James 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Last week we spoke of the rebuilding of the Temple of God. Just as Haggai, Malachi and Zechariah were contemporaries to Ezra, so was this man named Nehemiah. Except Nehemiah wasn’t a prophet. Nehemiah was Not:
- An architect
- He was not an Engineer
- He was not a carpenter
- a brick mason
- a plumber
- a roofer
- or an electrician.
He was simply the King’s Cupbearer. Nehemiah was just an ordinary guy, on an ordinary day who prayed an effectual fervent prayer to God. Let’s look at that prayer together: READ Nehemiah 1:4-11. Let’s Pray.
The Book of Nehemiah is a book about building. God, in 52 days was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem that lieth in waste, and He was also building relationships as the people of God worked together on the wall, but He was also building His people.
Can I say this morning that I am glad God is still in the building business! I’m glad God’s still putting homes together and lives together. And God’s still building His church, and God’s doing a great work AMEN!!!!
But understand with me, before the walls were rebuilt, before the homes were rebuilt, God got a hold to the heart of a man.
Let me ask you, what is the focus of your prayer life? What is it that God has burdened your heart about? What is it that keeps you up at night? What is at the top of your prayer list? What burdens your heart about the work of God?
Nehemiah had a burden, and he knew where to take it. He took his burden to the LORD. In fact. Verse 4 said he prayed before the God of Heaven. Nehemiah knew where to take his prayer.
If you and I are going to pray effectual, fervent prayers:
WE WILL HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE INTEGRITY OF GOD (V.5)
That;s our God. He is the “Great and Terrible God.” He is the one who “keeps His covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments.”
You see folks, that’s the God we are praying to! We are praying to a God “who is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9).
If we are going to pray and effectual, fervent prayer:
WE WILL HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THE INTEREST OF GOD IN OUR PRAYER (V.6a)
“Let thing ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant . . .”
God, would You hear me? Will You incline Your ear to me? Nehemiah was asking God to lean in. “LORD, will you hear me/”
Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”
God is able to hear and He is able to listen! But folks, we are going to have to start praying, “Father not my will, but Thy will be done!”
If we are going to pray and effectual fervent prayer:
WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT OF TIME AND TEARS (6b).
“When I pray before Thee now day and night for the children of Israel thy servants . . .”
You see, Nehemiah made an investment in prayer. The Bible says he prayed DAY AND NIGHT!
This prayer meant so much to Nehemiah that he lost sleep over this prayer. Now I’m not talking about losing sleep over stress or anxiety, I’m talking having such a burden for something that it keeps you up or gets you up in the wee hours of the morning to pray about. THAT IS AN INVESTMENT – and investment in both time and tears.
Let me ask you husband and wife, when’s the last time you invested time and tears praying for one another? For God to keep the fire burning in your marriage.
Hey mom and dad, when’s the last time you got on your face before the God of heaven and invested some time and tears praying for your children, for God to protect or for God to bring them home if they’ve gone astray? When’s the last time you invested in your kids, and for some of us, for our grandkids?
Church member, when’s the last time you got on your face before God and asked Him to protect our church? And prayed that someone would get the heart right with God? When’s the last time for prayed for your pastor or for one another? When’s the last time you asked God to protect our youth
Kids, and that means anyone with a parent still living, when’s the last time you prayed and asked God to save your parents, or to protect your parents?
When’s the last time we agonized in prayer over our country?
Psalm 42:1-3 says, “As the hart (DEER) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
I’d say that’s somebody praying with a burden.
Finally, if we are going to pray and effectual, fervent prayer:
WE WILL HAVE TO ADMIT OUR INIQUITIES BEFORE GOD (V6c-7)
“and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.”
The latter part of verse 6 and verse 7, Nehemiah begins to confess his sins, the sins of his father and the sins of Israel.
Nehemiah realized why the walls of the city laid in waste, why their homes laid in waste and why the people had become such a reproach to God – it was the result of their sin against God. And he wasn’t looking around pointing his finger at everybody else, he confessed the sin in his own life. Nehemiah GOT REAL WITH GOD. He said “GOD I NEED HELP.
And so, Nehemiah had a burden to not only rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, but to also rebuild the lives of a people that had been broken. And if we want God to repair in our lives what’s been broken, you and I are going to have to get real with God!
Fighting for My Pea Patch 