Welcome to The Turnaround’s 52 Days of Prayer!
Insight
What do you say when you pray? If you are like most, it’s mostly please. “Oh God, please help him, please heal her, please protect and please provide and please do it all really soon.”
I’m not proposing we limit our “please” because we’re instructed to ask for what we need (Matthew 7:7) and we know that our Father delights in giving gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11), but we need to make sure our communication with God involves more than just requests. Since prayer is simply—and amazingly—talking with God, what we say, even when we ask, should be about Him as well as us. When we talk with God about who He is, it actually focuses our prayers and clarifies what we ask for. When Nehemiah got ready to get busy, he was specific in his appeal to God. “Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king”, but this request came at the end of a long and loaded conversation.
Nehemiah began his petition with a declaration of God’s character. “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…” (Nehemiah 1:5). Nehemiah stated where God is—heaven, how God is—great and awesome, and what God does—keeps His covenant. Acknowledging who God is made him aware of who he was and moved him to repent of where he’d gone wrong. “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself, have committed against you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave” (Nehemiah 1:6-7). God’s assurance of forgiveness and grace gave Nehemiah confidence to then recount God’s promises. “Remember the instruction you gave saying…if you return to me and obey my commands, I will gather and bring you to the place I have chosen” (Nehemiah 1:8-9). He did this, not to jog the memory of the One who never forgets but, instead, to show and strengthen his own faith that God would keep His Word.
Nehemiah declared God’s greatness, admitted his own weakness, and remembered God’s promise and was in a good place to know what he truly needed and to ask for it honestly. Nehemiah’s prayer is a beautiful reminder that we should focus on God.
Turnaround Question
What do you truly desire from the God of heaven? How would pausing to praise who God is, rejoicing in your personal relationship with him, and remembering what he has promised help you to focus your prayer and clarify your need?
Prayer
Dear God,
You alone are worthy. You are my rock and my salvation. You are my sustainer and the fulfiller of my needs. Help me to create the daily discipline of coming before you with praise before anything else. Let the first words out of my mouth be one of honor to you.
Help me to be constantly aware of my great need for you and your unfailing love for me. Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of life, both here and for eternity. I praise you.
In your holy name I pray.
Amen.
