“4. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted , and prayed before the God of heaven.....6. Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you.....11. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day…”
The book of Nehemiah is about beginning again after the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. In the verses above, Nehemiah voices his concern about the conditions in Jerusalem. The verses above suggest some things that we need to consider when we have to begin again for any reason. In verse 4a, Nehemiah wrote that he wept and mourned because of the conditions in Jerusalem. I think that if we are to renew our lives and commitment to the Lord we need to be concerned, maybe to the point of tears. Too often we just take these low spiritual points in stride and they do not touch our emotions. The things that really matter touch our emotions. The direction of our lives in Christ should certainly do this. In verse 4b, Nehemiah wrote that he “fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” When Nehemiah found out firsthand about the pitiful conditions in Jerusalem, that the walls were torn down and everything was in disarray, he went immediately to God in prayer. We need to pray for ourselves when we know that we are not where we should be in our Christian growth. We also need to pray together as never before that a Holy Spirit revival will sweep our nation. Spiritual walls have fallen, and many lives are in disarray. Now, understand that God knows what is going on, but He still wants us to consult with Him in prayer about the conditions of our country. and our own lives. The need for the prayers of God’s people have never been greater than now. We need to begin again in our own lives, and we need to begin again as a nation. In verse 6, Nehemiah confessed the sins of the people of Israel. In the ensuing verses, he confessed that the people had not kept their covenant with God. In verse 7 he stated: “We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commanded thy servant Moses.” We have a lot to confess. In our country there is a move abroad to remove the Ten Commandments from public places, and I might add public awareness. There is an attempt, and it is working, to mute the Bible’s message in America’s market place. Major denominations cannot determine whether or not sin is still sin. In churches of all denominations there is constant bickering over things that have no eternal value at all. It is all based on egotism and human authority. We need to confess that we are too much like the world. In verse 11, Nehemiah prayed that God might prosper him (give him success) in this attempt to restore Jerusalem. Nehemiah understood, as we must, that success in this matter was not in his power but in the power of God. It is the same with us when we depend on God to give us success. We see a difference in our country, and in our churches, . As Paul wrote to the Ephesians we are “not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12) It is only by prayer and dedication to the Lord that we can make a difference and shine as lights in this dark world. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|