Nehemiah s Prayer, Part 2 Teaching Helps Nehemiah 1:8-11 Introduction: This lesson concludes the study of Nehemiah s prayer, which started with Bro. Kelly s sermon on September 7. After a brief review of the first lesson, we will launch into the second half of Nehemiah s prayer. I have shortened and simplified the discussion guide to be more manageable in a 70 minute Sunday School period. Most discussion questions are subjective and open-ended. This allows learners to express their views openly, but stay on track. Keep the atmosphere of the class open and inviting to differing points of view. Still, do not accept all views as valid. We are searching for the truth as presented in God s Word and as applied to our lives. Do not allow this to become a gripe or gossip session. It is not an excuse for airing past hurts or differences. The aim of the study is to discover a way forward together. We seek to repair The Living Road, not to rehash the things that caused it to get in a state of disrepair. Scripture: 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there. 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cupbearer to the king. Take a few minutes to review Nehemiah s Prayer, Part 1, Nehemiah 1:5-7. In his sermon on September 7, Bro. Kelly pointed out four important elements of Nehemiah s prayer: He began with adoration (vs 1:5), He then moved into the covenant relationship with God through his prayer (vs 1:5), He made his request of God because of that covenant relationship (vs 1:6), and He admitted to God that he and his people had broken the covenant (vs 1:6-7) Recall the impact of the prayers of the Moravian Brotherhood on the First Great Awakening, an impact which helped spark the modern missionary movement. Quickly review the great prayers of Scripture that were mentioned last session: 1
1 Samuel 1 (Hannah s prayer for a son), Daniel 9:1-19 (Daniel s prayer of confession), 2 Chronicles 20:5-12 (Jehoshaphat s prayer of deliverance), and Matthew 6:9-13 (the Lord s model prayer). Remember the final prayer of the movie The Book of Eli, a modern Hollywood Movie. Last session we spoke of the first two elements of prayer using the acronym ACTS: Adoration: Giving praise, honor, worth, and glory to God; expressing our love for Him Confession: Humbling ourselves before God; admitting we missed the mark Thanksgiving: Showing gratitude; recognizing blessings; thanking God for His faithfulness Supplication: Bringing our requests before God for ourselves and for others This week we will continue our study of Nehemiah s prayer, examining the final two elements: thanksgiving and supplication. Both of these, however, are closely associated with confession in Nehemiah s prayer. W already dealt with the basic questions of prayer, so we will confine our discussion this week to the second half of Nehemiah s prayer and how it applies to The Living Road. Lesson Truth: As The Living Road we must understand what a proper prayer looks like. Discussion Points: V. Nehemiah Admits Israel s Punishment is by the Lord (Nehemiah 1:8-9) A. As we ended the first half of Nehemiah s prayer, Nehemiah was trying to make things right with God. He admitted the sins of the Israelites, as well as his own sins. He did not dodge responsibility, point fingers, blame others, or make excuses. Now, as we transition to the second half of the prayer, Nehemiah even concedes that the people knew the consequences of sinning against God. Nehemiah does this in four simple, yet profound, steps. Can you name them? 1. He returns to the Word of God 2. He confesses God is just and the people deserve His judgment 3. He confesses God still showed mercy throughout His judgment 4. He confesses the people are where they are because of what they did B. What do each of these look like in our lives? How can each of us, individually and corporately, follow Nehemiah s example as we approach God, asking His forgiveness for the sins of his people at 400 North Hampton Road in the year 2014? 2
(Encourage learners to think of specific ways we can accomplish each of these thing in our own situation. Try to get your people to focus and go beyond surface answers. For instance, on #1, get them to delve deeper than just read the Bible. How can we get back into God s Word? Do we need to spend time meditating on God s Word to see if we are really in His will? How do we find guidance for specific situations in the Bible?) 1. 2. 3. 4. C. Is it necessary to admit our guilt, and God s hand of judgment on us, in order for healing and rebuilding to take place? Why or why not? Please explain your answer. VI. Nehemiah Accepts What He and His People Must Do (Nehemiah 1:9): A. It is not enough just to admit wrongdoing, apathy, inattentiveness, unwillingness to follow God s plan, or whatever comes between us and God. It is necessary to repent of those things and accept what God wants us to do. One of the questions in the study of the first half of Nehemiah s prayer was: What is the difference between confession and repentance? Nehemiah insists there are four things the Israelites must do to turn from what has separated them from God and restore their relationship with Him. Please name them. 1. You must return to Me 2. You must keep my commandments 3. Then I (God) will return the outcasts 4. I (God) will bring them back to the place where I chose to make My name known (Encourage learners to think outside the box. What must we do, intentionally, to accomplish what God would have us do here at The Road in the next two or three years? What commandments must we keep? In Nehemiah s time, the outcasts were those who had been expelled from Judea by the Babylonians. Obviously, no one has been cast out of Hampton Road Baptist Church or DeSoto. Who are the people God wants us to bring back? Are they just the ones who left our fellowship, or are they people in our community we have not yet met? Why does God want to make His name known here? Why would you drive back to Hampton Road Baptist if you left? What would attract you if you had never been here before?) 3
