Get Real
January 7, 2018

Scripture: Nehemiah 9

I. Your real prayers are God focused.

A. In Nehemiah 9:1 we read that “the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with earth on their heads.” They were grieving for their sins. So vs. 2 says they “stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.” And their prayer begins in vs. 6. So why is this chapter, which is supposed to be a prayer of confession, really a chapter of history? We find the answer in vs. 10: God “performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day.”

B. The first part of verse 10 talks about how God defeated Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the days of Moses. But the second part of this verse tells us why God did that. God did it to make a name for Himself. God then writes the story of history to reveal who He is – what He is like and His character. As Ezra recounts what God has done in Israel’s history, his focus on the greatness of God is meant to reveal to the people praying who the God that they are praying to is like. When people see the greatness of God, their conscience will be pricked and they will confess their sin.

II. Your real prayers confess sin.

A. Israel, as we have heard Ezra pray in vs. 37, was in great distress. They were in distress because of their sin. So, would God forgive? Would God be merciful? Where does Ezra turn for an answer in his prayer? He turns to God’s history with Israel. So six times in vs. 16-31 Ezra talks about six episodes of Israel’s rebellion and God’s response to that rebellion. We see in vs. 16-17 that God was gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

B. Verse 18 refers to Israel’s idolatry of making a golden calf. How did God respond to this blasphemy? Verse 19 says that “you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness.” God did not turn His back on His people but still kept His promise to lead them into the Promised Land. Then in vs. 26 we read about how Israel cast God’s good law behind their backs. They did not obey God. How did God respond? He judged them by giving them into the hand of their enemies (vs. 27), but in His great mercy God sent Israel leaders who saved them.

III. Your real prayers commit yourself to God.

A. At the end of Ezra’s prayer of confession he has the people in vs. 38 make a firm covenant in writing. The people make a fresh commitment to God. They commit themselves to being faithful to God and His commandments. They made a solemn promise to live wholeheartedly for God whatever the cost. We Christians today are able to keep our covenants with God because of the new covenant Jesus brought with Him described in Ezekiel 36:26-27: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Jesus has not only done away with the penalty of sin through His death on the cross. Jesus has also overcome the power of sin with the new covenant.

Application:
Make a fresh commitment to God to return to Him in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sources:
Commentaries on Nehemiah by Derek Thomas, John Piper, and James Hamilton Jr.