Pray When Afraid

Nehemiah 2

v2

Wherefore the king said unto me, Why [is] thy countenance sad, seeing thou [art] not sick? this [is] nothing [else] but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

v4

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

When you're very sore afraid, pray to the Lord, the God of heaven.

Pray Day and Night

Nehemiah 1

v6

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.

(I added the emphasis.)

It's good to pray often, and when we just got up in the morning, and before we go to bed at night. How can we stay awake and pay attention? Here's 1 way.

As soon as it's time to pray, write down 5 names of people you'll pray for. Then, go back and write down 1 simple thing to pray about for each of them. Pray the thing for each person, in order. If you think of something else before you finish, save the thought and don't think about it until you finish the list.

Be Zealous to Repent

Ezra 10

v2

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, [one] of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

People of Israel had sinned. Shechaniah said, "we have trespassed". Sometimes we do things that are wrong... or we don't do something that we know is right. That's sin, and our sin is the worst, most miserable thing there is.

Why did Shechaniah say, "...yet now there is hope..."?

v4

Arise; for [this] matter [belongeth] unto thee: we also [will be] with thee: be of good courage, and do [it].

We can repent.

Don't say, "I've sinned. There's no hope. I'll just have to keep sinning." Duh. Jesus is very merciful and forgiving. We know we can change our minds and turn around to go the right way.

"...be of good courage, and do [it]."

Humble Prayer

Ezra 9

v6

And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over [our] head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

When Ezra prayed, he said that the Lord was righteous, and he confessed their sin. When we pray, we should be humble in front of the Lord.

Seek of Him a Right Way

Ezra 8

v23

So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.

I'm not fasting right now while I'm writing this, but fasting with prayer is a good way to seek the Lord.

When we're in danger, and when we're ashamed, we should pray. We can entreat the Lord.

Let It Be Diligently Done

Ezra 7

v23

Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

We should do whatever God commands, diligently. He is the God of heaven. We should get it done.

We should work like that for His house. God's house is His people, and we should diligently do what He teaches us to do for them. We should prepare for and participate in the meetings when we meet together as His house.

The Lord Made Them Joyful

Ezra 6

v22

And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy:
for the LORD had made them joyful,
and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them,
to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God,
the God of Israel.

The Lord helps us with our work for Him. He can just take a person and make him joyful. Don't we need the Lord to do this for us?

The Lord changes hearts of people in places like the government. The Lord turns people's hearts to us. He makes our hands strong to do the work.

Pray about these things. Praise the Lord.