A Format for Prayer

Nehemiah 1:5-11 KJV

5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

 Nehemiah was greatly troubled for his nation-the nation of Israel. He prayed on behalf of the nation and I believe we can learn much from his prayer.

He began in praise of God. Then he asked God to hear him. He confessed his sins as well as the sins of the nation. Then he restated what he knew about God and stood on those promises. He knew God would not be slack in keeping His promises. The final thing he asked for was for God to be with him as he moved forward in something he felt God calling him to do.

We would be wise to follow this format in our own prayers. He did not make a long prayer filled with eloquent words. He stated facts of who God was (praise) and what He had already promised. He didn't try to sugar-coat the extent of their sins, but confessed openly and truthfully. Finally he finished with another plea for God to stand by him as he went about his work.

Nehemiah's humility really stands out to me here. May I remain humble before my God as well.