PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY 4

 

PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY 4

Nehemiah 1:6 “………..I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!” NLT

One of the most essential parts of successful praying is to be repentant. II Chron. 7:14; I John 1:8-10 Notice how Nehemiah prayed.

He prayed for the sins of his nation. He understood the need to pray for his nation. He was well aware of what was going on around him and why things were the way they were. If there ever was a time in we must be in prayer for our country, it is now. No matter who you may think is to blame for the way things are now, the root cause is sin. We as a nation have wandered far away from God and are now living with the consequences of it. Nothing short of repentant hearts is going to change anything. We will continue to self-destruct. Our nation needs a people who are willing to stand in the gap before God on her behalf. Scriptures tells us to pray for our government leaders. We have no right to complain about how badly they may govern if we aren’t supporting their efforts in prayer. Pray for their souls. Pray that they may govern with wisdom and compassion. Pray that they may govern with integrity. Pray.

But, Nehemiah understood that it was not just the fault of others. He included himself and his family in his prayer. He took personal responsibility for the condition of the land. Romans 3:23 reminds us that all of us have sinned. We all are guilty of contributing to the accumulated sins of our nation. No sin is done in isolation. It affects us and those around us. When we ignore sin and compromise it, it causes great spiritual harm to us, the church, and to our nation.

We need to be praying for our families. We need to beseech God on their behalf. We need to pray for lost loved ones. We need to pray for struggling believers. We need to pray for mature believers to remain strong in faith. No one is beyond the reach of Satan’s attack on their soul. Pray.

We need to pray for our own sins. And yes, we are all guilty. No one can honestly claim spiritual perfection. We all are guilty before God and need to seek His forgiveness. As long as we are in the flesh, we will be in a spiritual war over our souls. We will always face temptations to sin and sometimes yield to them. We need Jesus. We need His forgiveness, righteousness, holiness, and grace. Pray.

“It’s me, it’s me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”