Nehemiah s Prayer, Part 1 Teaching Helps

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1 Nehemiah s Prayer, Part 1 Teaching Helps Nehemiah 1:5-7 Scripture: 5 And I said, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Introduction: Discuss the importance of prayer in the Bible. As examples of some of the great prayers of Scripture, have learners look up 1 Samuel 1 (Hannah s prayer for a son), Daniel 9:1-19 (Daniel s prayer of confession), 2 Chronicles 20:5-12 (Jehoshaphat s prayer of deliverance), and Matthew 6:9-13 (the Lord s model prayer). Refer learners to an outlined study of biblical prayers. Say, The importance of prayer, however, didn t end with the canonization of the Bible, the tribulations of the first three centuries of the Christian Church, the Dark Ages, the Protestant Reformation, or even the Great Awakenings. Prayer is not only useful in times of trouble, war, or even tests (at school or elsewhere). Recite the following contemporary prayer: Dear Lord thank you for giving me strength and conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path. And for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and for your many signs along the way. Thank you for the good that I may have done. I am so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her as you watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I am so very tired. But I go now to my rest at peace knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth. I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith. The Book of Eli (2010) Please note: The Book of Eli is rated R and is not suitable for church audiences. There is, however, a U-Tube clip of this scene, which would be suitable for viewing. On July 8, 1741, Jonathan Edwards delivered his most famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, sparking the First Great Awakening in America. Christians fell under great conviction, focusing on a personal need for salvation in Christ, a sense of guilt, and piety rather than ritual and ceremony. The Great Awakening made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and redemption and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality. Many Church 1

2 historians, however, credit the origins of the First Great Awakening to a round-the-clock prayer vigil begun by Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Bishop of the 300-member Moravian Brotherhood, on August 27, Twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted together to spend one hour per day in scheduled prayer. This prayer vigil lasted for over 100 years, and by 1791, less than 65 years after it began, this small Moravian community had sent 300 missionaries around the world and had sparked religious revival in Europe and America. Is prayer powerful? Scripture replies with an emphatic yes. Isaiah 56:7 describes the temple as God s house of prayer. Jesus declared, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (Mark 11:17). Not a house of worship, a house of discipleship, and house of praise, or even a house of proclamation! That is not to say that these are not important, nor that they are not integral parts of Jesus Church. But the Bible describes the assembling of the saints, the House of God, in only one way: a house of prayer. The Bible is full of magnificent prayers in both the Old and New Testaments. While they differ in their content, form, emphasis, and even order, virtually every biblical prayer contains four basic elements: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. These can be expressed in the acronym ACTS. Adoration: Giving praise, honor, worth, and glory to God; expressing our love for Him Confession: Humbling ourselves before God; admitting we missed the mark Thanksgiving: Showing gratitude; acknowledging blessings; thanking God for His faithfulness Supplication: Bringing our requests before God for ourselves and for others This week, and when we resume our study of Nehemiah on September 28, we will examine these four elements of prayer within the context of Nehemiah s prayer recorded in Nehemiah 1:5-11. This week, we will study the first two: adoration and confession. Lesson Truth: As a The Living Road we must understand what a proper prayer looks like. Discussion Points: I. Nehemiah Begins with Adoration (Nehemiah 1:5) A. List ways Nehemiah describes God s glory. 1. He is the Lord God of heaven. 2. He is great. 3. He is awesome. 4. He keeps His covenant. 5. He is steadfast in His love for those who love Him and keep His commandments. 2

