Who Takes the Initiative?(Part 3)

In these articles on “Who Takes The Initiative” I have been trying to build a case for not waiting for God to command us to do something but rather to take the initiative in desiring God to approve what we see is a current or pending need. I have encountered many believers who have come to the false understanding that if God wants us to do something he will tell us. The point I made in the second article was that God created us to be like him and therefore he gave Adam the first task of naming the animals. God wanted us to take the initiative in creating and managing the world we are in. If you haven’t read the first two articles please do so before proceeding. 

To be clear, I do believe God has desires for our future and our purpose on this earth but he never wanted puppets to do his will, rather He wants co-laborers.  Granted, we play a small part, but he still values our growth in character and labor as we take ownership of our future. There will be times when God speaks to us about our destiny but there are also times that he desires us to grow into our destiny with his guidance and equipping.

The last article focused on the prophet and leader Nehemiah who found out that the Jews were a mess back in his home country. He had a great job as the cup bearer for the king and therefore great freedom in both wealth and power. He could have ignored the reports about the Jews yet he risked it all to be God’s man and make a difference. Isn’t that what we desire?

I mentioned Nehemiah had three main levels in his prayer for his country and the Jews. In the first level, he did three main things. 1) He heard and was open to the the need. 2) He allowed himself to be emotionally impacted in weeping and mourning. 3) He reminded God that he was a God who was good and kept his word. How often are we non-responsive to the needs and even the will of God because we have insulated our souls from what is broken and damaged, whether it is in people or circumstances. From my experience, God has a hard time communicating with us when we are in such a condition. God desires to use our emotions to compel us to do good, just as Satan desires use to use those same emotions to do bad. Our emotions fuel our attention and engagement. Nehemiah spoke about God’s goodness and faithfulness to stir his emotions to action. Our emotions are not bad and they should be open and transparent to God so that he may direct our energies and passions. God wants to sanctify our emotions for good but we need to pay attention to others who have gone before us in the word.

Nehemiah then moves into the second level of engagement with God by asking God to be “Attentive” to his prayer. He doesn’t come to God begging or demanding but rather requesting. When we beg it often implies no real expectation of us having favor and demanding it often reveals our pride and true unworthiness.

Nehemiah 1:6-7                                                                                                                                        

Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. “We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 

The second level of engagement reveals Nehemiah’s understanding and wisdom that when you want a big favor from someone you better bring good justification for your request. All too often believers have gone before the Lord in prayer with no thought of “Have I Gained Favor” in God’s eyes to request this thing I want? We make our request and all too often God does not respond. Not because he can’t, but because we have not provided an incentive for him to do so. If God is wise, and we all believe he is, why would he move just because we want something or whine to him about it?

Look back at what he “Confesses” before he request. 1 ) He has prayed day and night. 2) He confesses his own sin and the sin of the Jews. 3) He admits he and his fellow Jews have lived corruptly because they have not obeyed what God has written down in his word.

James, the natural half brother of Jesus, told us to confess our sin so that we might be healed. James didn’t say just declare God can heal but rather evaluate our lives before we seek God’s healing

James 5:16                                                                                                                                       

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 

The apostle John writes to believers and talks about the need to confess our personal sin, otherwise we ared lying to ourselves about God’s generosity in forgiveness. let alone granting our various prayer request.

1 John 1:8-10                                                                                                                                               

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

John further goes on to say that if we say we know God and yet do not live according to God’s word then we are a liar and the truth is not in us. This does not mean if we have sinned after coming to Christ we are doomed but rather if we accumulate our sin and do nothing about it we lie about our relationship with God. I learned long ago God desires “Short Accounts” so confession should be a regular practice for any believer.

1 John 2:4                                                                                                                                                 

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 

Here is the point. Nehemiah took certain steps in his approach of God to “Qualify” himself.  He did not make assumptions about God.  God is interested in honesty and humility before reward. If we are honest going into prayer it moves the heart of God. If we are humble before God confessing our failures it moves the heart of God. The last thing God wants to do is to bust our chops over our sin but he will if we fail to approach Him in doing so. God’s desire is to move mightily so that His kingdom expands in the heart of all of his people and others want him as their Heavenly Father.

I will use the last article in this series to address Nehemiah’s level in prayer. My prayer is that we will grow in our knowledge of God and His ways and thus see an increase in our prayers being answered.

Questions:

1) Do you feel like you don’t acknowledge sin enough? Start confessing every day.

2) Have you taken God for granted in making requests in prayer? Study what gaining favor means.

May God grant us the wisdom to be engaged in making a difference no matter who we are or where we live.

Pastor Dale