When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens. Nehemiah 1:4 CSB

How do you pray? Is it quick? Is it long? Is it the way your granddaddy and nem prayed? Is it the template from Matthew 6:9-15? You know the one that you may have learned as a kid: “Our Father, who is in heaven…”

As I was reading Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2 for the Scriptural Bible Study, I learned that HOW you pray says something about you. Dr. Tony Evans says that you can always tell how seriously people believe that ONLY GOD can make a difference — by how they pray.

Let’s take a quick look at how Nehemiah prayed. First if you’ve read chapters 1 and 2 already, then you know Nehemiah had learned that his homeland and his people were experiencing insecurity with a broken wall, which was a sign of degradation and they had made no progress in reestablishing what God had intended. When Nehemiah heard this, he wept. But notice this: Nehemiah didn’t just cry about it, he prayed and fasted about it. Fasting is when you pull all your focus on God and deny your flesh the pleasures that it craves.

When you know that ONLY GOD can help in a dire situation, you don’t just pray, you PRAY AND FAST. Mark 9:29 says: So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Now here in Mark 9, they were talking about a demon, but we see in Nehemiah that deterioration whether in personal life, family life, or society — can be traced back to sin.

Nehemiah went to God with his concerns via the sacrificial communication method of prayer and fasting. Let’s look specifically at HOW Nehemiah prayed in verses 5-11.

• Nehemiah started off reminding himself of who God is and what God can do. He was setting the tone off the bat. We should not magnify our problem but magnify our God!

• Nehemiah included himself in the Israel’s sin problem. He didn’t come to the Lord acting like he was sinless. Why? Because all of us have sinned, so we should acknowledge it as we come to God.

• Nehemiah put God in remembrance of His word in verse 8. He says: Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the furthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.

• Now what does all that mean? Thank God for the Tony Evans Study notes. It means that no matter what mess you have created, no matter how far you have gone, God is in the gathering business. If you are faithful, he will turn circumstances around. No matter how bad things get, God will honor His word! Hallelujah!!!

• Nehemiah used his position as the king’s cupbearer strategically. Ask the Lord to show you how to use your job situation to make a kingdom difference.

• When the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted, Nehemiah prayed AND answered the king. This shows us that first of all we should be praying first before we respond. Then it also shows that through his prayer and fasting, Nehemiah was able to clearly articulate what he wanted. When you pray and THEN answer, God will give you exactly what you need to say, so that you will have favor. And Nehemiah got favored with a clear passage to Jerusalem by way of letters from the king; he was able to take some timber to rebuild, and the king gave him some officers or a small army.

• Chapter 2:8 says the king granted his requests, for the gracious hand of God was on him.

• 1 Corinthians 10:26 says the earth’s is the Lord’s and all that is in it. Therefore it is a simple matter for God to dispense wealth and resource to Nehemiah (or let’s put our name in here) when doing so will accomplish His divine agenda. God always provides for His will.

How are you praying today? Are you praying for your will to be done or for God’s will to be done? When we pray, fast and put God in remembrance of His word, He will give us clarity on how to move forward in every area of our life. If you’re praying and not seeing any results, read Nehemiah chapter 1 and 2 again and compare what you’re doing to what Nehemiah did. We see that Nehemiah had the hand of God on him. What did he do differently than what you’re doing?

SALVATION PRAYER

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you’re not a believer, but you have a desire to be, all you have to do is openly confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community, stay connected to other believers, and start having daily conversations through prayer with God every single day. Welcome to your new life with Jesus Christ!!!

ASSIGNMENTS

1. What did Holy Spirit say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?

2. How do you pray?

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