{"id":6412,"date":"2019-11-29T20:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T03:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=6412"},"modified":"2019-11-24T17:55:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T00:55:33","slug":"nehemiah9_1-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/nehemiah9_1-15\/","title":{"rendered":"When You Pray, Start with Praise"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ufeff<\/span>

Nehemiah 9:1-15 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Nehemiah 9:1-15.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 9:1-2 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-2:\u00a0\u00a0Earlier in the month, the Israelites gathered to celebrate, rejoice and hold a feast in accordance with God\u2019s commands (8:13-18).\u00a0\u00a0Now just over two weeks later, the Israelites gather again, this time to fast, confess their sins and draw near to God.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0In church, there is a place for rejoicing and celebrating, and there\u2019s also a place for mourning, weeping and confessing sin.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A healthy church is one that does both:\u00a0\u00a0we rejoice and we repent, we celebrate victories and we confess sin, we party and we pray.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nehemiah 9:3 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the\u00a0LORD\u00a0their God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 3:\u00a0\u00a0Notice that the people stood for 6 hours (a quarter of the day) reading God\u2019s Word, and spent another 6 hours confessing and worshiping the Lord.\u00a0\u00a0A healthy church is one where the people are not afraid to spend extended time in God\u2019s presence.\u00a0\u00a0May you not be afraid to spend extended time in God\u2019s presence.\u00a0\u00a0Intimacy and powerful things happen when you do.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nehemiah 9:4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Standing on the stairs were the Levites–Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani–who called with loud voices to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0their God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 4:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Just as the Levites call out to God with loud voices, at Thrive we are not afraid to raise our voices together in prayer.\u00a0\u00a0Why do we pray out loud together at the same time at Thrive?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s becausewhen we pray out loud together at the same time, several great things happen:<\/strong>\u00a0(1) we build an\u00a0atmosphere of faith<\/strong>\u00a0and anticipation; (2)\u00a0we go from spectators who listen to others pray to participants<\/strong>\u00a0who pray ourselves; (3)\u00a0it saves time<\/strong>\u00a0(many people can practice praying at the same time in a short time span without having to wait for people to finish\u00a0\"😊\"); and (4)\u00a0it encourages those who are new to prayer<\/strong>\u00a0to practice praying,<\/strong>\u00a0since everyone is praying, those who are new to prayer don\u2019t feel as self-conscious praying out loud too.\u00a0\u00a0There are so many benefits to praying out loud!<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 9:5-15 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the Levites–Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah–said: “Stand up and praise the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.” “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You alone are the\u00a0LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You are the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You saw the suffering of our forefathers in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-15:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The reason for this gathering is for the Israelites to confess their sins, but notice how the Levites begin their prayer: they start with praise.\u00a0\u00a0They begin by putting the focus on God\u2019s greatness \u2013 on who God is and what God has done in the past.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you pray, an excellent way to start is with praise.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Instead of going immediately into praying for yourself or for your requests and concerns, start with worshiping God for who He is.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When you start with praise, a number of great things happen: (1) You give God the honour and attention He is due; (2) You avoid the temptation of treating God like a vending machine, as if the only reason He exists and the only reason you talk to Him is to get something from Him; (3) You realize how small you and your concerns are compared to God and His greatness.\u00a0\u00a0You\u2019re reminded of who You are talking to.<\/p>\n

I believe this is one reason Jesus taught his disciples to begin praying by saying, \u201cOur Father, who is in heaven, holy is your name.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0When you pray, you can never go wrong by starting with praise.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, praise You for being so awesome and amazing, faithful and true, merciful and powerful, beautiful and strong.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for being so good to me, for loving me like You do, for never giving up on me, and seeing me through all seasons.\u00a0\u00a0There is none like You.\u00a0\u00a0No one can compare to You.\u00a0\u00a0I worship You now, and whenever I pray may I always remember Who it is I am talking to and how great that One really is.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Nehemiah 9:1-15.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 9:1-2 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads.\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-2:\u00a0\u00a0Earlier in the month, the Israelites gathered to celebrate, rejoice and hold a feast in accordance with God\u2019s commands (8:13-18).\u00a0\u00a0Now just over two weeks later, the Israelites gather again, this time to fast, confess their sins and draw near to God.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0In church, there is a place for rejoicing and celebrating, and there\u2019s also a place for mourning, weeping and confessing sin.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A healthy church is one that does both:\u00a0\u00a0we rejoice and we repent, we celebrate victories and we confess sin, we party and we pray.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6413,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6412"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6415,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6412\/revisions\/6415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}