The Fervent Cry That Moves Divine Pity

Isaiah 30:19 promises: "He will be very gracious unto thee." The prayer that wins Elohim's favour is designated a kraugazo—a cry, fervent and importunate, rising from the depths of the heart. Such prayer expresses profound need and longing desire after God Himself.

Our sins warrant penitence expressed as a cry. Our spiritual urgency demands it. The spiritual battle, often intense and seemingly against us, reasonably calls forth this language of desperation to Adonai for His help.

Three foundations sustain faith in such prayer:

First, God's nature itself grounds encouragement. Goodness enters into His very being. To conceive Him as perfectly good requires believing Him pitiful and tender. When He hears our cry, He must be gracious.

Second, His relations to us demand His attention. As our Creator, He cannot regard us with indifferent eyes. As our Father—having communicated His own nature to us—He sustains a bond unlike His relation to other creatures. What father ignores his child's cry of want?

Third, the instinct of prayer itself offers evidence. When a child faces peril and a rescuer stands near, we instinctively cry for help. Similarly, we possess great wants only God can supply. We face perils from which only He can deliver us. This instinct itself testifies that Yahweh will be moved when we call.