Thursday, August 31, 2017

PRAISE PRECEDES PETITION



Neh. 1:10-11  “We are your servants, the people you rescued by your great power and might.  O Lord, please hear my prayer!  Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you.  Please grant me success now as I go to ask the king for a great favor.  Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” 

     This is a confession of faith.  Nehemiah is affirming the faith of the people of God.  He recognizes what God has done for His people.  He is not taking for granted why they were still around.  It was because God had rescued them by His great power and might and had preserved them as a people.

      Nehemiah then, by faith, asked the Lord to grant him success as he went back to the king to ask him a favor.  He was, by faith, taking a big risk.  He didn’t know if the king would give him an audience, listen to him, or treat him with kindness.  By faith, he was asking God to give him success as he went to the king.

        It is good for us to acknowledge God’s hand on our lives.  We need to profess God’s faithfulness to us.  We need to proclaim His grace and mercies.  We are who we are because God is watching over us and working in our lives to make us holy.

        It is good for us to not be afraid to ask God to help us.  Praise precedes petition.  When we humbly affirm God’s role in our lives, then we can boldly ask the Lord to help us.  When we take the Lord for granted and what He has done for us, it is ingratitude.  God hears the prayers of those who take delight in honoring Him. 

       May the delight of your heart always be to honor the Lord. 

No comments:

Post a Comment