“Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret.” Daniel 2:17-18a NLT
One of the blessings of belonging to a Church is the prayer support provided by the church family. Close Christian friends outside your church family are also a blessing with their prayers. Even those we don’t know but have received our requests for prayer from another source are God’s blessings to us in our time of need. Prayer to the Lord God is our only hope when we have an urgent need. What a comfort it is to be supported by prayer with our friends and church family.
Daniel had an urgent need. He had just returned from asking King Nebuchadnezzar for time to reveal the king’s dream. Daniel’s pagan counterparts failed the king by not being able to fulfill his request by telling him his dream. Nebuchadnezzar had ordered the death of all the wise men in his service, including Daniel, for their failure. Upon returning home, Daniel confided in his three best friends what had happened and what would happen if the king’s request was not fully answered. Daniel asked his prayer partners to support him in prayer.
Whatever our need, especially the urgent, may we not neglect to seek others for prayer. It doesn’t need to be a whole congregation; a few close friends will do. Jesus says, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” (Mt.18:20 nlt) Daniel asked his three friends to support him in prayer, they prayed, and the Lord answered their request that night. May we not hold back in asking others God has placed in our lives to support us in prayer.
“Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.” Mark 1:21, 39 NLT
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The Good News of Jesus Christ is about to be told from Jesus Himself, for that is why he came. “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk.1:38, 10:45 nlt) Jesus’ ministry is now in in full operation after His baptism, forty days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, and choosing four fishermen to be His disciples. “Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach.” (Mk.1:21 nlt)
Jesus begins His first of three tours through Galilee. The first stop Jesus made was to visit the local synagogue in Capernaum. It was where the Scriptures were read and studied, and God was worshiped. Jesus took advantage of the custom of having a visiting teacher speak and participate in teaching. As He began to speak, the people were amazed at His teaching compared to the local Rabbis. Jesus taught not as the other Rabbis who referred to and quoted previous Rabbinical teaching, but Jesus taught with authority, His own authority. It was not only His authoritative style, but the content of His teaching that impressed those in attendance. Jesus, the Son of God, certainly knew the Scriptures.
Satan and his demons also knew the Scriptures and who Jesus is as was evident by the demon-possessed man among them. “Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit began shouting, ‘Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” (Mk.1:23-24 nlt) This demon-spirit knew Jesus was God the Son and was terrified at Jesus’ power. Jesus stopped the demon’s ranting immediately and ordered him to come out of the man. He didn’t want His identity known at this time. The demon left the man, and the people were yet in more amazement to what they just witnessed. They reasoned among themselves, ‘what kind of teaching is this, that even the demons obey Him?’ At this point, the news about Jesus spread quickly throughout Galilee.
Jesus’ act of confronting the evil spirit drew much attention which is now going to escalate even further as He is beginning to heal all those who are sick and diseased. Jesus begins by healing Simon’s mother-in-law after the meeting at the synagogue. Jesus and His disciples go to Simon’s and Andrew’s home. Finding Simon’s mother-in-law sick with a high fever, Jesus touched her, healing her. After sunset when the Sabbath was over many people from all over converged on Simon’s and Andrew’s home. “That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch.” (Mk.1:32-33 nlt) Jesus is ministering as He predicted, ‘the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.’
As is often the case today, we call upon Jesus to help us in our time of need. He will not deny our request but will hear us and answer in accordance with His will. How sad it is so many of us only call upon the Lord only in the case of an emergency. He is our Lord and savior when things are bad and when all is well. Jesus came to sacrifice His life to give us the ultimate healing, a soul set free, and eternal life with Him. He desires for us to have constant fellowship with Him throughout our lives here on earth and not wait until we’re with Him in glory.
Jesus valued His time in prayer with His heavenly Father. After a long day of teaching, healing, and casting out demons, Jesus rose early the next morning, probably between 3-4 am going to a secluded place to pray. It was where Jesus, the man, met His spiritual battles. Satan and his demons constantly opposed Jesus all throughout His ministry. It was also where Jesus prepared Himself with conversations with His Father for the day’s work in ministry. If Jesus needed to do this, do we have any excuse for not doing it? We need it a lot more.