3 B. Bro. Kelly made this very personal. He spoke of at least four ways we show adoration. Please list them. 1. Tell God how great He is. 2. Say what God has done in your life that is great. 3. Claim Scripture that tells of His greatness. 4. Admit who you are in comparison with God s greatness. C. Do you adore God? Does He have great worth to you? Remember, God is all powerful; all knowing; all present. He is the one and only sovereign God of the universe(s). He does not NEED your adoration. Yet, though it is difficult to explain why, He DESIRES it. How do you express your adoration for God in your prayer life? Does a lack of prayer express a lack of adoration for God? How do you show adoration for God in your everyday life? (Discussion question. Encourage transparency; help learners avoid Jesus answers. Focus on the last two questions.) II. Nehemiah then Moves into the Covenant Relationship through his Prayer (1:5): A. As stated earlier, there are four elements to prayer. Sometimes they overlap, and one often explains another. This is one of those times. Part of the reason Nehemiah expresses his adoration for God is because of God s faithfulness and love. For that Nehemiah is thankful. He will return to the theme of God s faithfulness again in Nehemiah 1:8-11, and we will look at that in more detail on September 28. For now, let s explore the covenant between God and His people. Bro. Kelly brought out four distinct basics of an ancient Near Eastern covenant between a lord and his people. These four things are also foundational to the covenant between God and His people. Please name them. 1. God always keeps His covenant of love. 2. We are His covenant children. 3. A covenant binds both parties. 4. When a covenant relationship is broken, a penalty must be paid. 3

4 B. These are interesting concepts for looking at the covenant relationship between God and the Children of Israel, but do they apply to us? (Have learners explain how each of the points made in the previous discussion point applies to them personally and corporately) If so, in what way? The New Testament moves Christianity away from the law to grace. Are the covenants of the Old Testament still relevant? As the New Testament Church progressed, the focus shifted from Jews to Greeks. Yet, there is no direct evidence in the Old or New Testaments that God had a covenant relationship with Gentiles? What do you think? Please explain your answer. How, as a church member, do you make a covenant with God and with the other members of the body of believers? Explain why you answered the way you did. (Discussion question invite open questioning. Designed to make learners think deeply and struggle with Old Testament concepts like covenant. ) C. What about The Road? How does remembering how God related to the Israelites through covenant impact the way we relate to Him? Does expressing these thoughts in our prayers help us realize that God is faithful and also has expectations of us? (Designed to help learners come to grips with God s expectations of believers.) III. Nehemiah Makes His Request Because of the Covenant Relationship (1:6). A. In verse 6, Nehemiah moves to the confessional part of his prayer. First, however, he reminds God of His faithfulness. Because God is faithful to His covenant, Nehemiah is in a position to ask God for help. This reminder consists of three things: 1. Let Your (God s) ears be attentive. 2. Please see (examine) my heart. 3. My prayer is consistent with Your will and Word. 4

5 B. The idea of reminding God is one of the true paradoxes of prayer. Does God need to be reminded? Does He sometimes forget His agreements? How does reminding God work? The more basic question people ask is, Is prayer really necessary? What do you think? Does the church make promises to you when you join? The Church should have expectations of its members, but we should also have legitimate expectations of the church. What do these promises look like? Is it OK to remind The Road of the promises she made? (Concepts covered in this discussion point are particularly difficult. Encourage learners to grapple with the nature of prayer who does it benefit, you, God, or both? It also reminds us there is a direct link between individual and corporate behavior and prayer. Just as God s covenant binds both parties, so does Church covenant. Urge learners to speak up; has Hampton Road lived up to her obligations. How should this reminder impact us as a body of believers? This is dangerous conversation especially for the church staff!) C. Listen to Nehemiah s prayer. Be attentive, he says. Listen to the prayer, which I am praying for Your people Israel day and night. What is Nehemiah saying? This prayer, he insists, is not for me, it is for your (God s) people. He seems to be saying, My heart is pure, examine my heart. Wow, what a powerful statement: Examine my heart. Would you, personally, feel comfortable inviting God to examine your motives? (Conviction of motive is the emphasis of this discussion point. Are our motives pure?) D. Where is your heart? Can you voice this prayer? Please explain why or why not? If not, what are you doing to rectify the situation? How do we get to the point we can approach the throne of God so boldly we can ask God to examine our hearts? (This discussion point is designed to personalize the previous discussion point. Encourage transparency. Do not, however, allow some learners to quench the Spirit and inhibit discussion through holy answers or putting down someone else. Try to get people to give specific things that can be done to purify motive like praying for someone you don t like without the motive of making her or him more likeable.) E. Finally, Nehemiah declares that his prayer is consistent with God s will and Word. How can that happen in our lives? What and/or who empowers us to pray in full submission to God s will and Word? Look at Matthew 17:20 and 21:21, Luke 17:6, and John 14: How powerful is prayer when it is consistent with God s will and Word? (Look for specific answers. Point out that our prayers can be consistent with God s will and Word only through the work of the Holy Spirit with careful study of God s Word.) 5

