Nehemiah's Prayer Life – part 1
Guys,
I'm studying Nehemiah's prayers as I mentioned. I thought I'd just summarize what I've learned from all of Nehemiah's prayers and pass on a few key ideas. Not. I feel like a preacher with five minutes left in the service and I'm still on the first point of the sermon (I think that happened to Mac a time or two). I'm still stuck in, still learning from the first mention of prayer in the book of Nehemiah.
Chapter 1, verse 4 speaks volumes. "Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." I've already talked about fasting some and it is still a mystery to me why we do not discuss it more in church. Nehemiah just got some bad news. That puts in mildly. It was horrible news about blessed
Thankfully it's been a while, but just over two years ago I was hit with that sort of a life shaking situation. One Sunday afternoon I found my wife lying on the floor of our closet having a seizure. I had never seen anyone have a seizure and did not remember anything about Lois ever having one. I had no idea what to do besides call 911. The paramedics, fire department and police arrived quickly to assess the situation and give aid. Many of the questions they asked me stung and hurt. Is this normal, has this happened before, any history of drug use, any alcohol involved, was there any kind of physical altercation? No, no, no, no, no. I answered all the questions immediately yet the look in their eyes told me they didn't believe me. The hospital visit was short. They ran test after test, they found nothing major but we would need more tests from a specialist in the coming days. They put Lois on some medicine that made her very sleepy and sent us home. They said she could not drive for six months. What?! How in the world is this… ? How can this be? Three little kids in school, the oldest can't drive yet. My life was shaking at the very core. My wife worked downtown at church part time and cleaned 5 houses each week and was very involved in PTA at the elementary school… how was this going to work? The first two days were unbelievable in many ways. I was numb from terror. I was strengthened only by the love, prayers & support of family and friends- food, hugs, prayer, everything. One sweet neighbor called and said- Don't even ask and don't say no. I'll take the kids to and from school every day as long as you need, you have enough other things to deal with. That is love. When Lois woke up that Sunday evening things did not look good. Her speech was slurred; she was very dizzy and could hardly walk. She slept the better part of 4 days. She couldn't remember anything from morning until evening. On Friday she realized what day it was and asked me if the kids had gone to school all week. She didn't remember anything about the week. I didn't know if those were side effects of the seizure or of the medicine….was it temporary or permanent. There was LOTS of sitting down and weeping and mourning for days. My brothers and I have always been close but I tell you they called me everyday, every single day for what seemed like weeks. They prayed for me and with me, they lent me their strength when I had none. There is nothing like that in all the world. I was scared. My mom died when I was 8, leaving my dad with three kids. I was terrified of what our life might be like in the future months.
If the first part of that verse talks about the normal, human response to woe, the second verse talks about the spiritual response. I didn't do any fasting, but I did a whole lot of praying- alone and with dear friends over the phone and in person. I could not see through this problem. I knew beyond any doubt that my God was in control. I knew He would guide and I knew He loved me and Lois and our children. But I did not know everything was "going to be all right" in the normal sense of the words. God is good and just and loving and kind but this decaying, sinful world is a far cry from
Within the first week of Lois' seizure the doctor changed the medication and all of the very scary symptoms disappeared slowly. She was still tired in the afternoons, got a little dizzy sometimes and was always cold but things did get better and leveled off. After two years her medicine was changed again and now there are hardly any side effects. To say "See, God is so good, see how He answers our prayers and gave us what we asked for" is shallow. God is good all the time, not just when things work out the way you want. God is good, loving and kind all the time for eternity. Period. My little, puny life does not necessitate anything from God. God is God and He is who He is without any input from me. God is good whether Lois died that day or not, whether Lois had horrible, debilitating side effects, if we had to sell our house to accommodate her and lose the life we enjoyed or whether God above was merciful and gracious and restored my beautiful wife to me. God is good regardless of what I think. He is good regardless of what happens to me. He is good, His name be praised.
Hopefully you have not been through a life shaking experience like that, most of us have. Hopefully you have not lost someone very dear to you, most of us have been there as well. I pray that if you had the type of experience that totally changed you life in a totally unforeseen or tragic way, I pray that you have grown immensely in the Lord. I pray that you have grown in your faith to the same degree, the same magnitude as your sorrow and loss. There is no way to know what lies ahead of us each day, so we must "bring it to the Lord in prayer." My dad grew up in the 1920s and there was a phrase he used as a child that I find interesting. He used to say "Pray the Lord" when things went awry. If a friend was troubled he'd say "Pray the Lord." I don't know whether he used the phrase like "Pray the Lord fixes this situation" or "Pray the Lord takes the problem away" or "Pray the Lord shows you the answer" or "Pray the Lord provides for our needs". Perhaps it was shortened from "Pray to the Lord". Or maybe it was like saying "Ask the Lord". All of those work for me. My aunt says he used the phrase a lot. Life was hard for my dad's family back then.
Whatever is troubling you, my brother, pray the Lord. He is on His throne and He will answer.
Pray the Lord and be strengthened,
Philip Buford
Thanks for today's blog posting to - Philip Buford
Thanks,
Gary
gkendall@KendallSystems.com
www.KendallSystems.com
972-488-0009
"While it is hard to motivate someone with no Vision, it is almost
impossible to stop someone with a Vision." - gary kendall
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