While traveling through Galilee preaching in the synagogues Jesus is met by a leper who knelt before Him begging to be healed. ‘“If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,’ he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’” (Mk.1:40b-41 nlt) Leprosy was one of the most dreadful diseases during Jesus’ day. We should take note of the leper’s faith in Jesus that He could heal him. This is a testimony in Jesus’ power to heal such a terrible disease. Jesus then instructed the man to show himself to the priest to be declared clean so he could resume social contact. The priest could not deny the man was healed, and that only God had the power to cure leprosy. Afterward the man went out and told everyone about his healing. Quickly it was impossible for Jesus to continue His ministry in the towns but needed to move out into the nearby fields around the cities. Jesus’ ministry is off to a fast start and will continue at a fast pace, for His time in preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out evil spirits is relatively short, three- and one-half years. We will pick it up next week.
“The LORD helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.” Psalm 145: 14-16 NLT
You may have heard of the theological term ‘common grace’ and wondered of its meaning. Simply put, common grace is God’s blessings bestowed upon every person regardless of whether one is a believer or unbeliever. Blessings in nature of abundant rain or sunshine. Blessings of divine providence in near misses of dangerous storms or potential accidents. Blessings of food sources given to us from our creator, and the advances in modern technology and medical treatment are a blessing given to every individual. It is undeserved grace given to everyone. It is common grace.
David writing in the 145th Psalm of praise includes a thought or two about God’s common grace. God helps those who have fallen. He helps those with heavy burdens. His eye is always on us providing the food we need. If God grants common grace for all in time of need, how much more will He do so for believers. The apostle John wrote, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” (1Jn.5:14-15 nlt)
We should all be in the habit of continually going to God in all things. There will come a time when we have a need, usually when we least expect it. It is in these days of sudden confusion when we feel helpless that most of us look to God. What a blessing it is to have the confidence that He hears and will answer according to His will. And what a blessing it is to know God bestows more than common grace to His children to ask Him. Continue to look to God in your in time of need, and your next time of need when you least expect it.
“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” Daniel 6:10 NLT
There are many verses in Scripture that refer to giving thanks. Jesus Himself set an example in giving thanks to His Father while on earth. The angels expressed thanks to God and to His Son. Thanks are to be given in private and public worship to God and for all things, and especially as a part of our daily prayers.
One of the greatest examples recorded in the Bible of giving thanks in private worship and daily prayer is found in Daniel chapter 6. The very familiar story of Daniel in the lions’ den comprises this 6th chapter of Daniel. Daniel was faced with certain death if he continued praying to God, praising Him and giving thanks. King Darius inadvertently signed an edit that sealed Daniel’s fate. Any person found praying to any divine object or human, except the king would be thrown into the lions’ den. It was Daniel’s daily routine to pray with his windows opened towards Jerusalem three times a day giving thanks to God.
Paul wrote, “pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.” (1Thess.5:17-18a) Daniel is indeed an example of Paul’s words. He prayed continually and although it must have been hard to give thanks for his situation, the Bible said he gave thanks to God. Yes, it is sometimes hard for us to see pass our circumstances thanking God for them. But God does not allow anything to come into our lives He hadn’t ordained to happen. We need to thank Him, for He knows all things and what is best for us.
So let us not be saving up our thanks for Thanksgiving Day, but may we be like Daniel, praying and giving thanks to God daily and in everything.
Jesus tells us in Scripture that His return is certain, He is coming back. He is coming back for His bride, the church. The only drawback is, He doesn’t tell us when that will occur. So, Jesus gives us a warning to “take heed, watch and pray; lest, coming suddenly, he find (us) sleeping.” (Mk.13:33a, 36 nkjv)
Whenever there is an upcoming event in our lives, we get excited, perhaps counting the months, weeks, and days. We have a date we can focus on for any preparation needed to be done beforehand. The excitement builds with anticipation of that coming day. For all intents and purposes, the event usually occurs, but there is always a chance that it doesn’t come off or something goes wrong. Anticipation that had been building suddenly falls flat with our disappointment.
