Tell, Then Ask

“Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king.” Nehemiah 1:11

What do you say when you pray?

 If you’re like most, mostly “please.”  “Oh God, please help him, please heal her, and please hold me.  Please protect and please provide and please do it all really soon.” 

While I am not proposing that we limit our “please,” for we are instructed to ask for what we need(Matt. 7:7) and we know that our Father delights in giving good gifts to his children(Matt. 7:11), let’s make sure our communication with God involves more than just requests. Since prayer is simply—and amazingly—talking with God, what we say, even when we ask, should be about Him as well as us.  (No one on earth really enjoys an “all about me” conversation, and I have my doubts that heaven does either!)

As we do, we find that instead of detracting from the urgency and importance of our pleas, this actually focuses our prayers and clarifies what we ask for.  Nehemiah was specific in his appeal to God.  “Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king”(Neh. 1:11), but his request came at the end of a longer and loaded conversation.

Nehemiah began his petition with a declaration of God’s character.  “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands.”(Neh. 1:5).  Since it’s good to know about your audience, Nehemiah states where God is—heaven, how God is—great and awesome, and what God does—keeps His covenant.

Acknowledging who God is makes us aware of who we are and moves us to repent of where we’ve gone wrong.  “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself, have committed against you.  We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave”(Neh. 1:6-7).

God’s assurance of forgiveness and grace gives us confidence to then recount and remember His promises.  “Remember the instruction you gave saying…if you return to me and obey my commands, I will gather and bring you to the place I have chosen”(Neh. 1:8-9).  We do this not to jog the memory of the One who never forgets but, instead, to show and strengthen our own faith that God will keep His Word.

At this point, having declared God’s greatness, admitted our weakness, and remembered His promise, we are in a good place to know what we truly need and to ask for it honestly.  “O Lord, let you ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant…Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king”(Neh. 1:11). Nehemiah’s prayer is not a “formula for success” but a beautiful reminder that focusing on the One we’re talking to puts us in the right frame of mind and heart to ask, seek, and knock.

Requests are best made in relationship.

Next time, before you say “please,” say “praise.”