" Then I said, "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! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, laws, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. "Please remember what you told your servant Moses: `If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands, even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.' "We are your servants, the people you rescued by your great power and might. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success now as I go to ask the king for a great favor. Put it into his heart to be kind to me. "In those days I was the king's cup-bearer. " (Nehemiah 1:5-11)

This passage has shown me 5 types of prayer.

1. Prayer of Praise (Nehemiah 1:5)

2. Prayer of Intercession (Nehemiah 1:6a)

3. Prayer of Confession: Corporate & Individual (Nehemiah 1:6b-7)

4. Prayer of Promise (Nehemiah 1:8-9)

5. Prayer of Dependence (Nehemiah 1:10-11)

Today, I reflected on Nehemiah's Prayer of Promise.

"Please remember what you told your servant Moses: `If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands, even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.' " (Nehemiah 1:8-9)

Reading these verses excited me because of how Nehemiah approaches the Lord. He uses God's own Words in his prayer. The Lord had made a verbal contract with His people and Nehemiah tells the Lord of the contract. A contract in essence is a promise to claim and adhere too. This promise is a conditional promise based on a pseudo-language:

1. IF you sin,

THEN I will scatter you among the nations

ELSE

WHILE (You return to me) & (Obey my Commandments) I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth.

END

I saw important implications for my life. It is praying God's Word back to Him. That is so powerful. If we do not know the words to pray we can just turn to God's Word and turn them into prayers. We can claim God's Word in our lives.

I ask you now dear friends, how do you handle your promises and God's promises?

Dear friends, it can be hard to keep promises we have made at times. Sometimes, it might just seem easy to break the promise, yet God honors keeping our promises even if it hurts us once we make it. Sometimes keeping a promise can have devastating effects but still God honors those promises. I learned that if I accidentally make a promise, I need to keep it no matter what happens to me.

I am reminded of a story in Scripture when a man promised God to give the first person that meets him, if God would let him win the war. He did win the war but he lost his daughter because she was the first person to greet him. That story also reminded me that we need to be very careful of the promises we make. The Lord does not want us to promise but let our 'Yes' be a 'Yes' and 'No' be a 'No'. But, He wants us to keep our word. God will not ask us to do anything He Himself would not be willing to do.

".......honor the faithful followers of the LORD and keep their promises even when it hurts. " (Psalm 15:4b)

What do you think precedes honor?

The awesome thing through all this is even when we break our promises, God is faithful and does not break His. It is awesome to know that God keeps His promises and we can claim them and turn them to prayers. I used to have a hard time praying to God so my mommy suggested that I read the Psalms and turn them into prayers. Doing that changed my prayer life dramatically because I was giving back God's Word to Him in prayer. The powerful thing is God answers when we pray His Word. We will not always understand His answers but He looks after us.

Friend, no matter what you are going through, God's promises are there for you. He does not want you to give up.

Are you in pain and sorrow? The Lord gives you a promise:

"Let Him have all your worries and cares for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you." (1 Peter 5:7)

Turn it into a prayer:

Jesus, I am so worried. I thank you for knowing all that I am going through. You know my pain and you know my sorrow. It is so wonderful to know that you want my worries and cares. You take time to receive my worries and cares. That is so awesome. I come to you now and leave to you all my worries, cares, and needs. Thank you Jesus for having them. Not only do you have them but you are always thinking about me Lord, thinking about me. You don't stop there but watch everything that concerns me. Thank you so much Jesus. This means so much to me. So I claim your promise and turn everything over to you trusting you for you do not want my heart to be troubled but trust in you Lord. I choose to do that. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Do you feel like your life is hopeless and things will not get better? The Lord gives you a promise and you can claim it in prayer.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen." (Jeremiah 29:11-12)

Turn into a prayer:

Lord, things are not going well for me. Sometimes life just seems so hopeless. You know the things I am faced with. At times I feel things will not get any better but Lord you promised in your Word that you do have plans for me. They are not any plans but plans for good and not disaster. I claim this promise. This means a lot to me Lord where I am at. You have plans that will give me a future and a hope. That means so much to me Jesus. Thank you. I needed to hear that. You remind me that you will listen. I needed a listening ear and you listen. Thank you so much Jesus. I claim your promises that you want us to trust in you in our times of trouble so that you can rescue us and we can give you the glory. That is your plan for us, for all things work together for good to those that love you God and are fitting into your plans. I love you God and thank you that I am fitting into your plans. That means so much that I can be confident that you who began a good work in me will finish it to completion. Yes, you will so I come to you in my hopelessness and claim your Word. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

You can take any Scripture and turn it into prayer. Psalms are wonderful praises and prayers back to God. Whatever you are going through, the Lord has a Word for you. Hold on to Him. You are never out of His love and never out of His reach. Come to Him as you are and receive His help. Turn to His Word and make them your prayers relying on Him.

Promising Redemption, Our Messiah Ignites Scripture's Everyday! (P.R.O.M.I.S.E)/"How Do You Handle God's Promises?"

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for Nehemiah. Thank you Lord for helping me to learn from his life. He turned your Word into a prayer talking to you. He claimed your promises and brought them before you. Help us Jesus to do the same. It is wonderful how your Word gives us the ammunition to pray. That is so wonderful Lord. Please be with the one who is hurting. Help them Lord. And Lord, please let us never forget your promises. Thank you Jesus my life has changed once I started claiming your promises and using them in my life. I have missed that Lord. Help others to turn to your Word. Thank you for listening to us and hearing us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Love,

Ramesh

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