Nehemiah Prays!
Part 1a: 23min
Part 1b: 24min
Full Message:
Main Passage: [Nehemiah’s Prayer] Nehemiah 1:1–2:8
Nehemiah cried out to God in prayer on behalf of his people for God to restore them in the promised land. As we read the story of Nehemiah, we are reminded that we follow a God who forgives and redeems and who supplies whatever we need to accomplish His purposes. As Christians, we believe God will bring His kingdom and restore our world, and we pray and act with confidence in His promise. – The Gospel Project
Theological Theme:
Prayer is motivated by concern for God – Father, Son and Spirit’s glory and care for His people.
Christ Connection:
Nehemiah believed God would keep His promise to bring His people back home, and this is why he prayed and took action the way he did. As Christians, we believe God will keep His promise to restore the world as a home for His people. Jesus is the One who prays to the Father on our behalf, and He is the only way to salvation. He IS our Salvation!
“As Jesus prays for those the Father has given him, he is fulfilling the will of his Father (John 17). Our prayers, too, are part of the great sweep of God’s plan for his people. God’s sovereignty does not rob history of significance; to the contrary, it is God’s plan that gives human history meaning. We do not know how to pray as we should, in the light of God’s purposes. But for that very reason his Spirit who dwells in us makes intercession according to the will of God (Rom. 8:27).”
Missional Application:
Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, and in participation with him, calls us to embrace the burden of seeking our Father’s glory and caring for God’s people and then to pray and take action as we engage in His mission.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus told the disciples to pray for their needs, after He told them that God knew all their needs before they even asked? This sounds strange unless you understand that in prayer God enlists us as participants in the work He is doing, as a part of the outworking of His sovereign providence in creation. Sam Storms puts it well, “Never be deceived into thinking that God will give you apart from prayer what He has promised to give you only through prayer.” Prayer is the means to accomplish God’s will. God has designed the universe in such a way that He will act and intervene when we ask according to His will. Through prayer, we become an instrument to bring about God’s appointed end. The chief end of God is to display His glory to all of creation. When we pray, we join Him in that mission. For this reason, all prayer should be motivated by a concern for God’s glory and care for His people. – The Gospel Project
Trinity and Humanity 
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