The greatest future event you and I will ever have will be the return of Jesus Christ. It will be an event that will not fall flat. We should be anxiously anticipating His return as we follow Jesus’ words to watch and pray. Jesus gives us an illustration of this in the gospel of Mark, “It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.” (13:34 nkjv) The Lord has given us work to do in His absence which we are to be engaged in. He also commands us to keep watch for His return for we do not know when it will be.
Keeping watch for Jesus’ return is a hard thing to do with our busy lives. Even in our quiet moments we could lose sight of this glorious upcoming event. That is why Jesus tells us to ‘watch and pray.’ Temptations and the activities of the world will dull our senses in the things of God. Jesus had to reprimand His disciples in the garden, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mk.14:38 nkjv)
We must keep our hearts and minds on Christ and His return. Distractions and temptations are part of this world we live in, that is why we must watch and pray with anticipation for Jesus’ return.
“The people responded, ‘In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests.’ The document was ratified and sealed with the following names: The governor: Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah.” Nehemiah 9:38-10:1 NLT
The walls and gates around Jerusalem were completed, the enemies of the Jews have backed off, the city has been repopulated, worship was restored, and the festivals commanded by the Lord were taking place, but there was some unfinished business to take care of. The people were deeply convicted of their sin as we learned last week in chapter 8, but there was no formal acknowledgement and confession. Nehemiah chapter 9 opens with, “On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads.” (Neh.9:1 nlt) Christians at times resemble the Jews here in Nehemiah. We are convicted of sin but continue to go along without dealing with it or we just go through the motions hoping that feeling will go away. It needs to be dealt with, and the people of Israel understood this and the leaders to action in leading them.
The Levites led the reading of God’s Word for three hours followed by three hours of confessing their sins and worshiping God. Confession of sin is an act of worship to a holy God, praising Him, as we confess, for His forgiveness and restoring us as if we have never sinned. Coming before Him with the right attitude, humbling ourselves is a manner of worship. The Jews had fasted beforehand and covered themselves with dust dressing in burlap. They had shown their distress over their sin. We don’t need to go that far today, but that same attitude can and should be expressed through prayer and fasting.
The Jews separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their sins, which was a very hard thing to do. Some of these foreigners were heathen women which God had commanded not to intermingle with. They were now married to them and possibly had children. Sin has a way of complicating our lives in a way we never thought possible. There is an old saying, ‘Sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to be kept, and cost you more than you wanted to spend.’ Once entangled in sin, the only way out is complete confession and repentance to the Lord.
The Levites led a prayer to God on behalf of the people. (Neh.9:5-37) The prayer begins by acknowledging God’s greatness and majesty, a good place for us to start when we pray. They continued with reciting Israel’s history from the Abrahamic covenant to their time in Egypt and the wandering in the wilderness, through the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land, through the judges, the prophets, and up to the present situation. God’s on-going goodness to Israel is noted along with each time throughout history their fathers disobeyed and sinned against God and now the present generation has done the same.
The people were yearning for that same goodness God had shown to their father’s generation by responding, “In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing.” (Neh.9:38a nlt) They were making an appeal for a new covenant agreeing to follow God’s Laws. The leaders, priests, and Levites signed the document, “On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests The document was ratified and sealed with the following names: The governor: Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah.” (Neh.9:38b 10:1 nlt) The godly leaders took the first step and put their names on the document of confession and promised repentance. It is sad, but some of them were also guilty of the same sins, but they led in a godly manner of confession and repentance before the people.
Godly leaders today can fall into sin as we are often reminded. Their true character will come to light even more so in how they respond to their downfall. Is there full confession and repentance or are there excuses and cover-ups that eventually cause them to disappear from the scene? Our pastors and spiritual leaders need our constant daily prayers. Satan does not rest but is continually scheming to bring them down.
The leaders in Jerusalem set an honest godly example for the people who “joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the LORD our Lord.” (Neh.10:29 nlt) They agreed not to intermarry with non-Jewish people. They agreed to keep the Sabbath free from commercial activity, support the Sabbatical year, and to support the needs of the Temple.
The book of Nehemiah is filled with examples of godly leadership, all in which are applicable for our day, but as mentioned above some of them did fall. They led the people into sin by either ignoring the sins they had seen being committed or the people followed their lead. Either way, we need to remember we are all sinners. That is not a reason to excuse the sin or dismiss the sinner, but to pray for confession and repentance. May godly leaders continue to lead the way.
