Praying for Change, Part 2

God has strategically positioned you to make a difference for His glory. Dr. Tony Evans says we shortchange the kingdom when we don't use our skills and talents to influence our culture. One of the things we need to learn if we're going to rebuild our community is to discover how God can use our quote-unquote secular skill for sacred purposes. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

We've all been there waiting for something to change but feeling like nothing is happening. Nehemiah faced a similar challenge, a huge problem and no clear solution except for prayer. For months he simply asked God to remember his promises. Today Dr. Evans shows how Nehemiah's prayer reminds us that when we align with God's will, change is already in motion even when we don't see it.

Beginning in verse 4, now it came about when I heard these words. I sat down and wept and mourned for days and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. When he heard about the collapse of the world that he loved, of the people that he was a part of, of his community if you will, he was so hurt and so in pain that he fasted and he prayed for many days. What I would like to introduce is what I concluded with last time and that is that his first response was prayer, not his last response. He didn't go to God after he tried all of his human ingenuity, after he tried all of his human methods, after he had tried all the secularistic thinking, he went to God first. So this man is facing an impossible situation, the collapse of his beloved civilization, and he prays. He says in verse 5, Now I said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who preserves the covenant and loving kindness for those who love him and keep his commandments. Now most of us would have jumped in and said, fix this problem, Lord.

Most of us would have jumped in and said, Lord I've got a problem, do something. But notice how he introduces his prayer. He introduces his prayer by reflecting on the character of God. He doesn't start off with his problem, he starts off with his God. Because when you've got a big problem, you need a big God. And if you've got a big problem, as Nehemiah has, and therefore you need a big God, you ought to start off reminding yourself of who your God is and what your God can do. See, we panic because this thing looks so big.

We panic because we don't know how we're gonna get this situation in our lives fixed. But when you see a God who can, by the spoken word, create the universe, when you see a God who knows every star by name, what did you say was wrong? It is only the Christian who is able to see their problem in light of their God that has the confidence to move against that problem with courage. And so he thinks about the great and awesome God in verse 5, and he talks about his character. Not only is he great and awesome, but it says that he preserves the covenant and loving kindness for those who love him and keep his commandments. He says God is not only awesome, but he's faithful. He talks about preserving the covenant. The covenant means the binding relationship that God enters into with his people. And as his people live in context with that covenant, they can be confident of God's grace, God's forgiveness, and God's strength. When God's people get right with God, they can count on him coming through for them.

But Nehemiah sees a great problem that he doesn't have a solution for, and all he can say is, Oh awesome God. Verse 6, Let thine ear be attentive and thine eyes open to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I am praying for thee day and night. Now we know he's praying for many days. In fact, let me tell you how many days he was praying. You notice in verse 1, it began in the month of Chislev, and in chapter 2, verse 1, he doesn't get an answer until the month of Nisen.

Now the difference between Chislev and Nisen is four and a half months. So he goes some four and a half months praying. One of the questions I'm often asked is, How long do you pray for something?

Well, it's a very simple answer. Can you get an answer? That's how long you pray. Sometimes it's a day. Sometimes it's a month. Sometimes, like him, it's four and a half to five months.

Other times it's years. Now God can only give you one of three answers. There's only three answers God can give. He can say yes.

That's the answer we generally want. He can say no, or he can say nothing, which means wait. Until God says no, you pray.

You don't quit. You pray until you hear something, because often God saying nothing is God saying, Let me arrange things for the proper time and say yes. That's why you don't cut short praying.

That's why you don't quit praying, because unless you've heard no, you assume God is gonna say yes, gonna arrange things different than what you asked, so that it might as well be yes, or get you ready for no. He prays day and night. He says, I pray on behalf, this is called intercession, praying on behalf of the of Israel, sons of Israel, thy servants.

Now look at this. Confessing the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have sinned against thee, I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou didst command thy servant Moses. Now let me say something that will not be popular, but unless you believe it and take it seriously, nothing else will matter, and that is that deterioration in your personal life, family life, or societal life can be traced back to sin. Let me say that again, because this is what we've missed.

Even Christians have missed this. The walls are broken down. You would say, well, what you need is a contract. You don't have walls, you need somebody to know how to build walls.

No, no, no. The walls were broken down because we have acted corruptly. Society dissipates because we have acted corruptly. There is a breakdown in the culture because we have acted corruptly.

