PRAY - Consult With Your Creator 1

Audio on demand from Vision Christian Media. You want to move into your future with more passion and purpose, but you're not sure what that looks like. Well, prayer is a powerful starting point. Today on Turning Point, Dr David Jeremiah returns to his series Forward and shares insights from Nehemiah, whose faithful prayers aligned him with God's will for achieving his dream. To introduce his message, Pray, Consult Your Creator is David. And thank you so much for joining us. This is the series Forward, Discovering God's Presence and Purpose in Your Tomorrow.

This is the second chapter in the book and the second lesson in the series. Today we're going to talk about how important it is for you to pray at the beginning and in the middle and at the end of your dream, all throughout the living out of God's vision for your life. And we'll get to that in just a few moments, but first let me tell you that I've had a wonderful opportunity to talk about this series with some of my friends. Not long ago, I sat down with Sheila Walsh and we talked about the importance of prayer as we live out our visions. Sheila, we've been kind of wrapped up in the word forward here for a bunch of weeks, and we're going to be wrapped up in it for a few more because of this book that we have written. And I know a little bit about your journey, but what are the things that have driven you forward in your life as you face the challenges you faced, as all of us do?

Wow. I think one of the times when God helped me to move forward was when it felt like I'd really come to the end of myself. I gave my life to Christ when I was 11, growing up in a little town on the west coast of Scotland, a godly mother, a father who committed suicide. And I really wanted to serve God with my whole life.

I went to seminary, then I came to America as a contemporary Christian artist. But when I was in my mid-thirties, my life kind of collapsed and I ended up in a psychiatric hospital diagnosed with severe clinical depression. And I'll never forget that first night in the hospital. I was so used to being able to pray great prayers and pray in faith believing. And that night, I felt so desperate and so alone that the only two words that I could get out were simply these, help me.

It wasn't a very impressive prayer. But I have to tell you, I don't think I'd ever felt the presence of Christ so closely as I did in that hospital room. I remember writing in the back of my Bible, I never knew you lived so close to the floor. It was like discovering the truth of Psalm 34, the Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. And it was interesting, when I was released from that hospital and they'd written at the top of my release papers, severe dysthymic disorder and then underneath that depression.

I remember looking at that word and I realized that if you rearrange the letters in depression, what you get is this, I pressed on. And I made that my determination that even though I might have a diagnosis of clinical depression because of Jesus, I could press on every single day. And that's what prayer is, isn't it? It's not a one-time event, it's a daily communication with God.

And we're going to see that today as we open our Bibles and talk about a man whose name is familiar to us, his name is Nehemiah. And we're going to see how he pressed on, but not alone. He pressed on with God. And every time he faced a problem, it was his communication with the Father that kept him going.

Let's jump in on that story as we talk about consulting our Creator. In 1909, young Lenora Wood volunteered to go to the Appalachian Mountains to teach in a one-room mission school. There, in the impoverished town of Del Rio, Tennessee, she became something of a living legend thanks to her commitment to prayer. Lenora knew how to turn dreams into prayer and prayer into dreams. Raymond Thomas was a foster teen who often stopped at Lenora's cabin in his knee-high clodhoppers and talked with her as she sat on the front porch shelling peas or darning socks. Raymond's seemingly impossible dream was to go to college.

But how can I manage it? He said, I haven't got any money. I don't have any prospects.

I've not saved anything. Raymond, Lenora, replied, whatever you need, God has the supply ready for you. The money will be there for any dream that's right for you, every dream for what you're willing to work. Raymond asked Lenora to offer a dreaming prayer for him, and her prayer went like this, Father, you've given Raymond a fine mind. We believe that you want Raymond's potential to be used to help you lift and lighten some portion of your world. Since all the wealth of the world is yours, please help Raymond find everything he needs for an education. Raymond Thomas did make it through college in four years, working 12 jobs to support himself and graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude. He also served in World War II and later settled in Vienna, where he earned a Ph.D. in physics.

He went on to visit 60 countries, master multiple languages, and network with some of the most important people in Europe through his job with the U.S. Atomic Energy Program. Looking back on his life, Raymond said, the fact that I could dream of going to college and achieve it proves something to me. Very simply, any right dream can be realized, and prayer helps you know if it's right and gives you the power to stay with it. In other words, listen carefully, the way forward is to pray forward. I think that's what Nehemiah would say, too. He was one of the most effective leaders in the Bible, and his story unfolds in the Old Testament book that bears his name.

