PRAYER LIFE OF A TRANSFORMER

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.... Nehemiah 1.4 KJV

In the city where we live, churches have a tradition of having long days of praying and fasting. The programme can last for 7, 14, 21, 30 and even (believe it or not) 120 days! So what is the motivation for this time of seemingly intense seeking of the face of the Lord? Self! People come to secure their futures, their marriages, their businesses, etc. They come to seek divine protection from their enemies and even the death of those enemies. Summarily, at the root of our seeking the face of God is selfishness. This is really sad. Again, Nehemiah is exemplary here. He hears about the crisis that has befallen his land and people and food lost taste in his mouth. All he could do was fast, mourn and pray for his people.

When Nehemiah heard of the troubles in his land, he immediately felt like he should come back from his land of opportunity and fix his land of responsibility. We have people from our land who have travelled to various lands of opportunity around the world. When they hear of the crises that befall their land, do they feel like coming back to do something to fix it or do they thank God that they have the chance to escape to safer lands. Nehemiah was rich and safe yet he was willing to abandon all that to pray, fast and even lay down his life for his land. Of course, only a person who is prepared to do something about a situation should pray about it as prayer and fasting is no substitute for responsible action.

Commitment
I commit today to a life of responsible prayer for my world.

Action Triggers

1. When was the last time I fasted and prayed for my world?
2. Am I willing to suffer loss of my privileges for the transformation of my society?

Prayer
Father, I commit to carry the burden of my world so that while I prayer for my land, I am willing to do whatever I can to bring about change in Jesus name. Amen.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 62
One Year Bible Reading Plan: Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3