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Nehemiah 1:1-4
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. If we are bluntly honest we have to admit that several parts of our lives area as Nehemiah would say, “in great trouble and distress.” Most often prayer has been reduced to telling God what we want and how to answer them. The lack of true, heart-generated prayer is one reason so many Christians are weak and ineffective in their daily lives. On the other hand those people who seem to “have it all together” are those Christians who have a rich, dynamic prayer life. Nehemiah gives a couple starting points for such a prayer life.
- A WEEPING OF REPENTANCE! Weeping of repentance was unique to OT history. Only in Scripture was weeping out of sheer sorrow for having offended God. Judges 21 and 2Kings 22 are just two examples. Nehemiah wept because he was broken hearted at the truth Israel had sinned before God, and he wept over the fact that Israel was in exile. Their “trouble, affliction, and distress” were all the result of activities against God’s will resulting in either physical or emotional pain. Said another way, guilt is always the result or consequence of sin. Israel had constantly ignored God’s many warnings for them to repent causing Him to follow through with His punishment. The interesting thing is that because God was reproached and disgraced, so were His people. It was their fault God had a bad “rap” among the lost. So the question is: how distressed, disgraced, or troubled are you over your personal sin before God? How distressed are you over your own personal judgment before God? When those things become serious enough to us to break our hearts, then we will weep over them and we will turn to spiritual revival.
- FASTING AND PRAYER! There are many reasons people fast today. There are many more why they don’t! Fasting meant affliction of soul or the inner person deep in their heart! It was always a serious thing. People often fasted (then) as a sign of great sorrow as here in Nehemiah. We have all experienced times of such great sorrow that eating just isn’t desired. People also fasted when making critical decisions or taking an ominous course of action; such as when Esther wanted to reverse the actions of Haman against the Jews. People fasted before stoning a person to death for blaspheme. ALL the people fasted, mourned over the execution of a person. Jezebel called such a fast for Naboth. Finally, people fasted when they learned of their sin. When Elijah condemned Ahab for Naboth’s death, Ahab mourned in sackcloth and ashes. True fasting had to indicate the people were intent on seeking righteousness; it was always the result of God’s prompting; and it was often in intense, specific prayer for a specific reason. So is it appropriate for Christians today? Absolutely! It is necessary ONLY when God prompts you, then it is a private thing (see Matt. 6:16-18.) True spiritual revival starts in individual hearts with a deep desire to pray from your heart to God’s.
If we can help you with this or any other spiritual matter, call us at (574) 643-9419.