You can trace the headlines of the morning news in terms of what's happening in crime and what's happening in economics and what's happening in social deterioration and racial strife to sin. Now the City Council don't want to hear that, but this is something Christians have got to come to understand. The Bible says sin is a reproach to any people, that when there is a breakdown in righteousness in a culture, there is a breakdown in the culture, and what people focus on are the effects, not the cause. He traces it to sin.

Now, who's sin? He says the problem exists because of the sons of Israel. In other words, the people who are in covenant with you are sinning, and so the culture is deteriorating. The deterioration of a culture is tied to the sinfulness of God's people, because the reason that God has His people in the culture is as a preservative—remember, salt and light, you are the salt of the world. We are here to sustain culture, but we often add to the decline of culture because we do not influence it for righteousness. So that's why you got to have Christian politicians and Christian lawyers and Christian doctors and Christian accountants and Christian everything else so that there will be a divine righteous presence in the culture. What did God say? If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked way, then I will heal the land.

In other words, I can address the society when I've got my people to work through. So God is ready to heal the land, but when we return to the message in just a moment, Dr. Evans will address one of the biggest barriers to that healing. Before he does though, today's lesson is part of Tony's 15-part sermon series on the Book of Nehemiah—a powerful look at how God can use ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. As we follow Nehemiah's journey to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, we're discovering timeless truths about leadership, perseverance, and spiritual renewal—truths that can help us overcome challenges and step confidently into God's purpose for our lives. For a limited time, you can get this complete audio series for yourself on digital download as well as on either CDs or a USB flash drive, along with Tony's compelling book, One Nation Under God, a timely and practical guide to making a kingdom impact in our culture. Just visit tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222, make a contribution, and let us send you the Nehemiah audio series and One Nation Under God. Once again, you can find all the details on this special offer at tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.

Well, let's get back to more now from Dr. Evans. One of the great failures today in American culture is the failure of the Church of Jesus Christ to be the Church. In fact, sometimes there's more mess in the church than there is in the world. There's more family disintegration in the church than there is in the society. And the Bible says, 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 17, let judgment start in the household of what faith? And then we can address the unrighteous. It is the people of God that provides the temperature that will affect the well-being of society. It is also true in a family. Lord, please make my wife a better wife so I can be a better husband.

Please make my husband a better husband so I can be a better wife. Well, let's notice what Nehemiah does. He says, we have sinned. Notice the end of verse 6.

I and my father's house have sinned. In other words, he understood a fundamental principle, and that is the principle of identification. Do you know why you're saved today? Because Jesus took your problem upon himself. He identified with you. He became sin for us. Nehemiah understood that if he was going to be part of the solution, he had to understand its contribution to the problem.

He understood that as a representative in the nation, he bore part of the blame. We spend so much time blaming other folk that we don't spend enough time fixing us. We look at the unrighteousness in society and we say, they ought to stop doing that. But what ought to you stop doing so God can use you? And so, he says in verse 8, remember the word which thou didst command thy servant Moses. God doesn't forget. Why are you telling God to remember? What Nehemiah is saying, Lord, you remembered your word about cursing us.

Say, you remember that well because we in a mess. Because God had told them, if you rebel against me, if you leave me, my word says that I am going to judge you. Nehemiah says, God, I know you remembered that because look in the mess we in, but remember your other word. Remember the word, verse 8, if you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.

So they were under Persian rule. But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered, now get this, were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather you from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen the cause my name to dwell. Now boy, I like this. You know what it says? No matter what mess you have created, no matter how far left you've gone, I got good news for here. Some of you that messed up your life that a doctor can't fix it, a psychologist and psychiatrist can't fix it. Some of us have messed up our lives so that, I mean, it's just there's nothing left to live for. We've sinned so deep for so long, we've been addicted for so long, we wonder if there is any hope in the world.

Remember that word. Remember you told me, Lord, that if I got right with you, if I turned and repented of my sin, even though I was way out there, he said scattered to the uttermost part of the heavens. Now that's a long way out, because even though you were way out there, I will gather you together.

I will turn the circumstances around. Just as God remembers his word for judgment, he also remembers his word for blessing, but it's conditioned, he says, on your decision to be faithful. No matter how bad things get, God will honor his word.

That is where 2 Chronicles 15, 1 to 6 comes in. It says there was no God in the land, there was no teaching priest, there was no law, and so God caused judgment to come upon the land until the people called on his name. He continues now, verse 10, "...and they are thy servants, and thy people whom thou didst redeem by thy great power, and by thy strong hand."

He's saying, we are your people. God obligates himself to his people. God is not obligated to the non-Christian world. God is obligated to the Christian world.

