Learning to Care

In this episode of the Press Movement Podcast, we explore the power of prayer through the lens of Lamentations 2:20–22, where God's judgment falls heavy on a rebellious people. Joined by Zia, we discuss how Jeremiah's intercession reveals what it means to truly care for lost souls—even when it hurts. If you’ve ever wondered how to pray for others in tough times or how to carry God’s heart for a broken world, this conversation will challenge and encourage you. Discover why praying with compassion and conviction still matters, and how loving God leads to loving people.

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Transcript

Press means to apply force. When God said press, prayer reaches every single situation. He gave us permission to apply force to every situation that we will go through.

And in this podcast, we are going to learn to apply force to what's applying pressure to us. Welcome back to the Press Movement Podcast. Thank you for joining us today.

We are continuing in the book of Lamentations and doing these prayers between Jeremiah and Lamentations. I kind of think they're a little depressing and I really wanted to skip some of them because they sound so similar to me. But I think it's important that we take the time to look at each one of them and we are almost done.

But I think it's important that we look at each one of them because in this day where we'd like to just hear the fancy words and we want to hear the things you can shout to and rejoice over, it is important to look at how serious God was when he addressed sin amongst his people, when he rebuked them, what he wanted us to take away from that, and how we're to act in the rebuke. Because I know it's kind of trending on social media. There was a post that said if Paul was still alive, America would definitely be getting a letter.

We need a letter. But we have the 66 books and we're not in a place as a whole where I feel like it's time to say, yeah, we're good. We've got this.

No, there is a lot of work to do in the body of Christ. And so it is important to look at how God views sin and judgment and what makes him go off, so to speak. And so here today, as we continue Lamentations, I have Ziya with me.

Oh, hi. Ziya, again, is one of the best and I'm sure she's going to have something great to say. She leads one of our press clubs and she's just grown into a wonderful young lady since I've met her a few years ago.

So Ziya is going to take it from here. I believe we're in Lamentations chapter two. Yep.

So we're looking at Lamentations chapter two, verse 20 to 22. So what was happening in this? God, he pretty much just showed his wrath upon the people and there was no softness to it, but he didn't show any pity or any mercy within this situation because what you see with the people, a lot of times they would take God's mercy for granted. When God would save them out from the destruction and from the overpowerment of the enemy, they would just go right back to what it was that they were doing that was wrong and they just did not care.

And so God, he pretty much had it at this point and he showed his wrath upon the people. What really had stuck out to me, it was just how it didn't matter like if you're young or if you were old, he just had enough of it. And a lot of times people say, oh, you know, God, he has to forgive me.

Oh, that, you know, he's merciful. And a lot of times we do take that mercy for granted. And so we just treat it as if it was something like so invaluable, like there's just no value to it, but we take it so for granted.

And so this had really stuck out to me when I was reading it. And I had to go back to Jeremiah because I didn't really know what was going on when I read it. But it talked about how the people, they had a revolting and a rebellious heart.

Their heart wasn't towards God. Their heart wasn't for God. And so God, he had to do this because he knew that this would help him in the end.

So starting to read it off, Lamentations 2 and 20, it says, Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit and children of a span long? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets. My virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword.

Thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger. Thou hast killed and not pitied. Thou hast called us in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the Lord's anger, none escaped nor remained.

Those that I have swallowed and brought up hath mine enemy consumed. When I was reading this, this kind of just made me think about different forms of correction. Like growing up, you hear about like getting whooped or by a bell, or for me, sometimes you hear about a switch or whatever your parents have around you, but they use it to correct you.

You know, there's not like hate, but it's meant to stop you from doing what may be harming you, but you don't see it as a harm towards yourself. But with the people, the correction that they would receive when they would be overtaken by the enemy, it wasn't helping them change from or turn from their wrongdoing. And it makes me think about the kinds of correction that I had to receive.

Like being whooped, it did not always help me turn from what it was that I was doing, but I just did it in secret and you know, I tried to be smart about it. And so God, He sees the things that are in secret and He sees the things that are in the open. And so the fact that it wasn't hidden what they were doing, He said that this is what they needed in order for them to turn.

And so that's why there was no mercy because He knew if He did it again, if He just kept saving them here and forth, they weren't going to change. And so when I'm thinking about myself, if I just kept getting whooped over and over again, I wouldn't have changed, but I would just keep doing it secretively and just being aware and like just smart and just planning out what it is to do that it's wrong. When we read this prayer, it made me see that Jeremiah is still interceding for the people, even knowing what God has said, even knowing the judgment they're facing.