Several of the psalms King David wrote contain some form of prayer. Psalm 27 is one of the prayer psalms. David had many conspirators and enemies plotting against him most of his life. He prayed for God to deliver him from his enemies and was confident the Lord would do so. (Ps.27:1-3) David found sanctuary in the presence of the Lord. He equated God’s presence as being in the house of the Lord. “The one thing I ask of the LORD—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.” (Ps.27:4 nlt) David’s confidence was strengthened in God’s presence for He was David’s stronghold.
David was sure God would protect him concealing him when trouble came and would hide him in His sanctuary. David wrote, “He will place me out of reach on a high rock.” (Ps.27:5b nlt) David was confident God would hide him and place him out of the reach of his enemies. David breaks out in prayer in the rest of psalm praying for deliverance and asking God to lead him on the right path away from his enemies. He acknowledges God would never abandon him and knows he will see God’s goodness as he waits patiently for Him.
David’s psalm should serve as an inspiration for every Christian. We are not aware of who David’s enemies were, but we can conclude they were led by the Satan, the evil one. Christians today have this in common with David, we have the same enemy. We should also have the same confidence David had when we pray that God will protect and hide us by placing us out of Satan’s reach. Even if Satan and his minions see us up on that top shelf in the Lord’s sanctuary, it’s out of their reach. Therefore, be diligent in prayer for Paul tells us, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph.6:12 nlt) Our enemies may be around us, but they are out of reach.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 NLT
Some may take offense to this, but most Christians do not have a consistent prayer life. These same Christians also struggle with being persistent in prayer. If you were not offended by the opening lines to this devotional then you are one of the many who do struggle, as I myself, with being persistent in prayer and praying consistently. There have been countless numbers of books written on prayer over the years. Sermon series, lectures, class studies, small groups, and seminars have all addressed these concerning issues on prayer. Although much progress has been made with lives changed, we still have a problem with consistency and more importantly with being persistent in prayer. Perhaps we spend too much time on intellectual and educational pursuits that we miss the simple points of Jesus’ teaching.
“Consistent” and “persistent” may appear similar in meaning, but are vastly different in action. Being consistent in prayer involves a regular pattern of a set time and routine on a continual basis. Persistent in prayer constitutes a deeper involvement as being determined, steadfast, resolute, and not giving up. Our Lord longs for our persistence in praying. He desires that His desires become our desires, and that we pray accordingly. Through persistence in prayer when asking for His will to be done, God will answer as He only gives us good things. “For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Mt.7:8 nlt)
When Jesus spoke those words to His disciples in Matthew chapter seven, He was emphasizing the importance of persistent praying. ‘Ask,’ ‘seek,’ and ‘knock,’ are in the present tense and are commands of God. They are in ascending order to note their importance. We are never to give up praying the Lord’s will for our lives, but to be persistent. Asking, seeking, and knocking, we are to be persistent in prayer.
“At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm……So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.” Nehemiah 4:6, 13 NLT
The work of rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem is starting to take place here in chapters 3 & 4 in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had completed his prep work. He has the authorization from the king to rebuild, the materials have been provided, Nehemiah had done a walk around the city surveying the damage noting the work that needed to be done, and most importantly, he had the good hand of the Lord upon him.
Chapter 3 details the beginning of the work. Eight gates are noted to be repaired along with their attached sections and specifically who was responsible for the rebuilding of that portion of the wall. This building project include all classes of people; priests, rulers, goldsmiths, the common laity, women, and merchants were motivated to work on rebuilding the wall. No doubt they were motivated by their leader Nehemiah who was organizing the workers in a way that would cover every inch around the city wall. The rebuilding began at the northeast corner of the city moving counterclockwise. Some of the workers were assigned to sections in front of their own homes. I’m sure extra careful effort would be made on that portion of the wall for the protection of their family. Nehemiah was also aware that it would take all the people to be motivated, not just the leaders, to get the job done. Nehemiah’s example of motivation is still used today in many business models in boosting moral in the workplace.
