Today's reading was Nehemiah, chapters 1 and 2. One feature clearly stands out about Nehemiah, and that is that he was a praying man. He had a relationship with God and he prayed to him often. My Bible says that he was similar to Daniel, in that he prayed three times a day. It was Nehemiah's prayer life that prepared him for more urgent prayer later on.
So often, we only think to pray in times of need. Or during times of a crisis. And while there is no doubt that God does hear every single prayer, I can't help but think that we need to follow the example of Nehemiah. Nehemiah prayed three times a day to God, and as a result, he knew how to talk to God. He was in the habit of already talking to God, that when he needed it the most, the prayers were automatically there. Nehemiah needed to ask his king for a favor, and as he did so, he was also praying to God to grant him the courage to ask the king, and to put it in the kings heart to be kind. God smiled on Nehemiah, and the king granted him his requests without even hesitating.
A regular prayer life with God can help prepare us for our times of need. If we already have a relationship with God, and approach him daily with love in our prayers, those prayers in crisis will come much easier, and come much more naturally.
"And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me." Nehemiah 2:8
No comments:
Post a Comment