Tusday Prayer 2-11-25

Good evening and welcome to our weekly prayer service.

its always a blessing to pray with the people of God

I want to call us to worship from Psalm 50: 1-6, please join me there in you bibles

Psalm 50:1–6 ESV

1 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. 4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah\

amen

for our hymn tonight, we will sing # 25: All to Jesus i surrender

please let us stand and worship together

talk

I grew in a charismatic/Pentecostal background, really similar to the ideas as what is known as the Assemblies of God, yet the Slavic version of it.

this exposed me to a lot of interesting and different ways of thought when it came to prayer, supplication and so on.

growing up in this communities i personally had a problems arise regarding the christian “worship” artistes my friends would listen to, cause they seemed shallow and lacked depth of human emotion, and theological ferver.

The lord in his grace exposed me to a lot of beautiful theology and music that i have come in time to love and appreciate. but I learned something in that time of development.

Doxology is a reflection of theology: meaning how we worship reflex our understanding and or knowledge of God. I would like to expand the word “worship” beyond and catagory of music, to involve prayer.

meaning. the way someone prays reflects what they know and believe about God.

taking this framework or way of thinking I would like examine the prayer of Nehemiah, in the text from this last Sunday Neh. 4.4-5

Nehemiah 4:4–5 ESV

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

if you were with us this last Sunday morning Pastor Huw examined and engaged this whole chapter. Showing how “God’s work is opposed work”.

yet for tonight's call to prayer i want to look at what and how Nehmiah prayers,

from the first glance it seems like the text gives us the ability to pray fire and brimstone upon anyone and everyone who opposes the work of God

yet before we do that let us look at what did Nehemiah believe about God and the work he was entrusted with which will give us guidance on how we should pray

what his is the prayer?

Nehemiah prayer is structured as a lament

he cry's “Hear, O our God”

but this is more then just a lament, its a call for God to have justice on the enemies of God, which called an imprecatory prayer

here we see what Nehemiah believed in regarding God and Israels relationship with him

Nehemiah calls on God to have justice upon those that despise the work given by God to him

Nehemiah knew the character of God in this situation,

that he was called, and equipped to rebuild the wall of his city

Nehemiah understood that God almighty has tied himself to isreal and to this city

therefore any and all shame brought on them was direct attack on God himself

he sees, and hears the oppositions of the people around not against him, but as opposition against God

“for they have provoked you to anger” as the text says

he says turn there taunts against them

this most ironic part about this prayer, is that these men that are taunting, are acting as if they are free,yet they are under the Persian dynasty as much as Nehemiah is.

Nehemiah say “we are despised” why because we are your people, for they despise you

for God reveled himself to them as Ps. 145.8

Psalm 145:8 ESV

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

have we not revived this same revelation in and through Christ? yes we have.

does this know give us the ability to pray the same way Nehemiah did?

let be reminded of where we came from \

Ephesians 2:1–10 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

would it not be presumptions for us to pray such prayers of against unbelievers when not to long ago we walked and inhabbited the same ways of life, in foolishness and sin, death.

the just wrath of God, which was to be poured out on us, was poured out on the son, Jesus christ.

we are no longer enemies of God, no longer sitting under condemnation, an death

for the Father, in his wisdom, sent the son to earth, to unite to himself by the spirit to his bride, which is the church. so then he could communion with her.

and she becomes his ambassadors to a people that have not experienced this communion

just as isreal was, so are we, are to be ambassadors of the revelation of the father, in the son, by the spirit.

we have been brought to life in jesus

we are called to a workmanship in him, the great commission; make disciples of all nation, people and tribes

instead of praying for the justice of God, for it was displayed for all the world to see in Jesus christ on golgatha, let us pray that he may have mercy on our dead friends, family members and loved one,

that he may bring them to life in jesus,

that they may see the beauty of Christ and have eternal communion with him, for remember we to were once dead.

amen let us pray