Michelle
We begin Nehemiah today and it sounds like we are hearing words from his own mouth. The preface to this book talks about how much he prays and that we should look for these prayers throughout the book. It actually starts off with prayer. He has been guided by God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and prays that the king, Artaxerxes, will allow him to follow his calling. The devotional attached to this chapter speaks about a pattern of prayer. Following Nehemiah's pattern will show that we come to God knowing he hears the prayers of the righteous. First acknowledge who God is (the great and awesome God) and who you are (God's servant), confess your sins (don't gloss over your transgressions but state them in honest repentance) and remind God of his promises (not that he needs reminding but it says Nehemiah reminded God of his promise to his people and interceded on their behalf, asking God to hear his prayer and favor him). There is another devotional for chapter 2 titled Help!. It references parts of verses 2 and 4. "I was very much afraid...Then I prayed to the God of Heaven." The end of the devotional stands out to me. "All through the day we are faced with decisions great and small. Some require extended periods of prayer, such as Nehemiah experienced in chapter 1. Others prompt spontaneous prayers that come as easily and naturally as our very breath...HELP!...God longs to hear your simple, spontaneous prayers. HELP...now!" I found this to be very convicting. I am always worried that I don't pray correctly or long enough or don't explain myself well or that I just don't have the right words to explain, but this gives me a little comfort knowing that the prayers I say to myself in the moment are still heard.
The last line of this psalm stands out to me. Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. The rest of the psalm seems like God is being questioned regarding how people are being treated by other gods or those that follow other gods, but that all people are of God so he is to judge all the earth.
Julie
Your explanation really helped to understand more about this. Even as I read it the first time I did not really see all of that, but you are right, that is very convicting. It is helpful to know that we are being heard even when we don't realize that we are.
No comments:
Post a Comment