Standing on What God Has Said
Nehemiah 1:8-9; 2 Chronicles 7:14
These two verses could be the single greatest development in your prayer life! I don’t say that lightly, but before we consider them I need to back up and begin with a very basic question that is rarely thought about. And that question is:
Why should God hear my prayer?
Truly! Why should God pay attention to what I’m asking? Why might He give mind to my request or be compelled to take notice and act on what I’m saying? I suppose we just assume that God will hear us because of who God is. And that’s not entirely untrue – this is a God who hears, even our weakest, most simple cries (Ps 18:6) maybe just not the full picture! Consider this also: we are praying to a God who calls us to know, walk with, and understand more and more of who He is (2 Pet 3:18). And a growing relationship with God should not be assumed.
Let me illustrate where I’m going with this. Have you ever played Apples to Apples? The game centers around a descriptive card with an adjective on it (say ‘Beautiful,’ for example). Each player then takes turns choosing a noun from their hand that they feel best matches that adjective, but the winning card is decided upon by one designated player. The nouns are so varied and random it often makes for a lot of laughs, but the key of the game relies on intuition: what card from my hand would compel that one player to choose mine? In other words, the better I know the player and how he or she thinks (she chooses funny answers – or he’s always logical) the better shot I have at winning.
To put it another way, we have to speak that person’s language. Have you ever used that expression with someone – “now you’re speaking my language!”? It’s not that the person suddenly learned English – we say this when someone finally understands or gets us! That’s what I’m getting at with God. We all know how to ask for things and use all the right words – the question is – do we really understand – do we get – God? What stirs his heart? What kind of prayer and pray-er is he inclined to? At what point does God turn to us and say, “now you’re speaking my language!”?
What we are looking at today in Nehemiah 1:8-9 exemplifies that degree of awareness of God. In these two verses Nehemiah demonstrates what we might call intuitive prayerfulness. Nehemiah prayed the way He did because His relationship with God wasn’t surface level. He had learned to speak God’s language, and I don’t mean Hebrew. Notice:
8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’
His main prayer is – “remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses…” and from here he references several specific things God had said he would do. In these verses there are at least 3 different reference points: Leviticus 26:33, 40-45, Deuteronomy 4:25-27, and Deuteronomy 30:1-5. What that tells me is that Nehemiah was so saturated with the things God himself said that it shaped what he prayed about. He wasn’t just praying about his own private concerns – he was praying what God wanted. God, you made a promise – yes, if unfaithful you will scatter us – but if we return to you… then you will gather us back again! Nehemiah was simply reminding God to remember the very things that God said He would remember when His people turned and obeyed! These are things God cares deeply about!
In other words, Nehemiah was speaking God’s language! And what is that? It is God’s own inspired words! It’s prayer that accords with what God has already said and looks to the larger purposes of what He desires to do!
So here’s my encouragement: in this new beginning of our church let’s open our Bibles and let His Words shape our words. For example, “Jesus, it says in Revelation 2:1 that you walk among the lampstands – your church. So walk among us now – examine us and refine us for your glory and our good! You also said that You would build your church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt 16:18) – so remind us of the power of the gospel and help us take bold steps to share it with love and conviction!”
An old practice that many have used to deepen their alignment with God is the Lectio Divina. Consider practicing each of these steps to allow this transformative process to take root in your prayers: Read – Reflect – Respond – Rest. In Lead With Prayer authors Ryan Skoog, Peter Greer, Cameron Doolittle elaborate:
Reading – take the Word as food and put it into your mouth. You listen carefully to Scripture – without hurry or intellectual strain. You wait quietly for the Holy Spirit to bring God’s Word to life.
Reflecting – to meditate is like chewing your food… Gently repeat to yourself a phrase from the Scripture, turning it over and over in your thoughts and feelings to renew your mind (Rom 12:2)
Responding – praying Scripture is like tasting your food. You respond to the Word with feelings, confess your sins or struggles, and ask God for what you or others need.
Resting – to contemplate on God’s Word is to digest its sweetness. You rest quietly in God’s loving arms. No words are necessary at this point and may detract from simply being in God’s loving presence.1
Question To Consider
Have my prayers become vain repetitions focused mainly on my private concerns?
Prayer Prompt
Pray for your heart today- that it would be so inclined to His Word that it begins to shape your heart and your prayers!
