A Call to Remember
“Remember me with favor, O my God.”
Nehemiah 13:31 (NIV)
About twenty years ago our church hosted a weekend prayer seminar that began with an important question: “How many of you are completely satisfied with your prayer life?” The late Pastor Harry Reeder once said that over 10,000 people had been asked that same question and only one person had ever raised his hand to respond in the affirmative.
“Sir, can you tell us your secret?” he asked.
“What was the question?” the man responded.
That anecdote drew loud laughter as I asked the same question to our women’s summer study on prayer. Last week we looked at the book of Nehemiah’s twelve prayers, eleven of which were offered by Nehemiah. His book begins and ends with a call for God to remember. Throughout his life, Nehemiah demonstrated a priority, pattern, and practice of prayer.
Robert J. Morgan writing in his excellent book, The Red Sea Rules, says that prayer is a “means to stay even-tempered, cool headed, and strong spirited in the middle of fear, chaos and crisis.” It’s also an opportunity to better know God for Who he is and what he has done. All effective prayer begins with a recognition of our need and is characterized by humility and helplessness. Throughout the Bible, the biblical paradigm for prayer teaches us that we are to be:
Desperate for God
Dependent on God
Delivered by God
Delighted in God
Reading the book of Nehemiah, we find at least five different types of prayer. Ejaculatory prayers are quick dart prayers that are short and to the point. Peter’s “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30) was long enough and is a good example of an ejaculatory prayer. Nehemiah offers a quick dart prayer in the seconds between the king’s question (What is it you want?”) and his own bold requests: permission to go; resources to build; and letters for safe conduct (Nehemiah 2:2-8). His dart prayer helped him choose faith over fear.
Logistical prayers tend to focus on practical requests. These prayers usually include a wide range of requests that may vary from parking places to daily bread (Matthew 6:11). Nehemiah prays logistically when he asks God for the workers’ protection (Nehemiah 4:9) and strength for his own hands (Nehemiah 9:32).
Imprecatory prayers invoke God’s wrath upon the wicked. These prayers (Psalms 35,58,69,83, and 109) demonstrate a concern for God’s reputation and exhibit righteous indignation of sin. Nehemiah prays two imprecatory prayers against his enemies (Nehemiah 4:4, 6:14). It’s important to note that Nehemiah prays, he doesn’t prescribe! He acknowledges his enemies, but leaves them in God’s hands.
Tactical prayers are meaningful prayers, but not ultimate ones. These prayers reflect the deeper, but not deepest, desires of our hearts. Nehemiah’s multiple “remember me with favor” prayers are good examples of tactical prayers. Prayers for my children’s future college, vocation, or marriage partner are meaningful, but not ultimate prayers.
Ultimate or strategic prayers are concerned with God’s purposes, people, Word, or glory. Nehemiah prays an ultimate prayer when he pleads with God to remember his covenant (1:5), his people (1:6), and his Word (1:8). The Levites “don’t waste our suffering” (9:32) prayer is also an ultimate purpose prayer. They acknowledge their present distress – seventy years of exile and return to a nation in ruins- but the Levites also ask God to remember his covenant (9:32), his people, and his word (9:34).
Several years ago while studying the book of Nehemiah, I was struck by King Artaxerxes’ words, “What is it you want?” (2:4) Those five words tumbled around in my heart and mind for several days as I contemplated what I really do want as I approach God’s throne of grace. There’s certainly nothing wrong in praying quick dart prayers; logistical, imprecatory, or tactical prayers. Nehemiah gives us examples of all of these. But if I could only make one request, what would I want? After several days I finally settled on Hebrews 13:21 as my ultimate prayer verse for our family: “Work in us what is pleasing to you.”
Most scripture can be used as a tool to help me pray as I:
Repent of my sins
Rejoice in my salvation
Offer my requests or
Remember Who God is and what He has done.
What type of prayer dominates your personal prayer life? If I’m honest, most of mine are dart, practical, and logistical prayers. I doubt I am alone with that assessment. If you’re tired of praying the same old prayers or looking for a way to jumpstart your prayer life, why not give using Scripture to pray tactical and ultimate prayers a try? Last week’s A Call to Remember audio, teaching slides, and class handouts may be found here.
“Lord, teach us to pray!’ (Luke 11:1)