October 6, 2023

The Right Perspective in Prayer

By Skip Heitzig

James 5:16 says, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." In this verse's context, James was speaking about Elijah, who had lifted up a short prayer when he asked God to withhold rain from Israel (see 1 Kings 17). Another prayer that certainly was short was Peter's when he began to sink as he walked to Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. Just three words: "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30).

I hope you realize what that means: prayers don't have to be long to be effective.

Nehemiah stood devastated before King Artaxerxes because he had heard the walls of Jerusalem had fallen. When the king questioned him and offered to help, Nehemiah "prayed to the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 2:4). I can only guess it was quick, something like, "Oh God, give me wisdom now."

His prayer was based on a longer (but still fairly short) one in Nehemiah 1. Note first that he prayed with perspective: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God…" (v. 5). The most important thing about prayer is that you recognize who you are talking to. Sometimes we rush into God's presence and we're overwhelmed, like our problems are so big and our God is so small.

But we're addressing the God of heaven. He sees everything happening on the earth. Nothing escapes Him. He's a great and awesome God, and He has the power to do anything. There's nothing too hard for Him (see Jeremiah 32:17). When you realize that, your problem becomes smaller as your God becomes bigger.

Now, note in Nehemiah 1:5 that his prayer referenced a promise: the land covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He promised that the children of Israel would occupy the area we know today as the state of Israel and that this would be their land forever. I think that when we pray to God, we should quote the promises He made in Scripture, not because He needs to be reminded of what He said, but because we need to be reminded of what He promised.

Nehemiah's prayer also included a confession that he personalized: "We have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned" (v. 6). Nehemiah wasn't part of the original group of people who sinned against God. It was about 170 years earlier when that generation was taken into Babylonian captivity. Nehemiah wasn't even born yet, but he identified himself with those people.

We are quick to point fingers at others, especially in this divided age. But Nehemiah believed he should identify himself as part of the problem so that he might become part of the solution. It's easy to say, "Our country is in such a mess today because of those sinners out there." You and I ought to say, "I added to that sin." Before we walked with Christ, we added to the filth and corruption of this country. So we're just as guilty.

When you pray, you get clarity. You allow God to move and to speak to you. So, just as Nehemiah prayed and received clarity, sized up the situation, and saw himself as part of both the problem and the solution, so should we.

Here's what I want you to know about the book of Nehemiah. It's filled with prayer. It opens with prayer, and it closes with prayer. Twelve times throughout the book, Nehemiah prayed. It was an integral part of his life. I pray we would keep his perspective in our own prayers: that we serve a great and powerful God.

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