Culture Days - Pray Like Nehemiah!
Praying impactful prayers: 3 thoughts on praying prayers that move the needle and build the city.
1.Impactful Prayers Take Time
Nehemiah 1:5–6 (ESV) 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned.
Before we begin talking about the things that Nehemiah DID, we must understand the way that Nehemiah prayed!
Sometimes, we feel obligated to get the perks of the early church, and we're not putting the work in of the early church!
Before we ever do what God has called us to do, we must be who God has called us to be!
There are prayers that you simply say, and prayers that become part of who you are
Faith isn't praying things that you are sure of, a prayer of faith pushes your beliefs to the limits
James 5:15–16 (NKJV)
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
2.Impactful prayers embrace authority by embracing responsibility
The context (and Jewish history) agree that Nehemiah was faithful to God
Some context:
Israel had went into Babylonian captivity around 605 B.C.
The Jews spend 70 years in Babylonian exile
The Persians conquer the Babylonians and a decree from King Cyrus permits the return of Jews to their homeland
In 538 B.C. Zerubbabel leads the 1st return of the Jews to the homeland
In 457 B.C. Ezra leads a second return of Jews to the homeland
Chapter one of Nehemiah picks up at 445 B.C. (So, over a 150 years after Babylonian captivity began)
2 generations!
[Nehemiah's reality was based on someone else's disobedience]
Nehemiah prayed like this:
Nehemiah 1:6–7 (ESV) 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.
Nehemiah becomes a national leader, but while he was still a butler to a foreign king, he was calling out that nation in prayer.
Spiritual authority requires spiritual responsibility:
Own it!
He wasn't trying to disassociate himself with the people that God had called him to
I know we have not created the culture of this world - but we must at some point meet them and at least acknowledge that we let it get this way!
We either have to make the goodness of Jesus unavoidable or lock ourselves inside a gated community and allow our world to descend into Godlessness.
We cannot evade and evangelize - we must interact with people!
3.Impactful prayers take on intense risks
Nehemiah 1:11 (ESV)
11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Sometimes, its hard to get a day off from work!
Nehemiah was praying about leveraging his relationship with the King to impact those God was calling him to.
Here's a question to roll over in your spirit:
Is there anything that you're praying about that involves some risk?
That's a tough question because here is what I know:
If the things I'm praying don't have a sense of risk, then they probably don't involve faith.
Faith requires risk
We will take on some faith projects - We are a faith project!
Nehemiah knew that the prayer that he was praying would be one that required him to take uncomfortable steps in his life!
But if our prayers are more risky than our actions, are we actually operating in faith?
James 2:26 (ESV)
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Every time I pray it's an opportunity to take hold of heaven, and every time I say amen, it's an opportunity to take hold of earth.
So the question this morning is:
What could happen if we prayed like Nehemiah?
What could happen if we prayed prayers that take some time?
What could happen if we prayed prayers that take responsibility?
What could happen if we prayed prayers that were risky? That required faith?
