Nehemiah 1:4-6
When Nehemiah heard that his people lived in great distress and reproach, that the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins, and that the gates of the city remained burned and broken, he responded with prayer:
"I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days...And I said: "I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night" (Neh.1:4-6).
Nehemiah was experiencing a prayer burden. A prayer burden can be defined as a strong motivation to pray for others and to carry the needs of others before God in prayer until God responds.
The Bible has a great deal to say about burdens. We are to bear one another's burdens (see Gal.6:2). We are to go the second mile in helping another person (see Matt.5:41). Much of our ability to bear natural burdens is derived from developing our ability to carry spiritual burdens in prayer.
A sense of spiritual weight usually accompanies a prayer burden-a heaviness of heart, a drag on one's emotions, a spirit of mourning, or a feeling of restlessness that we can't seem to shift ourselves away from a problem or need that has come to our attention.
God does not act in many situations because we do not pray. God waits for either the co-instigator of the negative situation to cry out to Him for forgiveness, or for the victim of the negative situation to cry out to Him for mercy. Then He will act.
If you feel burdened to pray for another person, God desires to act on that person's behalf. he places the burden to pray on your heart, and He moves through the opening. As you pray, you can get in on the blessing that God has for that person through an answered prayer.
1 Comment:
Thank you for this. You have no idea how much it has helped me.
Sen de yaz