Several years ago, a beloved cousin of mine was at the hospital admitted for tuberculosis.

One morning, during a short holiday, while we (my mum, brother, and I) were having our morning devotion, the Holy Spirit inspired me to pray for my cousin.

The moment I raised the prayer point, my mum suddenly started crying.

Being a young believer raised with the Word of Faith, I felt my mum was faithless and ignorant of her rights and privileges (authority) in Christ.

I was taught that a believer must not cry. That it is a sign of weakness. That we are to boldly exercise our authority in Christ by issuing commands and making bold demands in faith.

So, when I heard my mum crying and pouring out those precious tears to God on my cousin's behalf, I simply lifted my voice praying in other tongues and commanding the tuberculosis to go.

It's been so many years now and I've grown spiritually. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit through the written Word and so, I now see differently.

I agree that my mum may not have known as much as I knew concerning the revelation of Jesus Christ and our authority as believers in Him, but she seemed to know something about how to touch the heart of God through a broken and contrite heart.

You see, there's something about women we need to pay very close attention to in our dealings with God. A woman may be weak in physical frame, however, she's very strong at heart.

We have so emphasized the masculine nature above the feminine to such a degree that it feels weak to be feminine.

But we need to understand that God is neither male nor female. He is both. He is masculine in ability, but feminine at heart.

Women are naturally designed with an inherent tendency for a dominant expression of God's feminine nature. So, we see women responding more emotionally, not because they are weak, but because that is the dimension of God they are naturally designed to express.

Naturally speaking, women have mastered the art of persuasion through their tears and that is why, in most cases, when they desperately need something and they are not getting it, they use their tears to open the door.

I remember a brother who had an issue with some business partners and was arrested and put behind bars. When I went with another brother to see his wife, we found that she had been crying.

We held hands together with her and prayed. Then I told her to use her tears, not for sorrow, but as a weapon. I told her to pour out those precious tears in faith to God and not to withhold them.

Well, she prayed with tears and later told me that when she went to the police station to ask for her husband's release after satisfying the required demands, the police officers refused to listen to her.

Then, she began to cry. Later when her husband was released, the officer in charge told her that had she not cried, her husband would not have been released.

The stone which broke the carmel's back was her tears.

I wish more people would learn to give vent to the expressions of their souls in agonizing prayer.

Effective prayer must touch and stir your emotions towards a particular cause or direction.

The power of prayer is in its depth, not length. How deeply the prayer or the subject matter affects you will determine how effective your praying will be.

Crying is usually an emotional response to pain or joy. People cry either out of pain or joy.

It is not wrong to cry in prayer. However, you have to cry for the right purpose. You have to cry out of faith, not sorrow.

Jesus, in His ministry on earth, wept several times in prayer, not because He was faithless or fearful, but because He believed in God.

For instance, Hebrews 5:7 tells us that "While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue Him from death".

He did not cry to people or circumstances. He cried to God who could save Him from death. That is an expression of faith.

Learn to use your tears in interceding for others. Some situations require more than simply praying. Some cases may require tears.

For instance, interceding for the salvation of sinners requires a deep connection of the heart.

The one who is interceding for the salvation of sinners is a warrior in the spirit. He is fighting for the deliverance of another.

To be effective in this ministry, such a person must understand the spiritual condition of sinners and the physical implications or results of sin. He must feel the pain and agony of sin.

Through this knowledge, usually imparted by the Holy Spirit, the intercessor becomes one with the people for whom he is interceding and is moved to tears, praying with great fervency and groanings because he feels their pain.

I have been there. I have often 'entered' into the experience of others when I prayed for them.

On one occasion while I prayed for a young man in the hospital, I suddenly seemed to feel his pain and I felt like I was going to die. That experience made me fight for him in prayer as though I was fighting for my own life.

The Holy Spirit has often moved me to tears each time I prayed for sinners.

In the beginning, I didn't understand why each time I stood before people or alone in my privacy to pray for sinners I'd often break down and start crying profusely.

Now I understand better.

For those who know me personally, you know that I often seem to have just two prayer points. Each time I stand to lead in prayers, I either lead the people to pray for the salvation of lost souls or a mighty move of the Holy Spirit.

This is because I often sense the Holy Spirit's anointing when I pray along these lines and it is also where I have the most burden.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus wept on His way to Lazarus' grave?

It was because Lazarus' death affected Him deeply. Lazarus was His friend and He loved Mary and Martha — the sisters of Lazarus.

This family was not just another regular family. These people were dear to His heart. So, He couldn't hold back His tears, not because He was weak, but because He felt their pain.

You can use your tears in interceding for others. You can force yourself to cry in prayer and before you know it, the Holy Spirit will take advantage of it to intercede through you with groanings too deep for words.

Your tears are not a sign of weakness but of strength.

You know the Word. You know your rights and privileges in Christ. You are bold towards God.

Now confidently use your tears to change things and circumstances in your favor and around the world.

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psalms 126:5-6)