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 this favor in the presence of this man.
Nehemiah 1:11
Nehemiah models prayer for us in a compelling way. His prayer contains four significant elements:
- Devotes days to fasting and prayer as he waits on the Lord to lead him
- Acknowledges that God is an awesome, covenant-keeping God
- Repents of his sins and the sins of the Israelites
- Reminds the Lord of His promises to the Israelites if they return to Him
After Nehemiah’s commitment to pray and fast, the door opens for him to share with the King of Persia the predicament of the Jewish people. When we wait on the Lord with prayer and fasting, acknowledging His greatness and His promises to us, God opens doors that no man can open. Today during my prayer time I asked the Lord to open a door for me to have a conversation with one of my daughters. I knew that I had to wait on the timing of the Lord and the wisdom of the Lord. He opened the door later that day and I was aware of His goodness and faithfulness. When I try to resolve conflicts and to devise solutions for problems, I have forgotten to pray first. I was reminded today that the Lord longs for His children to allow Him to bring resolution to their conflicts and solutions to their problems. This week, take your problems to the Lord in prayer using Nehemiah’s model, and trust in His faithfulness to be attentive to your prayer. (Nehemiah 1:11)
While we’re talking about Nehemiah, I thought I would share with you (if you haven’t already heard) that our inaugural Online Education program course launched recently and it’s all about Nehemiah! It’s a powerful study designed to bring you healing and wholeness. This week, we looked at Lesson One together, which is about Nehemiah’s prayer above. It’s never too late for you to jump in and join us for this course! In fact, you can download the first lesson for free and give it a try. Once you sign up for the course, you’ll receive weekly emails with a schedule for that week’s lesson, but you can also set your own pace if that suits you better. I hope you will consider joining us for this life-transforming study!
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