Pray (Nehemiah Week 1)

Nehemiah   •  Sermon  •  Submitted
0 ratings
· 32 views

Trials and Afflications must be responded with Prayer

Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →
Me
Dad hit by car (Story)
Open Heart surgery (Where is my Dad Story)
How do you typically respond, initially, when you receive a bad report or something difficult happens to you?
Positive
Rally
Work Harder
Persevere
Faithful
Negative
Anger
Fear
Bitterness
Quit
Isolate
Nehemiah (Walk through Book)
A man who had an attitude of Prayerfullness
An attitude by which a constant relationship between God and believers is developed.
The story of Israel’s rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem
Protection and Security
God’s promises are true
Through pain and hardship
God invites all of us to participate in the building of His Kingdom.
Nehemiah 1:4-11
Nehemiah is overcome with grief.
Receives a bad report
Seeks God

When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I said,

“O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.

8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”

In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

Ezra and Nehemiah (One time same book)
Mourning over the same people
Two forms of confession
Who God is (Remember)
Not just a God who longs for personal relationship
He is the One True God
A God who’s words can be trusted. He is Faithful
Dedication is needed to our God (Lacking) and keeps his commands. (Lacking)
His people have not been faithful in there relatoinship
Confession of “Sins” on behalf of his people
Background word for sin is “Failings”
Used three times in other translations
Nehemiah next needs his kings blessing to return back to Jerusalem
He needs to his king to feel compassion and care about something that Nehemiah cares about.
More on this next week
Psalm 137
“By the Rivers of Babylon”
One of the best-selling singles of all time in Britain.
Israel taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.
Being far away from God in the exile of our sins.
Captors mocking the Israelites for the destruction of Jerusalem
Stop accepting Babylonian cultural values
A determination to not simply give in to self pity and hopelessness
Israelites did the most dangerous thing when in captivity
They prayed
They told God what they longed to see
They left it up to God to bring it about
They hung onto His promises
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Obadiah
All contain promises that God will punish Edom
Promises that God would destroy Babylon
Isaiah 13
Mindfulness is key in Psalm 137

Psalm 137

1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept

as we thought of Jerusalem.

2 We put away our harps,

hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.

3 For our captors demanded a song from us.

Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:

“Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”

4 But how can we sing the songs of the LORD

while in a pagan land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget how to play the harp.

6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I fail to remember you,

if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

7 O LORD, remember what the Edomites did

on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.

“Destroy it!” they yelled.

“Level it to the ground!”

8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed.

Happy is the one who pays you back

for what you have done to us.

9 Happy is the one who takes your babies

and smashes them against the rocks!

Some people of Judah had bought into the life and culture that Babylon had to offer.
Those people never returned to Jerusalem.
Remembering is a matter of chance. Mindfulness is a deliberate act.
How do you typically respond, initially, when you receive a bad report or something difficult happens to you?
Here is what I want you to think on...
Have you fell in to the trap of self-pity or a state of hopelessness in your own life?
If so, Why?
Where has God fit into that type of thinking?
Have you told God what you long to see?
Here is what I want to do
Pray for 12 minutes a day this week
NEHEMIAH DISCOVERED GOD’S PLAN THROUGH PRAYER
So did...
Hannah, who prayed for a child
Elijah (Prayed against rain and for rain)
David (Sustained through many trials)
Daniel (Patience in prayer lead to a great reward)
Jesus who perfectly trusted His Father
The early church was founded upon Prayer
Paul who would pray regularly for the churches he founded and visited.
Prayer must become a way of life
Luke 2:37
Prayer creates a desire to be with God
Psalm 130:5-6
Prayer creates an awareness of need that can only be met by God
1 Timothy 5:5
Prayer demonstrates a continuing trust in God
John 15:5-8
Prayer leads to a heart that is right with God
Isaiah 1:15-17
Prayer keeps us alert
Matthew 26:41
Prayer is a weapon when we find ourselves in a difficult or hopeless situation
Luke 18:1-3
Pray like this…just as Nehemiah did
Confess
Thank
Ask
Remember
Sign up for groups
Isolation
Fear
Bitterness
Today here is what we will do at The Gathering.
We will Pray
What do you need to bring before God?
Ask God to Grow us
Ask God for what we long to see
Chairs of people
People saying Yes to Jesus
People declaring that by baptism
We will remember
Communion
Pray and Dismiss
This week let us develop a attitude of Prayerfulness
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more