The work was progressing, but now so was the opposition to it. “Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews.” (Neh.4:1 nlt) The first attempt by Nehemiah’s enemies was to humiliate the people and their work. They tried to make them feel subconscious in their efforts, eventually quitting. “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” (Neh.4:2 nlt) Nehemiah didn’t waste any time. He quickly called out to the God of heaven for help. He didn’t insult his mockers or resort to physical means but prayed to God who brought him this far. Dr. John MacArthur notes, “Nehemiah’s dependence of God is never more evident than in his prayer.” Nehemiah is again displaying his godly leadership in recognizing God as the true leader.
The motivation and organizational skills Nehemiah displayed paid off as the wall was erected to half its height “for the people had worked with enthusiasm.” (Neh.4:6b nlt) Sanballat, Tobiah, and the rest of Nehemiah’s enemies now with a new addition, the Ashdodites from the western side of Jerusalem, were about to unveil plan B. Jerusalem was now completely surrounded by those in opposition to the rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. And “They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.” (Neh.4:8 nlt)
Nehemiah was diligent in leading the people in prayer (Neh.4:9) and securing a plan for readiness in case of attack. He placed guards around the city day and night. But discouragement was setting in from overwork and fear of attack. And when the people gazed at the debris to be cleared out, they were beginning to become overwhelmed. “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.” (Neh.4:10 nlt) This is good example for modern-day Christians to observe. There are times when our spiritual walls of protection are destroyed and lie in ruins due to our sin. Among the debris and ruins of the wall is the rubble and broken pillars of sin we have allowed in our life causing our spiritual wall to collapse. It may be a daunting task, but our sin must first be cleaned up and discarded before we start to rebuild those spiritual walls.
The Jews were getting full warnings of a planned attack when they least expect it, but it was imminent. Nehemiah went into action to protect the people and to see to it that the work would continue. He placed guards at the lowest and most vulnerable spots on the wall. When rebuilding our own spiritual walls, we will have low spots that need protection so that we don’t slip back into sin. Be aware and stand guard. Satan does not want your walls built back up. Nehemiah stationed families together behind the wall in open spaces with weapons for protection. Families would be together protecting each other and seeing their portion of the wall rebuilt. We also need family support in rebuilding our spiritual walls, don’t try to do it alone. Nehemiah now exhorts everyone by saying, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” (Neh.4:14b nlt)
The Jews’ enemies realized that God frustrated their plans just as they tried to upend the Jews work on the wall. They gave up on plan B. But Nehemiah did not let up. He took the time to better secure the work area and the protection of the people. Nehemiah cut his workforce in half by installing half of them as guards while the other half continued to build the wall with a weapon close at hand. The leaders were positioned behind the workers and were prepared to lead the response if attacked. A trumpeter was always alongside Nehemiah to sound the alarm for all to hear and help wherever there was trouble. The people willing followed Nehemiah working sunrise to sunset, staying in the city protecting it every night and each other not even taking time to change their clothes. Godly leaders who are organized, motivated, and diligent will accomplish much in whatever they are charged to do and will have the support of those behind them.
How often do you call on the Lord? How often do you pray? Calling on the Lord is the same as praying to the Lord. There is a tendency to consider ‘calling’ on the Lord differently. We may think of ‘calling’ as more of a forceful, desperate cry as compared to a silent prayer and that would be true. But you are still talking to God about your troubles. Prayers with a little more emphasis include more than words from your lips but from your heart.
The Old Testament Psalm 86 was written by King David as a prayer for God’s help when being attacked by his enemies. You can be sure David’s words were not completely silent. Even if they were, his heart and soul would have been bursting for God’s intervention. David pleas for God to hear him, answer him, guard his life, save him, have mercy on him, and bring him joy. He writes, “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” (Ps.86:5 niv) David also knew any sin in his life would be forgiven, that God is good, and loves all who call on Him.
An important first step in prayer is to confess our sins asking for forgiveness. (1Jn.1:9) We praise Him acknowledging who He is and pray for His will to be done for what we are about to ask Him. We can tell the Lord our troubles praying from the depths of our hearts, as David did, being confident His answer is surrounded by His love for us. “Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.” (Ps.86:6-7 niv) So, whether your prayer is loud and forceful or in complete silence, always call on the Lord from your heart.
Word for the Soul 