When Reuben came back to the well and found that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes in sorrow.

Jacob tore his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. He mourned for his son a long time.

When I heard this, I tore my clothes in despair, tore my hair and my beard, and sat down crushed with grief.

Then once again I lay face downward in the LORD's presence for forty days and nights and did not eat or drink anything. I did this because you had sinned against the LORD and had made him angry.

David prayed to God that the child would get well. He refused to eat anything, and every night he went into his room and spent the night lying on the floor.

A week later the child died, and David's officials were afraid to tell him the news. They said, "While the child was living, David wouldn't answer us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that his child is dead? He might do himself some harm!"

David got up from the floor, took a bath, combed his hair, and changed his clothes. Then he went and worshiped in the house of the LORD. When he returned to the palace, he asked for food and ate it as soon as it was served.

When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love.

He went a little farther on, threw himself face downward on the ground, and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want."

Humble yourselves, then, under God's mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time.