A prayer that will move the mountain.
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.
Nehemiah 1:5–6
When Nehemiah got the news of the dangerous conditions in the undefended city of Jerusalem, he wanted to do something about the problem. There were many human obstacles in the way of him being given permission to leave his post and rebuild a conquered capital, but Nehemiah knew how those could be overcome. Before he did anything publicly, he devoted time to prayer and fasting. He knew God’s power was the only thing that could accomplish the task. And at the beginning of his prayer, Nehemiah focused on making sure things were right between him and God as He confessed his sins, and those of his nation.
There is enormous power and unlimited resources available to us through prayer, but when our relationship with God is not what it should be, that power is cut off. God told Israel through the prophet Isaiah: “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15). We should keep short accounts with God—promptly confessing sins rather than allowing them to linger. Before we ask God for what we need, we should ensure that our fellowship with Him is clear. We have no reason to expect answered prayers from God if we harbor sin in our hearts.
Source: Dr. Paul Chappell | Lancaster Baptist Church
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