God Wants Us To Ask
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help me appreciate your willingness to step in and help me as I meet various crises in my life. Amen
[2] You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. [3] And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:2-3 NLT
[3] They said to me, "Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire." [4] When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:3-4 NLT
REFLECT:
James makes the statement that we have not because we ask not. Nehemiah provides us one of the best pictures of what heartfelt prayer is. What I have always appreciated is that he didn’t just jump into prayer immediately, he fasted, wept, and mourned before he started praying. Warren Weirsbe states, “Real prayer keeps your heart and your head in balance, so your burden doesn’t make you impatient to run ahead of God and ruin everything. As we pray, God tells us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it—all are important in accomplishing God’s will.” Nehemiah’s time in fasting helped prepare him for his prayer time with God.
Nehemiah has empathy for his people. There is emotion coming through in this prayer. He cares for his people and worries about their future. He starts his heartfelt prayer pouring out his praise to God and thanking Him for His unfailing love and keeping His promises. Nehemiah’s confession begins with his personal confession and expands to his family and the remnant of Israel. Nehemiah’s requests are built upon God’s promise to the Israelites. He closes with a commitment to follow through on His prayer to God. Nehemiah’s model prayer for us is praise, thanks, requests, and commitment.
APPLY:
Social networking has made prayer requests almost instantaneous. It’s difficult to keep up with them. I often feel like my friend Mark Taylor, who stated, “the older I get, the more I pray, and the less I understand about prayer.” If you feel like my friend Mark and want to know more about how to pray, I have found that reading through the Book of Nehemiah provides several models for how to pray in different situations. Take time to do that this week.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, help me to be willing to rely on Your Holy Spirit to guide my prayers. Amen
WORSHIP: