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| Nehemiah
2.4, 5 (NIV) The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” |
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| There is no way to learn to pray except by praying.* |
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I
used to have a job in which every telephone call was a potential land-mine. Every
time my phone rang, as I placed my hand on the receiver, I would say, “Please
help me, God,” before I answered. I have heard this kind of prayer referred to
as an “arrow prayer.” You “shoot an arrow” to God, silently asking for help in
a critical situation. We don’t always have time to present God with an itemized
list of our needs before we must make an important decision.
Like
soldiers who drill and drill until the maneuver is as natural as breathing,
Nehemiah had been praying and preparing for this meeting with the king, even
though he didn’t know that the king was going to ask him what he wanted and he
certainly wasn’t expecting the king to grant his request. We don’t know the
exact words of his prayer, but like Nehemiah, we should have that arrow ready
to go.
Nehemiah
also sets an example of praying audaciously. Would he have had the nerve to make such a bold
request of the king if he hadn’t already appealed to the higher power? How
daring is your prayer life? Have you practiced praying until it is your
automatic response? Do you approach the throne boldly and dare to ask for
really big favors?
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To the spirit of prayer every place is a praying place.* |
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