Real Prayer

Scripture:
"The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire." Nehemiah 1:3

Observation:
Things were bad. Not just bad, they were horrible. Many of God’s chosen people lay dead. Those whose lives were spared were being abused in captivity. The holy city lay in ruins. The walls were torn down and the gates were burning.

Nehemiah could have done a lot of things. His emotions had to range from sadness, to doubt, to anger, to rage. But in the midst of all this, Nehemiah did something amazing. He fasted and fell on his face before God.

Application:
I am no super Christian. Things happen to me and I get ticked off. Frustration and anger can commandeer my emotions in the blink of an eye and I find myself running over in bitterness. I have never had a day exactly like the one facing Nehemiah, but I have had some good ones none the less. I wish that I could say I reacted as Nehemiah, but I can't.

Reality is that prayer is hard for me. Sustained prayer over a single subject lasting for multiple days and that involves me fasting at the same time happens about as often as a politician owns a mistake made. What was it about Nehemiah that helped him endure the hardship and seek after God?

First, he had a relationship with God. Many times it is easy to think that a relationship with God should keep me out of jams, but that is not the case. My relationship with God is designed to get me through the hard times that inevitably come along.

Second, he recognized that weight of sin. Nehemiah did not bargain with God. He called sin what it was and owned it, not just for himself, but for his people.

Third, he acknowledged that his only hope was in God. He did not make demands. He did not claim to have reason for God to listen. He simply pleaded for God to act. He held onto the promises of God and chose to believe in them over the weight of his current circumstances.

Prayer:
I am really weak at praying through things. I am more apt to ask for Your help then do things on my own. I ask for that to change. I want to have a relationship with you that is real enough to carry me to You during hard times and not one that is so full of holes and doubts that I run away from You instead.