so graciously...