FOCUS
God is the one who can…
Nehemiah’s prayer focus is praise, confession, claiming God’s promises, and a specific request.
Prayer: fasting
Share with someone what you are fasting from and why.
Prayer: praising
Share characteristics of God that are amazing. Nehemiah used these words
AWESOME
GREAT
FAITHFUL
to describe God. How many can you name? This is called PRAISE.
Prayer: confessing
Why is it hard to confess sin to God?
Why is it hard to confess sin to others?
Prayer: requesting
How many promises of God can you name? See if you can name all 7000
Just kidding
What specific request are you making right now for your church?
What is the biggest request you could make?
What specific request are you personally making right now?
S cripture :
Nehemiah 1:5-11
O bservation :
In verse 5 Nehemiah’s prayer starts with praise. I don’t often do that. Another thought I have is in verses 6-7. Why did Nehemiah confess? Wasn’t he 800 miles away from the problem? What could he do about it? He realized God’s plan wasn’t done so he was as guilty as everyone. Then in verses 8-9, Nehemiah uses God’s own promises to make a request. How many of God’s promises do I know? My last thought is I like how he specifically says “today”.
A pplication :
Vs 5 - Praise God before requesting this week
6-7 - Take time to confess and be specific
8-9 - Search for God’s promises so I can know them
10-11 - Spend time with God asking to be led by his Spirit to a specific opportunity where I can glorify him