B. How do each of these four points apply to The Road? Be specific. 1. 2. 3. 4. C. In the case of The Road, it is not a matter of our people being cast out of the land. Many members left over the past several years and affiliated themselves with other churches. Others moved out of the area for various reasons. How should we interact with former members who became active in other congregations? D. Some of those who left The Road did so because of hurts or dissatisfaction. Some of them did not become active in another congregation. What, if anything, should we do to bring these inactive members back? Please explain why you answered as you did. VII. Nehemiah Acknowledges Only God Can Accomplish this Task (Nehemiah 1:10-11): Wow! This is both a scary and an exciting thought! God has expectations of us that only He can accomplish. Think on that for a few minutes. How can this be? If we are unable to do something, how can God hold us accountable for not doing it? Yet, He does. Why? Because He provides the strength and the resources to get it done. It is our responsibility to rely on Him. God ordained that Hs will would be done by humans. At the same time, however, He gives us the free will to either do what He tells us to do (and gives us the strength to do) or not do it. That is our choice. He has expectations of us, but He sent His own Son and His Holy Spirit to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves. A. In verses 10-11, Nehemiah again reminds God things of which He is already aware: 1. God, these people belong to You 2. It is You who works through me 3. I fear and respect You; only You can give me the ability to succeed 4. Only You can prepare the king s heart and grant me mercy before his throne 4
B. Why does Nehemiah say that only God can accomplish these things? C. If that is the case, what part, if any, do we play in rebuilding The Road? Do we have any responsibility other than waiting and watching as God solves our problems? D. Realization that God is in control is the origin of thankfulness. It can also be the basis of apathy and inaction. What is our responsibility? Why did you answer this way? E. Why does God choose to work through weak and fallible humans if He, and He alone, is able to accomplish the task? How would you do it if you were God? VIII. Conclusion: Nehemiah s Request/Supplication (Nehemiah 1:11): A. What does Nehemiah ask for? 1. Success 2. Mercy before the king B. Why are these two things important today? C. Who/what should our requests be for? 5
D. What is the purpose of a prayer of supplication? E. Take time for prayer. Last Sunday, Bro. Kelly concluded the service by asking for a time of prayer for The Living Road. As you look over your discussion guide throughout the week, and as we discuss it during Sunday School, allow a of time for prayer. Remember that the purpose of supplication is to glorify God. Make this more than a parts list a prayer for people s ailments. Lift up a prayer for the successful rebuilding of The Living Road. Martin Luther once said, Tomorrow I plan to work, work from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer. What a testimony to his prayer life and to the power of prayer. Busyness can be the greatest enemy of our quiet time with God. We become so busy we fail to pray. We even rationalize we are too busy to pray because of the time it takes. Remember, though, the words of Martin Luther and be TOO busy NOT to pray. Lesson Truth: What is the one truth you would like your learners to leave with today? As a teacher, that is your decision. Make sure you give that truth the emphasis it deserves. Test your learners to see if they understand the one truth you want them to carry with them. Use a question or activity to see if they got it. For me, it is that our right to ask something of God comes only through relationship with Him. That is built on adoration, confession, and thanksgiving. To get that across, ask, Did you ever have someone you knew well ask you for a big favor or to borrow money? How was that different than having someone pan handle you on the streets of downtown Dallas? Allow time for discussion. Say, The difference in having someone you know ask a favor (or borrow money or something else) and a pan handler, is relationship. Now, lending to a friend may not be a good way to maintain a relationship but, still, we feel more empathy for a friend than for a pan handler. It s that way with prayer. We establish a relationship with God through adoration, confession, and thanksgiving. Asking His help, for others and even for ourselves, is a natural outgrowth of that relationship Don t be a pan handler with God! Emphasize the four elements of prayer: Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication Remind the class of Bro. Kelly s proposition for the study of Nehemiah s prayer: It is crucial that the Living Road come to an understanding of what a proper prayer looks like. 6