Passage of the Day:
The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. 8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name,’ Nehemiah 1:1-9.
Reflection:
Reading this prayer of Nehemiah reminds me of being in the presence of Christians whom I consider prayer warriors. These Christians don’t ask for an arbitrary list of requests but go immediately into praying for solutions. Nehemiah uses his emotions and tears to cry out the Lord for answers and help. Sometimes being proactive in prayer is confessing the sins of your family, city, state or nation. According to Leonard Ravenhill, the first Great Awakening began when a young Christian got up and publicly confessed their sins, moving the Holy Spirit to call others to do the same.
Prayerful Action:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God, Romans 8:26-27.
Retracing Your Steps:
I learned how to pray by attending a Campus Crusade for Christ men’s prayer group in college. We were all mere infant Christians trying to find our way in the realm of prayer. This practice inspired me to want to become better at praying. Although I have made strides over the years, praying is my weakest aspect of my faith. To avoid thoughts racing through my mind, I started journaling all my prayers to keep me on track 20 years ago. I have used various acronyms like PRAY, ACTS and the Lord’s Prayer as outlines to guide me. Yet, as I learned from my friends the Beste’s, proactive prayer involves setting up hedges of protection over Christians to keep them safe from demonic attacks and oppression.
Song of the Day:
Over my forty years as a Christian, there have been many times when I have felt spiritually dead, unable to get myself to prayer. Today’s song serves as a reminder of the need to come alive spiritually so that Christians can begin to become proactive in prayer.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 