He sometimes prays for himself. We saw in the book of Jeremiah, he's like, Lord, remember me, get them, blah, blah, blah. But this one, he's like, you're destroying them.

And I can only imagine how hard that is to watch. And this prayer looks like to me, he wants God to remember them. Have you ever felt like you had to cry out for somebody else or been in a position where you were praying for somebody else? I would say yes.

Concerning loved ones that aren't saved, yes, I would think about them. And sometimes I would ask God to help them or, you know, to show mercy or to not like look past them. Because, you know, at the end of the day, I love them and I want what's best for them.

And I don't want them to end up without him. Because at the end of the day, you want everybody to get saved. You want everybody to walk with God.

And there are people that are not choosing to go in that direction. And it's hard to watch. I believe that Jeremiah helps us see in both Jeremiah and Lamentations, that sin is a tragedy.

It is just as much a tragedy as any of the catastrophes you can imagine over the last thousand years or hundred years, because it has destroyed more people's lives, taken more people's minds, their children. And I think Jeremiah personifies to us, through Lamentations and the book of Jeremiah, how we should view sin, its side effects, and warn for the people who are in it. If you could encourage the people out there who are listening to us to pray or even to care about lost souls, because I know you do.

As I mentioned, Ziya has a press club. She's worked through it when it was easier and is working through it when it's harder to tell somebody about Jesus and has made that a point since about a year after she got saved. What burden do you need to care and to cry out? How do you get that? I would say to care.

It really all just started about me loving God, because when I first got saved, I didn't really care or love the things concerning God because I was still holding on to what it was that I wanted. But as I further went into my relationship with God, I realized how important this really is, because salvation is no joke. Salvation, when you hear it, is like, oh, okay, you know, whatever.

And you just walk by. But I remember I used to be so scared about dying. And I was like, okay, what's going to happen? And I'll just be so scared.

But then I remember with all that panic when I did get saved, I was just ranting a lot with you about a lot of stuff. But it turned into, okay, instead of focusing on the things that the world may focus on, like death or the bad things just that happen in the world, I just start focusing on the godly things. And when I focus so much on God and spend more time in God, it changes the things concerning myself.

And that's even something I'm trying to work on. I'm trying to work on not being focused on myself, but focused on others, focused on serving others, because God, he's already done the work for me. And so it's my turn to go out and do the work that he has given me so that others can get what they need.

And so with caring, it really, God, he just started moving in my heart and really just started working on me in order to care, because I didn't really care in the beginning. I think that's honest. But I also love how chasing God makes you want to show love.

Bible plainly says God is love. And so getting God, a byproduct of that should be love. And it really is that simple, that in chasing God, you learn to care for the people.

And that's what I see. God leaving somebody like a Jeremiah, in every generation, in every punishment, in every time, who will say, hold on, do you see this? Have mercy, who will cry for the people, and who will stand in the gap. If you could, as we're wrapping this up, give any last words of encouragement to those listening today, whether it's related to this topic or not, what would you say to them? Well, because we were talking about caring, I would just say care.

Like, learn to care about the things concerning God, and learn to care about others, because others are waiting for, the Bible talks about the manifestation of God. And so it's up to us to reveal God through us, and to be the light that we need to be in order for people to go after God, and to want God, and to receive what it is that they need. Because not everybody knows what it is that they need, but the Bible tells us exactly what we will need.

And so I would say, learn to care, and to care enough to share what it is that we need. I think that's a great note to end on, care enough to share. And as you referenced, Romans 8, 19, because the world is waiting.

And with that, we challenge you today to press, because prayer reaches every single situation. Join the movement, join the community, like, share, and subscribe to this podcast. Visit us at PressToPray.com, or find us on Instagram or Facebook.

Did you know that when you are quiet, your voice is missing to God's ears? I know some of us have prayed and were wondering, how long should I pray about this? Why should I pray if God already knows? How will I know God is answering? And what do I do when I feel like God's not listening? But God is listening for your voice. It's too quiet in this world for troubles we have. You have to raise your voice, and God wants to hear from you.

It's Too Quiet, a book about prayer. It's designed to answer your prayer questions and build your faith. Visit PressToPray.com.