EVUSA DIRECTIVE #36 AND PRAYER POINTS
SCRIPTURE: .Nehemiah 1:5-11 5 “Then I said
“LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” [the King of Persia]
INTERPRETATION/APPLICATION
This prayer is one of the great studies in intercession for us today as Nehemiah
a. Addressed God recognizing His character
b. Repented–blaming no one else but stood in the gap simply acknowledging wrong
c. Used Scripture reminding God of His own word
d. Requested a specific need
Those points alone guide us as prayer points to help us pray for any broken down walls in areas of our ministries, past fruit and our lives. Dwight L. Moody after studying this passionate prayer of Nehemiah pulled out one other point from this, noting:
“I have no doubt that numbers of Christians are hungering and thirsting for a personal blessing, and have a great desire to get closer to God. If that is the desire of your heart, keep in mind that if there is some obstacle in the way which you can remove, you will not get a blessing until you remove it.
We must cooperate with God. If there is any sin in my heart that I am not willing to give up then I need not pray. You may take a bottle and cork it up tight, and put it under Niagara Falls, and not a drop of that mighty volume of water will get into the bottle. If there is any sin in my heart that I am not willing to give up, I need not expect a blessing.”
OTHER SCRIPTURE: Psalm 66:18, John 14:15, 16, James 4:3, Acts 17:26-27, James 4:8
PRAYER POINTS:
A. Pray through the prayer of Nehemiah asking the Lord to reveal broken walls He would have you bring to His attention in that He would gather specific people close to our hearts to His dwelling place.
B. Pray for favor from secular authorities to assist in building up God’s Church where you are assigned.
C. Pray the Holy Spirit go deep and point out any sin in us that might be a stumbling block to the blessings we are requesting.