Today’s Reading, Nehemiah 1-3
Focal Scripture: Nehemiah 1:5 “I said, Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands,”
How we approach people in conversations really makes a difference. If you go in with a bad attitude or trying to prove a point the conversation usually doesn’t end well. Both parties get defensive and get frustrated. Because let’s be honest people are not going to sit idlily by and be spoken to in demeaning ways. Every person has a breaking point. The proper way to have conversations is to approach with humility and bring up factual information. No agenda and no emotion. It is just a reminder of what was discussed. When you do this one of two things will happen. First, they will acknowledge the truth and resolve to make it right with you and fix the situation. Or they will deny and fight and shift the blame. Either way you have truth on your side and it reveals the heart of the other person.
In today’s reading what we see Nehemiah do is pray to God and remind him of his character and his promises. This prayer is heartfelt and factual. It is not based on opinion or emotion. It is important to note that God doesn’t forget what he promised. What Nehemiah is doing here is praying truth to God. Letting him know that God made a promise and because he is good and just he will uphold that promise. In doing so it reveals the character and heart of God. Nehemiah prays scripture to God because he needs a godly response.
What does this means for us as believers? It means when we pray we need to pray scripture back to God. We need to quote his promises to him and let him know we understand what is to come next. This is not an arrogant act but one that believes God is a promise keeping God. An act that shows we know the scriptures and Gods character. It also keeps opinions and agendas out of our prayer life.
So I challenge you today to pray scripture. If you don’t know where to start go to the book of Psalms and pray those to God. Those scriptures are heartfelt and take you on a journey from frustration to Gods promises. Our prayer life should focus more on what God said he would do than what we want him to do for us personally. It will help our hearts and minds align with with his goodness.
After all, since God is faithful and just when we pray his promises back to him he is pleased to know we know him intimately. Let us pray the scriptures everyday.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Nehemiah 4-6
