Prayers for Our City: July 1, 2019 – America
GOD BLESS AMERICA! AMERICA, BLESS GOD!
Thank You, Lord, for this week to celebrate our wonderful nation that You have blessed and called to be a “city on a hill” nation that would take the Gospel to the world! There’s still much to do to reach that purpose and destiny. Call the Body of Christ to attention during this week and show us individually and corporately what we are to do.
Nehemiah gives us an example of what one person can do. This was his response upon hearing of all that still needed to be done in Jerusalem. “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:4 NIV
This is the first thing that Americans can do for our nation: Pray and fast. Nehemiah’s prayer found in chapter one of his book is an ideal prayer for any nation, city, or individual. Use the following teaching regarding Nehemiah’s prayer model to help you bless America this week. (Complete article can be found here.)
Nehemiah‘s Prayer – A National Model for Prayer
After hearing the alarming report about Jerusalem, Nehemiah prays a most powerful prayer. God loves it when we pray back prayers from His words in the Bible. He also honors it when we claim those promises that He makes in Scripture. Nehemiah starts his four-part prayer based upon the model prayer that Jesus gave in what many call The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Just like this model prayer in Matthew, Nehemiah starts off with adoration, then moves to confession, claiming God’s promises, and lastly makes requests or supplications.
Adoration
“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.” Neh. 1:5
Nehemiah first exalts the name of God. He lifts up His glory and praises Him for His greatness.
Confession
“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.” Nehemiah 1:6
Nehemiah, even though he is not personally responsible still confesses with his mouth his sins and the sins of his nation.
“We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.” Neh. 1:7
He says “we” have acted very wickedly toward God and acknowledged that “we” (the nation) has not obeyed God’s commands.
Claiming God’s Promises
“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 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.'” Neh. 1:8-9
God is faithful to the promises that He makes and will not relent on them but we must first fulfill our obligation to obey His commands before He will fulfill them.
Requests/Supplications
“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 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.” Neh. 1:10-11
Only after Nehemiah exalts God, confesses his and the nation’s sin, and claims God’s promises, does he make his requests known to God. Unless a person, city or nation exalts God, He will not exalt them. And if they exalt God, confess their sin and repent, and claim His promises, only then can they expect to receive an answer to their prayer.
ACTS – A Model for Prayer
I beseech you to pray in this manner as an individual and as a citizen of your city and nation: to seek the face of God, exalt His name, ask for forgiveness, and repent – praying for revival. Draw a circle of chalk around you. Inside this circle is where revival starts. It starts with me and you. The Great Awakening of the 1700s was perhaps the greatest revival in the history of Christianity. It started with one man: George Whitefield. Here is a model prayer for each one of us and as a nation for personal and national revival to begin. It goes by the acronym A.C.T.S.
A – Adoration of God
C – Confession of sin in repentance
T – Thanksgiving to God for His goodness
S – Supplications or prayer requests
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