Nehemiah 1:1-11
How do you respond to bad news and deep emotional stress? Do you respond with action? Do you respond with prayer? Nehemiah’s burden led him to tears, fasting, and prayer. He prayed to the “God of heaven,” acknowledging God’s great and awesome character. Prayer is Nehemiah’s first response, his first order of business upon hearing terrible news about Jerusalem. His prayer comes from a place of deep sorrow, and yet it’s a beautiful form of worship. Please don’t gloss over this . . . “Nehemiah’s burden led him to tears, fasting and prayer”. It is believed that he did this for four months. I think we Christians shed a lot of tears, but more often selfish tears, woe-is-me tears. But do we lament? Do we fast? Do we really trust God when going to him in prayer?
For those of you who lived in Genesee County through the 1950s and 1960s, I’m sure you see a lot of parallels between Flint and the city of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day. There was a time when Flint was booming as one of the major players in the automotive industry, and with almost 200,000 residents, the city was prosperous and influential. Just like Jerusalem was in a state of physical disrepair, is there any denying that Flint has experienced a state of major economic decline, blight, and spiritual disrepair? Is there any denying that God is quite far from receiving the glory and worship he deserves from Flint or <insert your city name here>? And as with Nehemiah making his request about Jerusalem, I believe that the only way we can see significant change come to our area is through the work of God. Only God can bring the spiritual awakening that our community needs.
And that begins with us being burdened for God’s glory the same way Nehemiah was burdened for God’s glory. I don’t think we can expect anything to happen until we start wanting it badly enough and until we then let that burden drive us to prayer. We have to start praying boldly and expectantly, and we need to start NOW. As Nehemiah grieved over Jerusalem, we need to grieve over our sin. Let us be a people that when a burden arises, our faith and our prayer, combined with repentance, bring a blessing of God’s sovereign response. May God receive ALL the glory!
I love how we see God and His powerful ways in chapter 1 and the beauty of how he stirred up and sent Nehemiah to get the job done—to renew His people. God loves, oh how He loves His people.
How do you respond to bad news and deep emotional stress? Do you respond with action? Do you respond with prayer? Nehemiah’s burden led him to tears, fasting, and prayer. He prayed to the “God of heaven,” acknowledging God’s great and awesome character. Prayer is Nehemiah’s first response, his first order of business upon hearing terrible news about Jerusalem. His prayer comes from a place of deep sorrow, and yet it’s a beautiful form of worship. Please don’t gloss over this . . . “Nehemiah’s burden led him to tears, fasting and prayer”. It is believed that he did this for four months. I think we Christians shed a lot of tears, but more often selfish tears, woe-is-me tears. But do we lament? Do we fast? Do we really trust God when going to him in prayer?
For those of you who lived in Genesee County through the 1950s and 1960s, I’m sure you see a lot of parallels between Flint and the city of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day. There was a time when Flint was booming as one of the major players in the automotive industry, and with almost 200,000 residents, the city was prosperous and influential. Just like Jerusalem was in a state of physical disrepair, is there any denying that Flint has experienced a state of major economic decline, blight, and spiritual disrepair? Is there any denying that God is quite far from receiving the glory and worship he deserves from Flint or <insert your city name here>? And as with Nehemiah making his request about Jerusalem, I believe that the only way we can see significant change come to our area is through the work of God. Only God can bring the spiritual awakening that our community needs.
And that begins with us being burdened for God’s glory the same way Nehemiah was burdened for God’s glory. I don’t think we can expect anything to happen until we start wanting it badly enough and until we then let that burden drive us to prayer. We have to start praying boldly and expectantly, and we need to start NOW. As Nehemiah grieved over Jerusalem, we need to grieve over our sin. Let us be a people that when a burden arises, our faith and our prayer, combined with repentance, bring a blessing of God’s sovereign response. May God receive ALL the glory!
I love how we see God and His powerful ways in chapter 1 and the beauty of how he stirred up and sent Nehemiah to get the job done—to renew His people. God loves, oh how He loves His people.
Posted in Devotional