The prayer and passion of Nehemiah
Nehemiah 1:1-11
Introduction-
Well Good Morning, Let me be one the first to say Happy Mother’s Day.
I hope that you have a blessed day and it is a day filled with the goodness of God.
I hope that you have come with an open heart and ready to hear God’s Word.
I think it is a privilege to be behind this pulpit and in your home at this time.
Would you bow your head as we ask the Lord to speak to us.
Prayer-
Father, today will you create a clean heart in us O God. Today Father, as we celebrate Mothers day would you speak to all of us. For those that have Mothers still with us, would you have us call them today and express how much we appreciate them. For those that have lost a Mother, may the memories be an encouragement, may you fill us with the comfort and peace of God.
Today may each one of us be reminded on how much you love us and desire to be in our lives.
Like the prophet Nehemiah, may each of us call out to you so we can experience your compassion and your love. In Jesus Name Amen.
We are going to be looking at the book of Nehemiah in a moment- Nehemiah is in the Old Testament between Ezra and Esther if you want to begin finding it.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are testimonies of God’s grace and renewal.
They both tell a story of restoration.
Ezra a priest and Nehemiah a prophet share hope of starting over.
Anyone need a do over this morning?
In golf it is called a mulligan- it is a do over as if it never happened and you won’t be penalized for it.
I could use that at times- (don’t get too spiritual on me!)
Nehemiah tells each generation a story so that they can benefit hearing what happen.
Knowing the past so you know what to do with the future.
If you don’t know what Jesus did for you, how can you accept and believe what He did for you?
Last week, my wife Becky put out a challenge to our church people and those that listen to us on social media. She challenged us to write down things that the lord has done for us and send them to the church so we can put together a booklet that would be a reminder of His great love for us. (If you haven’t done it yet, please do)
That is called a testimony.
A testimony is writing or speaking what God has done for you and allowing it to be a blessing to others who have gone through or will go through some tough times.
Illustration-
One testimony came in this week from a lady that was involved in my first church when I was a youth pastor over 25 years ago. We see each other about once a year and have remained very good friends even though we cannot see each other as often as we would like.
She tells of a time that happened about a year ago when after church, they decided to go home and not go out for lunch which was normally what they did.
She was at home on the phone with a friend and her husband was in his office. She heard him yell for her and went to see what was wrong and learned very quick that he was in trouble.
His words were slurred, and he was having trouble breathing, being a nurse, she knew what to do… she was on the phone with the prayer chain leader of her church, she asked for prayer and then quickly called 911.
She laid him down, prayed over him and called her other friend which was a person from our church to pray. The person she called is one of our board members and we were in a board meeting and we stopped the meeting and began praying for him.
Ambulance arrived in less than 10 minutes and they soon knew he needed to be life flight to the hospital.
One artery blocked 100 % and the widow maker artery needing a stunt.
24-36 hours later, he is heading home and recovering.
She knew the peace of God through this trial and she knew that God was in control.
Here’s what makes it a testimony
They went home instead of out to eat
She was a nurse who knew what to do and when to do it
She was on the phone with her prayer chain leader
She called a friend who was in a board meeting with other believers to pray
He got the needed treatment and prayer to recover.
This is no coincidence- it was the provisions of God
This morning is about being in a position for God to use you
Being sensitive to the things going on around you.
Knowing what to do
Nehemiah 1:1-11 Read from Bible
Nehemiah in the middle of what is a normal day. He talks to his brother and asked him how are the Jewish remnant survivors of the exile doing? What is the state of the city of Jerusalem?
(3) “They said to me, those who survived the exile are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates have been burned with fire.”
This was not a good report/ many of us have heard such reports- maybe you are there today?
(4) “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.”
Let’s stop there for a minute-
It is okay to cry.
It is okay to mourned and it is okay to lean in on the Lord and people as you go through those times.
You just cannot stay there indefinitely
“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”
Notice here, that he did not just weep.
His brother Hanani comes back with a bad report that the remnant of Jews in exile are in trouble and the great city of Jerusalem is being destroyed and the precious gates of the city are being torn down and burned.
He weeps
He mourns
He fasts
He prays
Everyday and especially in times of doom and gloom, when bad news seems to be the only news, we need to be taking these things to God in prayer.
That TV gets depressing if you watch it too long.
Hearing the problems and not acting on the problems is not doing anyone any good.