6 F. Do we insist that God be attentive to our prayers, that He examine our hearts to see if our requests are genuine and in accordance with His will? Do we really believe in the power of prayer? If so, why don t we practice it more often, individually and corporately? (Tough question do we really believe in the power of prayer? Don t let people off too easily, but don t brow beat them either. The point of this question is to get people to examine their prayer lives. If we really believed in the power of prayer, we would probably practice it more consistently.) IV. Nehemiah then Tells God Where He and God s People Broke the Covenant (1:6-7) A. While Nehemiah insists his heart is pure in approaching the throne of God, he also admits his sinfulness and the sinfulness of God s people. He makes no excuses, he acknowledges that the people broke the covenant with God and do not deserve His mercy and grace, and then he makes his prayer personal by confessing specific ways that the Judeans broke their covenant with God. Are we, the living pavers who are part of The Living Road willing to get personal? When you pray, do you admit specific sins to God? Do you make excuses? Do you try to bargain? Nehemiah s prayer was effective. How can our prayers be effectual? (Pure motives do not imply a sinless life. Even when one is about to make supplication for others, he or she must confess the sin in his or her life and in the life of the one for whom she or he is praying. Nehemiah s insistence on the purity of his motives is not inconsistent with his confession.) B. Is confession important? Is there a difference between confession and repentance? Can we expect God to answer our prayers without both? What can you do, this week, to set things straight with God? Get personal; confess honestly how you broke your covenant with God, and His heart, and ask forgiveness. He is ready to restore His relationship with you. List three things you can do this week to set things right personally and corporately (be specific): (Take some time to address the difference between confession and repentance confession is admitting sin; repentance is turning away from it. Ask, Are we being honest in our confession if we do not repent of our sins. Say, Prayer is talking to God. We may confess sin for which we have not repented. That does not, however, excuse us from not repenting. After all, we are called to holiness

7 Conclusion: Prayer works. We see many effective prayers in Scripture. The Moravian Brotherhood prayed fervently and consistently, and it reawakened the Christian faith in Europe and America and resulted in missionaries being sent to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all over the world. The question is, do we think prayer is still effective? Three hundred members of the Moravian community changed the world. There are over 300 members of The Road. What if only 24 men and 24 women coveted to pray for one hour per day for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, as long as it took to change our community? What do you think could happen? Are you willing to be part of a movement to bring revival to DeSoto, the DFW metroplex, Texas, America, and western society? God is at work in the world. By some estimates, 100,000 people are coming to Christ every day in China. Professions of faith are booming in India, Africa, South America, and the Middle East. Only in Europe and North America is Christianity languishing. Are your tired of it yet? Would you like it to turn around? Are you willing to help? We do not need to rebuild The Living Road so we can have a big, important church at 400 North Hampton Road in DeSoto again. We need to rebuild The Living Road to take the good news of Jesus Christ to a world desperately in need of a relationship with Him. We need to reach up, so we can reach in, and then reach out (Matthew 28:18-20)! Lesson Truth: What is the one truth we want learners to glean from this lesson? I believe it is that confession is key to prayer. Nehemiah wants to talk to God. Before he can do so, however, he must admit that he is nothing in comparison to God. God is worthy of praise and glory; he (Nehemiah) is a sinner without excuse. His motives may be pure, but his life is not. Emphasize the following truths of the lesson: The elements of prayer may be expressed in a simple acronym: Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication Prayer should always start with adoration it is about God s glory, not mine Prayer is powerful, but the power of prayer rests in submission to God and His word Prayer depends on God s faithfulness, not ours Confession does not involve excuse making it is about making things right with God 7