And I said, “O Lord
God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love
with those who love him and keep his commandments,
THE STUDY:
What we are
starting to look at today is considered, by some scholars as, the “prayer of
Repentance” (5-11). This prayer is the
first of twelve instances of prayer recorded in this book. (See 2:4; 4:4, 9;
5:19; 6:9, 14; 9:5ff; 13:14, 22, 29, 31.) The Book of Nehemiah opens and closes
with prayer. It is obvious that Nehemiah was a man of faith who depended wholly
on the Lord to help him accomplish the work He had called him to do.[1]
The first part of this prayer is
Nehemiah’s acknowledgement of God. Nehemiah faced a situation he knew he could
not solve by himself. But he also knew that with God all things are possible (Jer.
32:17). Nehemiah began his prayer by acknowledging that fact: O Lord God of heaven (Neh. 1:4), the great and
awesome God.[2]
This is Nehemiah’s
humble and reverent address to God, in which he prostrates himself before him,
and gives unto him the glory due unto his name. It teaches us to draw near to
God,
1.
With a holy awe of his majesty and glory,
remembering that he is the
God of heaven, infinitely above us, and sovereign Lord over all.
2.
With a holy confidence in his grace and truth,
for he keepeth covenant and mercy for
those that love him, not only the mercy that is promised, but even more
than he promised: nothing shall be thought too much to be done for those that love him and keep his commandments.[3]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that it is one thing to pray but to tap into the power of prayer one needs to start by addressing the one who doesn’t just hear the prayer but can do something about it. Prayer should always be done with a sense of CONFIDENCE and AWE.
APPLICATION:
The
Scottish novelist George MacDonald said, “In whatever man does without God, he
must fail miserably, or succeed more miserably.” Speaking about the church’s
ministry today, the late Alan Redpath said, “There is too much working before
men and too little waiting before God.” Nehemiah succeeded because he depended
on God.[4]
My encouragement today would be to Go
to prayer not as submitting a list but in AWE of who you are addressing and in
CONFIDENCE He will answer those prayers. Nehemiah had this AWE and CONFIDENCE and
so can we today. Blessings
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined.
“Be” Commentary Series (16–17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures (Ne 1:5). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3]
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s
commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ne
1:5–11). Peabody: Hendrickson.
[4]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined.
“Be” Commentary Series (17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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