Craig Clouston

Cryin’ Saints

And he who searches our hearts … intercedes for the saints.
Romans 8:27

It would be thirty years before the boy would understand what he’d witnessed that night.
It was the church’s weekly prayer meeting, and elders, spiritual leaders, and many members of the congregation, as well as the senior and associate pastors, were present in the Fireside Chapel.
The young boy didn’t want to be there. But he was the associate pastor’s son, and when Dad went to church, he went to church.
As he sat in one of the comfy chairs in the back of the chapel, he watched and listened. For over an hour they prayed. The boy was beginning to fidget. Then he heard crying from the altar; he wasn’t sure what to make of that. He’d never heard anyone cry when they prayed. And this wasn’t just normal crying either. Whoever it was, they were sobbing!
Curious, he stood on his chair to take a look. His curiosity was rewarded as he discovered it was the senior pastor.
On the way home, the boy questioned his father. “Why was Reverend Wilber cryin’, Dad?”
His father paused and then tried his best to explain how the Holy Spirit moves on the hearts of His saints when they’re in desperate prayer. “When that happens, the emotion can sometimes be overwhelming. And sometimes people even cry,” his father had said.
The young boy looked through the darkness at his father and asked in complete innocence, “So Reverend Wilber is a cryin’ saint?”

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The Holy Spirit intercedes for His saints when they don’t know what to pray. And we are His saints.
I’ve known many who believe the term saint is reserved for those who have gone before us in death or for those whose contribution to the faith has raised them to a loftier salvation than our own. But plainly, saints are people who have separated themselves from the world and consecrated themselves to the worship and service of God.
Many of us have needed God’s urgent intervention and were at a loss for words. A “cryin’ saint” is someone given over to the Holy Spirit’s examination, asking Him to take the need before the throne of God when we can’t.

Prayer

“When I can’t pray, Lord, please take over and speak to the Father on my behalf. Amen.”