Bro. Stephen Powell            July 23, 2023

“Wall Builders:  People Of Prayer”

Nehemiah 1:4-10

⁴ And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

⁵ And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

⁶ Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

⁷ We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

⁸ Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

⁹ But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

¹⁰ Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

 

• Nehemiah Comes to God in Humility (v5-7)

Our prayer should reflect our complete dependence on the Lord.

 

• Nehemiah Comes to God in Confession (v5-7)

When we confess, we are able to be used by God to address the needs of the world around us.

 

• Nehemiah Comes to God in Expectation (v8-10)

Our prayers must expect God to fulfill His promises.

 

• Nehemiah Comes to God in Commitment 

Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven but getting God’s will done on earth.

 

• Nehemiah’s Prayer and What Jesus Taught Us to Pray (Matthew 6:9-13)

The Lord’s Prayer should be understood as an example, a pattern, of how to pray.  It gives us the “ingredients” that should go into prayer. 

Matthew 6:9-13

⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.