Executives and entrepreneurs study his book endlessly because of the leadership lessons that are found in it. Nehemiah was a Jewish official serving the Persian king in the city of Susa, a thousand miles from Jerusalem. The Babylonians had destroyed Israel and Jerusalem in 586 B.C., and several thousand Hebrew settlers had gone back to rebuild the temple and reestablish a Jewish presence there. This was a deep burden for Nehemiah. He knew God's plan of redemption depended on the continuity of his people in their land, and he understood that it was a matter of heartfelt prayer to make this happen. One day, Nehemiah's brother and a few other men arrived from Jerusalem with this grim message. The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. This news hit Nehemiah like a blast.

Slumping into his chair, he started sobbing. But out of his deep tears came earnest prayers, and out of his prayers came a fervent dream. With God's help, Nehemiah would return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the ancient city of his God. It seemed an impossible feat because Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer and a trusted advisor.

The likelihood of King Artaxerxes releasing him, let alone financing the trip, seemed very far-fetched. But God? He had already planted the dream in Nehemiah's heart, just as he is planting fresh dreams in your heart today. So you have to prepare your heart for God's plan. God's desires flourish in prepared hearts, just like seeds in a furrowed ground.

In the last message, I urge you to imagine your future. If you're saying, yeah, I want to do that, but you're not certain what your dream is or what the next step forward is, then prayer is where you should start. Nehemiah saw a need that burdened his heart, and he started to pray about it. I've studied the book of Nehemiah many times, and there are two verses that tell us something about dreams.

Not the kind you have at night, but the kind that guide you forward. Notice these two telling phrases. Nehemiah claimed that God put it in my heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Later he said, my God put it in my heart to organize the people. Nehemiah didn't come up with his dream for Jerusalem's wall by himself. His heart was receptive to the impressions God sent him.

Let me tell you what I've learned. A prayerful heart is fertile ground for divine ideas. How can you be sure the dream in your heart is God's will and not yours? Well, you must humbly and specifically ask God to place his ideas for your life into your heart and mind.

Here's how Psalm 25 4 says, show me your way, O Lord, teach me your paths. Fred Lunsford was one of the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944. After the war, he became a pastor in the mountains of North Carolina. There he devoted 70 years to preaching the gospel. Two years ago, when Lunsford was 93, he became very sick and he thought he was going to die. He told the Lord he wanted to go to heaven and God said, not yet. Sitting on the prayer garden behind his house, Lunsford asked the Lord, why are you leaving me here? The Lord seemed to answer by saying that he had some unfinished business for Lunsford to do, to pray for a spiritual awakening in this country. So from that moment forward, Lunsford has been earnestly praying for an awakening in America and around the world, and he's recruited others to do the same. Recently, Fox News carried a story about him reporting that somehow, don't ask me how, Lunsford has well over a quarter million people praying with him every day for a great outpouring of revival. This is truly a revival of prayer, he said, and from this day forward, God's going to do wonders.

What it is, I don't know, but I want to be a part of it. So when you prepare your heart for God's plan, you're getting ready to receive what he wants you to do. You do that through prayer, you pray and you ask the Lord to help you be sensitive to what he's telling you to do. And then you pray about the plans that he gives you day and night. No matter the hour of circumstances, pray. As God begins to give you impressions and thoughts about your future, continue to pray.

Commit them to him in serious, ongoing prayer. And as soon as Nehemiah sensed the need for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, listen. He sat down and he wept and he mourned for many days and he was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. As his thoughts clarified and he better understood what needed to happen, he wrote out an earnest prayer. It's preserved for us in the book that bears his name.

Here it is. 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. Nehemiah went on to confess his sins and those of his people. He reminded God of the biblical promises involving the children of Israel. And he ended by saying, O Lord, I pray, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who desire to fear your name. And let your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Who was this man? Oh, it was King Artaxerxes, the most powerful man on the earth. And even though Nehemiah was his cup bearer, he couldn't approach the king without risking his life.

Only God could arrange the right moment. So Nehemiah prayed. E.M. Bounds was a 19th century pastor who wrote a powerful book on the subject of prayer. I've read many of his books. Every page is kind of convicting, so I can only read them in small doses. But E.M. Bounds called prayer spiritual energy.

Here's what he wrote. What great things are accomplished by this divinely appointed means of grace? It lays its hand on Almighty God and moves him to do what he would not otherwise do if prayer were not offered.

It brings things to pass which would never otherwise occur. Bounds said that the story of prayer is the story of great achievements. Prayer is a wonderful power placed by Almighty God in the hands of his people, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and achieve unusual results.

The Bible says it this way. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Prayer is the divine energy that brings the power of God into the plans that he's giving you.

I don't know any shortcut for this. God guides his children as they learn the joy of praying to him night and day. So prepare your heart for God's plan and pray about your plans day and night and then learn to practice spontaneous prayer.

