How To Turn Your Problems Into Possibilities

Now, I’m not saying we ought not to love people as individuals—whoever they are, wherever they are, whatever their philosophy, whatever their creed, whatever their race, whatever their color—they are to be loved, for Jesus Christ loves them. I don’t care who they are. But, we are not to tolerate godless philosophies that are taking our country apart a stone at a time. The walls have fallen; and it is time that we open our eyes, and that we saw. And, the thing that motivated and moved Nehemiah so long ago was that he was able to visualize. He saw the situation as it was.

II. Agonize

Now, the second step: If you would change problems into possibilities, not only must you visualize; but, secondly, you must agonize. Continue to look here, in the Scripture. We left with verse 3, so let’s begin in verse 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” (Nehemiah 1:4).

A. A Prayer of Contrition

What kind of a prayer was this? It was a prayer of contrition. It was a prayer where Nehemiah wept salty tears over the condition, as it was. Do you know what’s wrong with our society? Society has forgotten how to blush, and the church has forgotten how to weep. No longer do we weep.

When was the last time you spent a night in prayer? When was the last time you fasted and prayed? When was the last time you shed a tear over some soul that was mortgaged to the devil? Oh, my dear friend, we pray without crying; we give without sacrifice; we live without fasting. Is it any wonder that we sow without reaping? Weeping, fasting, praying, seeking the face of God, has become a lost art. But, there is no way that America will come back to God, until God’s people begin to pray a prayer of contrition—a prayer of brokenness. One preacher preached a sermon entitled, “A Dry-Eyed Church in a Hell-Bent World.”

B. A Prayer of Confession

But, not only was Nehemiah’s prayer a prayer of contrition; it was a prayer of confession. I want you to look, as he prays. He says here in verse 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” (Nehemiah 1:6).

Now, I want you to notice the confession in this prayer. It was national and personal. He said, “Israel has sinned, and I have sinned.” And, I tell you, ladies and gentlemen, we must pray for our city. We must pray for our state, for our nation. And, we must nationally repent. But, that is no good unless we individually repent.

Have you repented? Don’t you sit here and weep, and mourn, and bow your head, and mourn over the condition, unless you’re willing to repent, because, if you don’t repent, you’ll never be a part of the solution—you’re a part of the problem. And, it’s not enough just to weep salty crocodile tears.