From Nehemiah 1:1-11
Adoration – O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps our covenant of love.
Confession – I confess the sins of those in my community, including myself.
Laying claim to the promises of God – if you are unfaithful, I will scatter, but if you return to me and obey my commandments, I will gather in the chosen dwelling place.
Asking for help in the ministry of God – Give your servant success by granting him favor in the presence of this man.
Notice how central the community of believers is in the prayer, it is the community that is blessed by the covenant of love, it is not only the individual but the community who has gone astray, it is community that will be gathered, enlarged perhaps by our efforts to help our community.
To often we ask God to fix a problem supernaturally, rather than lighting our path as we carry out His ministry. These sort of appeals for miracles are akin to testing God, something Jesus taught we should not do. Is asking God to bring America to her senses rather than asking God to show us how to help build up our community of believers a biblical prayer? I think not.
Adoration – O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps our covenant of love.
Confession – I confess the sins of those in my community, including myself.
Laying claim to the promises of God – if you are unfaithful, I will scatter, but if you return to me and obey my commandments, I will gather in the chosen dwelling place.
Asking for help in the ministry of God – Give your servant success by granting him favor in the presence of this man.
Notice how central the community of believers is in the prayer, it is the community that is blessed by the covenant of love, it is not only the individual but the community who has gone astray, it is community that will be gathered, enlarged perhaps by our efforts to help our community.
To often we ask God to fix a problem supernaturally, rather than lighting our path as we carry out His ministry. These sort of appeals for miracles are akin to testing God, something Jesus taught we should not do. Is asking God to bring America to her senses rather than asking God to show us how to help build up our community of believers a biblical prayer? I think not.