Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Praying For Favor From The Lord



Nehemiah 1:11- Prayer to “Grant Me Favor"
This Bible Study was inspired by Dave Early's -21 Most Effective Prayers of The Bible

Nehemiah had a burden and went to the Lord continually in prayer.
Nehemiah needed the favor of the Lord to work through his superior (king)  to receive his blessing.
Nehemiah was a faithful cupbearer to the king.  
The Lord, and only the Lord, would have to work through the king to grant permission to be released to for return to return to his home country to minister to and to protect his home country.


Nehemiah did not pray once and stop.  He repeatedly was in petition to God.
Jesus said “keep on asking and it will shall be given  unto you.’ (Matt 7:7)

Nehemiah  needed a the Lord to work through his boss to grant him favor.

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6  let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. 7  We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘ If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9  but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10  They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”
Now I was the cupbearer to the king.”

God moved the king to grant Nehemiah favor.  

God speaks and moves through prayer, the Holy Spirit, the spoken word and people, even the unsaved.
Can we wait for God to work it through?

Keep asking and listen-
In  2  Samuel 15: 5-14 David listens to an angry peasant man who curses David.
 One day King David, was taunted by a man on the street.  King David was cursed at and had dirt and rocks thrown on him by an old peasant man on a main street of town.  The mighty king was taunted by a commoner.
To the surprise of his security force "The Mighty Men" the king received the bitter message and let the commoner live. 
God even can tell us when we are not in His favor.

Samuel 15: 5-14
"5 When King David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out cursing continually as he came. 6 He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left. 7 Thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, and worthless fellow! 8 The Lord has returned upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”
9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over now and cut off his head.”10 But the king said, “ What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” 11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my son who came out from me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him. 12 Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction and return good to me instead of his cursing this day.” 13 So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him. 14 The king and all the people who were with him arrived weary and he refreshed himself there."


 Keep asking and LISTEN through the Word, the Spirit and people, even the unsaved.  Make sure this balances with the Word of God which is the wisdom of God.
The Lord must grant us favor or it is a futile task you want tin your heart.
The open door might not or might be meant to go through by the Lord..

Psalm 30:5  “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”

Proverbs 8:34-36 (NASB) “4 “ Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. 35 “For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the Lord. 36 “But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”

We might be a Cupbearer like Nehemiah or King like David.
We must seek and have the Lord’s favor for real and lasting success.

The Lord speaks through our life experiences.  Are we listening?
The Lord may speak through our superiors at work, or people off the street.
Keep asking and listen.
Do not expect the answer until you receive know the source.  

Psalm 127:1
Prosperity Comes from the LORD. ] A Song of Ascents, of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

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