Sunday 12:30:12

c. 700 B.C. Assyrian king besieged Jerusalem Several Assyrian kings deported thousands of Israelites Some moved in pagan peoples c. 600 B.C. Babylonians take captives from Samaria Destroyed Jerusalem, the temple, and the city wall Nebuchadnezzar took leaders - including Daniel to Babylon left the poor without leaders 539 B.C. Persians overthrow the Babylonians (Greece c. 550 B.C., including Athens) 538 B.C. First Jewish exiles return to Jerusalem under Zerubabel 458 B.C. Ezra took back exiles to rebuild the temple 445 B. C. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem Nehemiah 1:1-4 v. 3 "great trouble and distress" walls broken down and gates burned v. 4 "sat down and wept" anything move you like this? Nehemiah is so distressed by the condition of Jerusalem that he began praying "day and night." He wept and mourned and continued in fasting and praying (all before he took any action on his own). How the news from Jerusalem had moved him! What if all God's children prayed with this much heart? What strongholds of the enemy could be destroyed! What power from His Holy Spirit could be found! Nehemiah 1:5-11 v. 5 Praise In the midst of his concern about the troubling news from Jerusalem, he praises the great, awesome and faithful God. What a wonderful reminder that no matter the condition of Jerusalem, God had not changed. If something was to be done to rescue Jerusalem, her awesome and faithful God would have to do it. This is a wonderful reminder that we do not face trouble on our own. We serve the God Who is bigger than and overcomes all our trouble and shame! v. 6a Approach Nehemiah asks humbly for God to hear his prayer. He prays with incredible persistence, throughout the day and night (just like Jesus told us to pray in Luke 18:1-8). God give us that kind of persistence in prayer! vv. 6b-7 Confession In the midst of his prayer for God to help, Nehemiah confesses his own sin. But he doesn't stop there. He confesses his family's sins and the sins of his people. We tend to think individualistically in our society, but we need to remember that God deals with individuals and nations. Our sins are our nation's sins and vice versa. How can you pray for our nation? What sins need to be confessed? vv. 8-10 Remembering the Lords Promise He then recollects God's promise to Moses to gather His people. How great to see that Nehemiah's prayer intersected with God's plan and promise. Praying God's word helps us to pray according to His will. v. 11 Petition After remembering who God is and what He had promised, he finally asks for success with the king. How great it is to remember that we are praying to the awesome and faithful God Who has plans for His people before we ask. That kind of prayer will strengthen your faith and encourage your heart to persist in prayer. What areas of our world need this determination in prayer? Who will seek Nehemiah's God to do something about it? How great is your determination in prayer? What moves you this much? Shouldn't something? Have we become like the remnant in Jerusalem? Too comfortable with the status quo. No, I don't want status quo. I want to be confident of the Lord's direction. I want to know His specific calling for these people at this time in this community. Nehemiah 2:1-5 Something happened in those 4 months. Nehemiah goes from mourning to having a vision and a plan to make it happen. He began with sorrow, but now he's involved personally and has a vision. He has a view of a rebuilt Jerusalem and a plan to make it happen. Sometimes we view prayer as a passive activity. I hope this story cures you of that way of thinking. God used that time of prayer to burn a vision into Nehemiah's mind and heart and to show him how the vision would be accomplished. I cannot help but wonder if the reason so many of us struggle to have vision for our lives, ministries, marriages, parenting is due to a lack of persistent prayer. Prayer seems to be where Nehemiah's burden for a rebuilt Jerusalem revealed God's calling and purpose for his life. Has The Lord given you a burden for something that you should be persistently praying about? If not a burden, what things or people in your life deserve this commitment to prayer?