“And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.” - Nehemiah 1v5-6
Nehemiah was not a prophet or a priest. He was “only” a cupbearer in the palace, yet he got burdened for the state of God’s people and decided to pray. His pray is a model of what our prayers should be like.
First Nehemiah glorified God for who He is, then he acknowledged the sin of the people, then he took his requests to God. Nehemiah was under no false illusions about how good the people were. He made no assumptions that the people deserved anything from God. He knew that they deserved nothing, and that all they had or could hope for was at God’s mercy. This simple cupbearer knew more about prayer than most Christians learn in a lifetime.
When we approach God we can do so with confidence because of what Christ has done, but we also must approach in humility and submission to God’s will. God is still holy, our sin is still wicked, and we deserve nothing from Him. Lets make sure that we have a proper attitude to prayer.
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