Praying with Proper Perspective - Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - April 6/7
Praying with Proper Perspective
When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:4 nlt)
Have you ever wept over anything? Have you ever wept over the condition of your nation or loved ones who have turned their backs on God? Have you ever wept over your spiritual condition?
When Nehemiah heard about the broken-down walls of Jerusalem, he wept. He also prayed, saying,
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!” (Nehemiah 1:5–6 nlt)
Notice the use of the words I, my, and we in this confession. As we look at the life of Nehemiah in Scripture, we don’t read of any notable sin. Yet he was saying, “I have sinned. I’m responsible.”
The prophet Isaiah wrote about being in God’s presence: “It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. . . . Then I said, ‘It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies’” (Isaiah 6:1, 5 nlt).
Loose paraphrase: “Oh man, I’m a loser! I have to get control of the things I say. God is so great, and I’m so sinful.” Isaiah was sorrowful over his condition. It’s what Nehemiah experienced as well.
It’s easy to point fingers at everyone else and claim they’re the problem. But do we ever stop and consider that the problem could be us?
Copyright © 2018 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
SPECIAL OFFER
In thanks for your gift, you can receive The Case for Miracles, BOOK
Is God still doing miracles today? Is He intervening? Is He still active in the miracle business? Why is God doing miracles? While doing research for his book, The Case for Miracles, Lee Strobel comes across this definition of a miracle: “A miracle is an event brought about by the power of God that is a temporary exception to the ordinary course of nature for the purpose of showing that God is active in history.”
This book is our thank-you gift to you when you donate to Harvest Ministries this month.
