Scripture: "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said: “ Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you." - Nehemiah 1:4-6 (NIV) "“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’" - Nehemiah 1:8-9 (NIV) "Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cupbearer to the king." - Nehemiah 1:11 (NIV) Application: God hears all prayers, but Nehemiah gives us a pattern for effective prayer. We need not follow a given "prayer recipe," but Nehemiah's prayer demonstrates some helpful elements for us to follow: 1. Acknowledge the problem. This is the easiest. Most prayers are petitions, asking God for help. Lay out the things that are bothering us. Do it bare-bones and in our distress. He really cares. (v. 4) 2. Acknowledge God's greatness. If God is not greater than our problems, why else would we go to Him for help? There's an additional element of reverence, or respect, toward God. (v. 5) 3. Confession. We do not go before God insisting that we are worthy. We are humans. We sin. We are not worthy to go before Him in our own right, but out of His gracious love and kindness, He accepts us just as we present ourselves to Him. In other words, we need not clean ourselves up before going to Him for help. But by the same token, we don't go in dirty and act like we're pristine, either. (v. 6) 4. Recall God's promises. This seems like a "reminder" to God of what He has written, but in actuality, it is a reminder to ourselves of God's Word. We have to remember the blessings for living according to His Word, and the penalties for departing from His Word. Without this context, we will live lives tossed about in utter confusion. It doesn't have to be that way. Reading His Word gives us context to set our expectations when we go before Him asking for His help. (v. 8, 9) 5. Ask. This is the part we're often rushing toward, glossing over every prior step (if indeed we ever cover the above steps at all!). Go ahead and ask God for help. We are weak. We need it. We need Him. This is not something to be ashamed about doing. Because if we know His Word, and understand His will, we won't ask for anything that is against His purpose. (v. 11) Prayer is a wonderful opportunity to become centered with God. When we pray, it's not simply a grand request. It's an activity of understanding Who God is, and communicating with Him that we appreciate His putting us into fellowship with Him, even now, while we have needs that are tearing us up inside. Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we study Your Word so that we can live lives that are fulfilled in every way and in step with what You have for us. We have needs, and we pray that You will help us and keep us in harmony with You forever. We know from reading Your Word that You care, You hear, and You will act in Ways that keep us in right standing with You in this life and forever. Amen. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
May 2023
© 2017 damwriter
All Rights Reserved |