Hear these words from Ray Stedman regarding gut-wrenching prayer in times of struggle (based on Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1):
“We find the first step in Nehemiah 1: ‘When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven/ (v. 4).
When our lives are devastated, the first step we must take is the step of prayer. Not just a ‘word of prayer.’ Not a ritual prayer or a prayer based on a formula found in a religious best seller. No, it must be a prayer that comes spilling out of our pain and brokenness. It must be an honest prayer—a cry from the depths of our soul.
When Nehemiah heard that the wall that once surrounded Jerusalem was broken down and its gates had been burned, he prostrated himself before the God of heaven. He wept and mourned and fasted and prayed. He poured out the anguish of his soul before God—and God heard and responded.”
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Ray C. Stedman, God’s Blueprint for Success: Wisdom from the Book of Nehemiah (pp. 24-25). Discovery House. Kindle Edition.
