Sermon Tone Analysis

The Need for Prayer:

As we come to these verses today, our theme will be on prayer.

Prayer is defined in the Scriptures as a myriad of actions towards God.

There is requesting, pleading, vowing, confessing, praising.

Because we cannot see God, although He is with his people always, then we communicate with Him through prayer.

Prayer is not formality, prayer is intimacy!

Those whom you love, you spend time talking to.

Prayer is the way in which we can commune with God as we rest in and request from Him.

We spend a lot of time talking about the sovereignty of God which states that God rules and reigns over all of creation and his providence which is the actions of God to carry forth all of creation throughout history, so that his will might be accomplished.

We know that God is all knowing so our requests are not a surprise to infinite knowledge and wisdom of history.

Therefore...

Why is prayer necessary in the Christian life?

I believe that Nehemiah helps us understand the need for prayer in the life of God’s people and he answers for us why we should pray and how prayer might look in our lives.

Before we jump into this text, let’s immediately acknowledge that we were created to pray!

-We should pray because we were created to do so.

-We should pray because Jesus did so

-We should pray because Jesus said so and empowers us to do so

-We should pray because it is works

We should pray because we were created to do so.

If prayer is communion with God by talking to him intimately, then this is the state in which God created man.

Before Adam and Eve sinned, they walked and talked with God.

Although that might look different for us, it does not negate that prayer is the source of intimate communication with God.

Therefore, we were created for it.

Sin ruined it.

Jesus restores it!

Only by the cleansing of Jesus Christ can be truly enter into prayer with the Father.

Outside of Christ, our prayers are empty words to God but because of Him, because of this work of redemption as the Lamb, because of his offering of himself as the priest, we can have confidence to enter the throne room of grace for help in a time of need.

(Heb 4:16)

We should pray because Jesus did so

Before his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for 40 days.

OT practice was to include fasting and prayer together.

(Luke 4)

before he called the 12 disciples (Luke 6).

He prayed all night Before Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 9)

Before the transfiguration (Luke 9)

Luke 11, before He teaches on prayer

Before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion in Luke 22, Jesus agonizes in prayers all night

Upon the cross, Jesus prays to the Father (Luke 23)

Jesus is the model for prayer and gives us a perfect example of the communion that we can have with the Father as we get alone, away from noise and distraction and we pray.

We should pray because Jesus said so and He empowers us to do so

We are commanded to pray as believers in Jesus Christ.

If we have been so transformed by the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross, then our spiritual lives drive us to pray.

We are commanded to pray in these ways:

for our enemies Mt 5:44

with genuineness M 6:44

for gospel laborers M 14:23

for an escape from temptation M 26:42

pray continuously (1 th 5:17)

men should lead in prayer in the church (1 T 2:8)

pray for the sick (Ja 5:13)

pray for other believers (Ja 5:16)

I admit that prayer is a struggle for a mind like mine.

I am distracted in prayer, as I seek to quiet my mind and focus on my prayers.

A noise from afar draws my thoughts away but I seek diligently to press forward.

I know that as I am commanded to pray, regardless of the struggle, prayer is necessary.

RC SPROUL WRITES

Prayer is both a privilege and a duty, and any duty can become laborious.

Prayer, like any means of growth for the Christian, requires work.

In a sense, prayer is unnatural to us.

Though we were created for fellowship and communion with God, the effects of the fall have left most of us lazy and indifferent toward something as important as prayer.

Rebirth p 3 quickens a new desire for communion with God, but sin resists the Spirit.

We can take comfort from the fact that God knows our hearts and hears our unspoken petitions as well as the words that emanate from our lips.

Whenever we are unable to express the deep feelings and emotions of our souls or when we are completely unclear about what we ought to be praying, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.

Romans 8:26-27

We should pray because it works!

James 5:13-17

James makes some powerful statements about the efficacy of prayer.

It is not wasted words to God.

It is not busy work that God gives us to keep our minds occupied on him.

Prayer actually is effective as James states.

We don’t always see the effect of our prayer immediately or at all, but we cannot lose hope that prayers to God are words spoken infused by hearts of desperation and trust in him.

The Posture for Prayer

The Next question we might ask is simply, how should we pray?

Let’s look at the posture of prayer to begin

Nehemiah has discovered a sad truth that the people who have returned to Jersualem are defenseless.

His heart is burdened and saddened by this news that had been brought to him by his brother from afar.

Susa, was the capital city of Persia and it was farther away from Jerusalem than Babylon.

Nehemiah was a great distance, some 800 miles away from the problem.

He could not rush to help and get there is a short time.

As the cupbearer to the king, Nehemiah had the trust of the king of Persia.

He could have asked for whatever he wanted and probably received it from this earthly leader.

Chapter 2 shows us that upon seeing the sadness of Nehemiah over the state of Jerusalem, the King, Artaxerxes gives his trusted cupbearer the resources and freedom to return and rebuild.

Upon hearing the Nehemiah does not ask immediately from earthly kings because Nehemiah understands the need for prayer to His sovereign God in this dire moment.

Instead of pleading with earthly kings, Nehemiah enters into an extensive time of pleading to the true source of power who can truly effect change back in Jerusalem among the Jews.

We need prayer because as we pray, we initially are acknowledging our helpless estate without the power of our Creator.

neh 1:4 “4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

Nehemiah was overwhelmed by the news and his initial posture upon hearing such grave news was to humble himself in the posture of mourning , weeping, fasting and praying for days.

This is the first lesson of the posture of prayer is humility.

He doesn’t bow out his chest in confidence in his strengths.

He doesn’t grab his pass to get an ear of the Artaxerxes, King of Persia.

He humbles himself in preparation for the time He will plead before his true source of help!

In moments of crisis, suffering, despair, what is your initial response as a follower of Jesus Christ?

Is your first reaction towards the direction of man’s strength or the Lord’s?

Our reaction to a crisis defines what we believe and to whom our belief truly rests in.

ps 88:1

The Psalmist declares from the outset that prayers are a cry to the Lord day and night.

Nehemiah also confesses that his prayers go up to the Lord day and night( v.6).

Therefore are prayers begin when we humble ourselves and acknowledge our total helplessness.

Then our humility turns to faith.

The second posture is a prayer of faith.