Effective Prayer is Prayer

"The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king" (Nehemiah 2:4-5a).

Nehemiah' heart was broken, the temple in Jerusalem was not being rebuilt, the walls of the city had not been repaired even though many returning Jews lived for some time. Apparently the distraught on Nehemiah' face was so apparent the king took notice and ask Nehemiah what is wrong. Let us set the scene and culture, the king was to be feared at all times. The king held in his hands life and death. To displease the king was to have his wrath come upon you. When Artaxerxes the king ask the question, "What is wrong?" fear entered, justifiably, into Nehemiah that by his countenance that should always before the king be happy would bring punishment. What did Nehemiah do? He quickly prayed to God for help. It wasn't some long drawn out begging for help, it was short, immediate, and effective. After praying Nehemiah aswered the king and requested time off from his duties to go and help the Jews in Jerusalem. God answered his prayers, and even more than would be expected. Letters of protection, conscription of materials granted. There was no need for Artaxerxes to do anything, these people by the way, were captives and subjects of his kingdom. Slaves no less, and Nehemiah boldly requested and received more than what one would have expected.

Taking time to read through the Bible you will notice that men and women are all the time praying. It seems that praying took up much of their time. They prayed to praise God, they prayed for protection from enemies, they prayed for everything and God answered their prayers. Think of this most vile king ever to rule Judah. His name Manasseh, and he worshipped idols, blood of the Jews ran in the streets because of him and when captured by the Babylonians and led off to prison with a hook in his nose, he prayed. His pray of repentance was genuine and God answered his prayer and he was granted release. Manasseh kept his promise to God for releasing him and coming to his aid by faithfully until his death serving God.

You might say this, "Those were special events and not the usual." You could say that, but you would be wrong, for God answers prayers for everyone not just special people. James in his book wrote, "You do not have, because you do no ask God" (James 4:3b). You object to this line of thought because you prayed and nothing happened, then read further for James gives the reason, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasurs" (James 4:4).
Prayer is first of all communication with God, that is His desire, for us to come and spend time with Him. It is our heart and motives that God judges not because we are so "good" and have "done so much" for Him that gets His attention. It is our total release of ourselves into Him. He has already proven that He is willing to give to us all we need. Did He not send His Son to die for debts that no one could ever pay? James go on to state, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts i like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything form the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does" (James 1:5-8).

C.S. Lewis puts in this way; "We are bidden to 'put on Christ', to become like God. That is, whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want. Once more, we are embarrassed by the intolerable compliment, by too much love, not too little." (C.S. Lewis; Problem of Pain, Chapter 3).  God is not just our good, He is the only Good and He gives all that He is to us.

When problems come immediately do what Nehemiah did, Pray! When you get up in the morning, Pray! When you are driving somewhere, Pray! Speak with God, He is your father, your Eternal Father, who has given to all who have accepted His Son, Jesus the Messiah as the savior will spend an eternity with Him. Learn now the wonders of just spending time with Him. He has promised to care for us, to be with us, even when we make dumb decisions, when we exercise our 'free will' over His will for our lives. He will never leave you or forsake you, even though it may be dark and there is not light, no end in sight for the resolution of the trial you are going through, Isaiah records, "trust in the LORD, and rely on your God" (Isaiah 50:10).

Look around and praise God for all that we have He has provided. The beauty of a sunset, the magnificient scenic mountain view, snow capped mountains, a quiet harbor, and life itself. Give God the praise, go into prayer and enjoy the God who loves you more than you or I can ever know.

Daily Prayer:

Father, thank you for all that you have given me. May I always be in communication with you. Jesus, you call us friends, and I thank you for redemption and the hope of everlasting life with you. Use me to further your kingdom and to bring to others the "good news," the "good news" of salvation.            Amen