Hi “Nehemiah”,
Recently, a devo provided by youversion.com was part of my daily quiet time. As you know, bathing ourselves in the Word is one of the most critical things we can do as Nehemiahs. I heard it once said that when you are not reading and having time alone with God on a consistent basis, it is like the red tachometer on a car. When the tachometer reaches the red, it serves as a warning. The same is true in our daily time with the Lord. When our quiet times become less frequent, it is a warning sign to us as Christians. I wanted to share right from the devo on the idea of, “Teach us to Pray.” As you know, prayer was the first thing that Nehemiah did before he acted on the burden that God gave him. When we pray about certain things, it deepens those burdens.
“Teach us to pray,” one of Jesus’ disciples asked him one day (Luke 11:1). Now–it wasn’t that they were unfamiliar with the concept of sending speech or thoughts up to God in heaven. Their parents had surely taught them prayers in their homes when they were children. Each Sabbath, they would light their candles and pray. Each Passover, they would eat the lamb, hear again the story of God’s miraculous redemption of his people, and thank him for his mighty acts on their behalf.
They were regulars at synagogue worship and knew the temple rituals. But when they saw how much Jesus got out of his prayer time, when they saw how often and how intensely he spoke with his Father, they knew they were missing something important. They wanted their prayer lives to do for them what it obviously did for Jesus.
Why did he draw so much strength from that time? Why was he always so refreshed? How could they tap into that heavenly comfort and energy?
Do you share their longing? Is your prayer life sometimes unfulfilling? forced? scant? confused? nonexistent? The Bible is full of stories and passages that can guide and inspire us to a better prayer life. These little devotions will bring you an encouraging word from the Word for each day of your month. “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)!
We would like to thank Time of Grace for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.timeofgrace.org.
Keep Fishing,
Brandon Starnes
Brad Schelling
Mark Roberts
FPOA Staff