All things are possible with God! Do you believe that? If you do, these times of heartache and turmoil is the time we go first to God with prayer and seeking Him to intercede.
There are a whole lot of people worrying and not many people praying during this pandemic.
Could we get on our face before God and be seeking Him for answers?
Nehemiah gives us some tips on what to do in crisis-
He had Passion (He wept) (4)
Nehemiah’s concern over Jerusalem consumed him!
It did not consume him where he went and balled himself up in a corner waiting to see what would happen next.
He had compassion- he wept and He looked to God and believed that God would intervene in some way.
He gave God an opportunity to work because He made himself available for God to use him.
When you take your request before God, you acknowledge God as God!
Passion is one of those words that people often use without understanding.
They use passion as a “Strong emotion or enthusiasm”
Ken Hall relates it to the passion of Christ- he says, “I use it to describe an activity, goal or cause that I care about so much that I am willing to suffer for it. This new standard makes it easier to discern whether something is truly my passion or simply a strong interest.”
There is a difference!
If you want to have the passion of Nehemiah, it has to be more than a strong interest, it has to be that you will pour yourself out to God and be willing to be used.
He Fasted
We don’t hear much of fasting for a change or a difference.
“Praying through” old Nazarenes with handkerchiefs waving - actually staying on our knees until they felt God has spoke to us.
Fasting is not just skipping a meal. It is not a diet,
It is a spiritual act of obedience to God and seeking His face in an area of your life that you want to see Him give you wisdom.
The time that you would have spent eating, you spend in prayer and asking God for his divine presence.
Physical food is given up for spiritual food
Jesus Fasted Mt. 4
Disciples asked to fast Mt. 6
Asked future generations (us) Mt. 9
Fasting is a spiritual discipline and an act of submission to draw closer to God.
The motive is to see God work in you or through you for a particular cause or change.
To prepare for ministry.
To seek God’s wisdom.
To show grief.
To seek deliverance or protection.
To repent.
To gain victory.
To worship God
Jesus said that there are some things that only are accomplished by fasting and praying.
Walls torn down
People getting into the right positions of influence
Because we live in a time of everything quick, we do not want to hear that there are disciplines that must be done before we see the results we want to see.
When is the last time that you have fasted? A meal? A day? So that you would be in a position to hear what God is saying to you? If you cannot fast a meal, when is the last time that you purposely got on your knees and asked God to speak to you? No agenda, just speak to you?
I confess my sins, I intercede for the sins of this country.
I know that I have not obeyed your degrees, laws, like I should.
I have held unto things that are yours.
He prayed
Most of the time prayer and fasting are done together. You are submitting to God and asking Him to intervene and direct you for the things that you are praying for.
Praying doesn’t always bring the results we want, but it will put our hearts and minds into right thinking.
Nehemiah prays a heartfelt and sincere prayer to God-
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servant, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you, we have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.”
We see from Nehemiah’s passion, that he opened himself up for God to use him in a mighty way.
He knew that there were things that only fasting and praying would change.
If we took the time to read more into the next few chapters, we see that all this had to take place so that Nehemiah could be used as the cup bearer to the king to bring the change needed and that Nehemiah himself was the man that God would also use to accomplish it.
How does that work for us today? That is great for them, but what about me today?
There comes a time that we have to be honest with the Lord and call out to him.
Passion for the things that God has passion for- fasting, because we know there are things that only God can do or can change.
We need to be interceding in prayer to see how we fit into the plan that God has.
If you apply them, you will have answers for your own questions-
How to pray when there seems to be no human solution to our problem?
How to face spiritual and personal challenges?
How to plan our work and work our plan for our lives.
How to boost our faith in God when it is failing?
How to face personal attacks and how to react when lies are told about you?
Close- the last phrase in the chapter-“I was cup bearer to the king”
Nehemiah had a heart for God and his people-
He was cup bearer to the King- King Artaxerxes- Everything the king ate or drank was first tested by Nehemiah.
He was in a position to move the Persian King to having the same compassion for Israel that he had.
He put himself in a position with the king to get what was needed to save his people. Yes, it came with a risk, but when you know the Lord is in it, the risk is worth taking.
How many this morning would be willing to be used?
How many would be willing to hear what God is telling you to do and where to put your priorities?
How many are willing to be fasting and praying for God to do something fresh and new in your life or in a life of someone else?
Prayer-
