I like to stay informed of what’s going on in the world, but the main outlets to learn this information have a way of explaining things in such inflammatory ways that it’s hard to read the news without becoming upset. And that sucks me into a nosedive of frustration and despair that is difficult to recover from. Hours later I’m still trying to refocus my attention. Let me know if any of you have discovered the secret of staying informed without wanting to break something.
Wouldn’t it be great if your first reaction to the news was to pray? I’m not talking about a quick effortless prayer, but the kind of prayer that takes you out of your routine and puts you in a posture of submission before and dependence upon the King of kings and Lord of lords. That’s the example we have in our passage this morning.
Last week, we were introduced to Nehemiah. The first trait about him the text reveals his concern for the people of God. He shows compassion for them by inquiring about their well being. He wanted to know how the people were doing and how the city was holding up. Although he was in a position that was unaffected by the return from exile, his concern was with the people who did return and those who had remained. The Lord had placed his spiritual and ethnic brothers and sisters upon his mind and heart.
Fallen humanity is quite easily driven into fearful self-preservation. News outlets and social media have made their fortunes by stoking these baser reactions. Instead of trusting God, they despise him for putting them in their predicament.
Believers should have a different response.
Distressing news ought to provoke heartfelt prayer that is personal, inspired, and confident.
Read https://ref.ly/logosref/BibleESV.Ne1.1-11 (Nehemiah 1:1-11).
I. Pray With Devotion (4) Nehemiah has just heard the report about the distressing situation in Jerusalem (v.3). The moment he heard the news, he responded with heartfelt prayer. His response did not simply take him out of his routine for a couple of minutes or even a few hours. His routine was wrecked for several days, which led to months of prayer and fasting!
We will find Nehemiah to be a man of superior administrative abilities. He is the kind of person who attacks his work and doesn’t like to let up. He is not an indecisive leader. But before he attempts anything, he cries out to the Lord.
Nehemiah’s emotional commitment, the depth of his insight, and his patient devotion to prayer builds the foundation for all of the short prayers throughout the book. Which, depending upon how you divide the passages, is anywhere between 9-12 separate prayers.
The devastating news of the state of the city and remnant in Jerusalem left Nehemiah mourning for days which was followed by months of fasting and praying. We know it was about 4-5 months because he began in November/December (“Chislev” 1:1) and continued until March/April (“Nisan” 2:1).
Unfortunately, fasting is so misunderstood today that few Christians practice it properly or with any regularity. Some use it like a lucky charm to try to win God’s favor. But the vast majority of Christians avoid it altogether. Why is that? My guess is that they simply don’t understand it.
I remember asking one of my pastors while we were in seminary if Presbyterians believed in fasting. I genuinely wanted to know because, in the three years I had been attending churches in the PCA, I had never heard about it. Fasting should not be so uncommon that you can’t remember the last time you thought to fast.
Fasting is abstaining from food for various lengths of time and for a particular purpose. It is oftentimes associated with mourning, but it could also relate to a specific burden that is heavy on your heart. You generally do them personally, but there are examples of corporate fasts in Scripture (https://ref.ly/logosref/BibleESV.Ezr8.21-23 (Ezra...
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