That's why the Christian world can get things done for the non-Christian world, because we are the ones to whom God is obligated. He comes to the last verse, which has a lot in it. Let me summarize it for you, verse 11. It's his petition.

Here's what he wants. So he deals with the character of God, he deals with his sin, and now he makes his request, because now it's in perspective. "'O Lord, I beseech thee, may thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and the prayer of thy servants, who delight to revere, worship, your name.'" He says, I'm praying, but I have a small group praying, too. He says, recognize this group.

Even though the people are still messed up, accept us as your representative. "'Who delight to revere thy name, and make thy servant successful today, and grant him compassion before this man. Now I was a cupbearer to the king.'" Nehemiah asked God to give him success. Now, there are a number of things you need to know about this scenario of this prayer request. Nehemiah is not a preacher. He's a layman. He's in politics. He's a run-of-the-mill layman. He's just become upper class because he's gotten some unique privileges, but he's a layman. So what I want to tell you is that you don't have to be a preacher to pray this prayer. You don't have to have a collar on. You don't have to be ordained.

This is available to you. Nehemiah is a layman. Ezra is the priest.

Ezra comes in later. Nehemiah is a man in politics. First thing you need to understand, he's a layman. Second thing you need to understand is that it dawns on him, now please don't miss this, that God had already positioned him to make a difference. He said, make thy servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man. Now this man met the king. He wanted to go before the king and make an astounding request. He's going to ask permission to go back and rebuild Jerusalem. Now you must understand, you don't just go and ask the king to go back and rebuild Jerusalem if you his cupbearer, because you're the guy who tastes the wine and tastes the food before the king gets it. You're the one who makes sure nobody assassinates the king, so you're the one he's learned to trust and rely on.

He's not gonna let you just disappear into nowhere and go miles away from him and him have to create somebody else new in this position when you've been the man he's been using all these years. He says, grant me compassion this day. Now please notice something else about prayer.

I mentioned it earlier, let me reiterate it now. In his mind, he had planned to go to the king that day. It didn't work out that he could go to the king before four and a half months. So your plans and God's plans may not be the same plans, but when you submit your plans to God's plans, the right plan will come out. Or to put it another way, all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purposes. Sometimes we get mad at God, God I wanted that today and I asked for that today and I trusted you for it today and it's been ten months and I haven't seen it yet. Don't worry. If the old folks used to say, wait till you change, come.

Wait till you change, come. God hasn't forgotten you, but he's working out a network of events that have to do with timing. Here is a fundamental flaw that has encapsulated the Christian Church and that is we have separated our careers from our worship.

Let me say that again. Many of us have separated the fact that we worship God from the skills that he has given us that many of us are already utilizing in our employment. It dawns on him, he says, I was the cupbearer for the king.

Now what does that mean? He had not made the correlation before between being a cupbearer and the plight of Jerusalem. It hadn't dawned on him before that he was in the most strategic position possible. Now King Artaxerxes, for whom he worked, is an unsaved, unregenerate man, but he's got the power in his hand to solve the problem. The question is, how do I get the power of Artaxerxes to the people who need it?

God had already provided the answer by making Nehemiah the cupbearer, it just had never dawned on him before. See, some of you work for different entities, but it never dawned on you that God has strategically positioned you to make a difference for his glory. All you see is skill and dollars.

All you see is, I do this to make a living. But you've not interpreted your cupbearing, that is, your career, as an opportunity to make a difference for the glory of God. One of the things we need to learn if we're going to rebuild our community is to kingdomize our skill. That is, to discover how God can use our quote-unquote secular skill for sacred purposes.

God has the divine purpose for your abilities. Dr. Tony Evans, with an important and timeless message on how God is ready to use you for the advancement of his kingdom, wherever you are in life. Now if you'd like to hear the full-length version of this message, you can receive it as a part of Tony's 15-part sermon series, simply called Nehemiah.

And don't forget that special double offer I mentioned earlier. You can receive all the lessons in this series bundled along with his compelling book, One Nation Under God. Both of these resources are yours with our thanks for your donation to help make this listener-supported program possible. Make the arrangements today at 1-800-800-3222 before time runs out.

That's 1-800-800-3222. Or visit TonyEvans.org. Trying to fix a broken world without addressing its spiritual foundation is like trying to build a house on shifting sand. It's just not going to stand for long. Well, tomorrow Dr. Evans shows how true restoration in our communities, our families, and even our nation begins with a return to God. Be sure to join us.