It's wonderful to have a leisurely hour on the patio for Bible study and prayer or to engage in a special extended time in prayer with friends at church asking God for his favors. But sometimes you have to pray instantly. Sometimes you have to pray urgently on the spur of the moment. And it's good to know that the Lord hears those prayers as well.

I urge you to learn to pray quickly, silently and instantly. No one in the Bible mastered that skill better than Nehemiah. His book is peppered with short little prayers that were injected into his narrative.

He knew how to pray spontaneously. For example, one day the king wanted a glass of wine. So Nehemiah prepared it.

And here is Nehemiah 2, 1 and 2. I took the wine and I gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in the presence of the king before. And so the king said to me, why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.

Now a little interpretation here. Nehemiah knew these words could have reflected genuine concern or they could have been his death sentence. Believe it or not, in that day it was a capital offense to be sad in the presence of the king.

So watch carefully what Nehemiah did. He senses the urgency of the moment, verses 2 through 5. So I became dreadfully afraid and I said to the king, good move, may the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my father's tombs, lies waste and its gates are burned with fire? And then the king said to me, what do you request?

Now watch this. So I prayed to the God of heaven and I said to the king, if it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers, that I may rebuild it. I am sure you noticed it. Here is the phrase. I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king. In the twinkling of an eye, Nehemiah had his opportunity, but he had to say exactly the right thing in the right way to move the king to his cause. His life was on the line, not to mention the desires of his heart.

It was critical for him to speak wisely and for the king to react positively. So Nehemiah shot up an arrow to heaven, maybe it was just help, Lord, help. Most of us know that prayer. We have prayed it on occasion. The Lord answered and soon Nehemiah was on his way to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

When you know how to earnestly pray day and night, then you will find out there is great power in spontaneous prayer as well. One fateful day back in 2001, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hooton was working on the first floor in the C ring of the Pentagon. That is sort of in the middle of the building. He was preparing for a 10 o'clock meeting when a coworker came into his office with news that the World Trade Center was on fire in New York. Hooton went to his boss's office where the television was on. He watched events unfold, then had a feeling down deep that he should get up and return to his own office. Along the way, he stopped to talk to someone in a nearby cubicle and suddenly the whole room burst into flames. And Hooton was thrown 20 feet forward. His left leg was pinned to the floor beneath rubble and the walls were on fire.

He yelled for his coworker but heard no response. He recalls, at that moment, I said a short prayer, asking God to show me the way out. He pried his leg loose and saw some light in the distance. And crawling through an opening, he found he was trapped again. And the room was full of smoke and so were his lungs. He said the room was like an oven and at that moment I thought I was going to die of smoke inhalation. He climbed over more rubble, saw a hand reaching out to him, and at once he was on the helicopter pad outside the Pentagon.

He began helping others, not realizing he was bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds. When he shares his story now, he credits his survival to God answering simple words. God, show me a way out.

Did you know that God answers prayers like that? When you're in the midst of following your dream and God has given you a plan and you're on your way to the goal, sometimes there are problems. It doesn't just get you there. It's no such thing as life without any challenges.

There's the old statement that says if there's no friction, there's no traction. Every major dream I have ever had, everything God has ever done in my life, is fraught with trouble and often in the midst of it you have to pray, Lord, help me. Help me to know what to do.

I don't know what to do but my eyes are on you. So prepare your heart for God's plan through prayer. Pray about your plans day and night. Practice spontaneous momentary prayer and here's number four, prepare for God to do things his way. As God drops his seeds of aspiration into your mind and you pray over them, whether in quiet, extended prayer or quick in the moment prayer, you're going to have to learn to trust him for his own brand of success. You'll have to expect him to do things his way. Proverbs 16, 3 says, commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans.

The word commit means to trust. God can be trusted with your dreams, to divulge them, develop them, sometimes delay them and always drench them with his blessings. So you have to understand God opens doors and he closes doors.

He arranges circumstances and sometimes he creates trajectories you didn't even expect. We'll have more about pray, consult your creator tomorrow as we get together again to pursue what it means to be going forward. Can't tell you how excited I am that you're joining us on this teaching tour.

We are going to have a great time together as we learn how to live our lives looking forward. I pray that your journey is that direction and that together we can find our way into the future. I'm David Jeremiah and I'll see you right here tomorrow. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's current teaching series, Forward, please visit our website where you'll also find two free ways to help you stay connected. Our monthly magazine Turning Points and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org forward slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org forward slash radio. When you do, be sure to ask for your copy of David's powerful new book, Forward, Discovering God's Presence and Purpose in Your Tomorrow. It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard Version, the New International Version and the New King James Version.

All are available in a variety of handsome cover options. Visit davidjeremiah.org forward slash radio for details. I'm Gary Hoogfleet. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series, Forward. That's here on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah. Thanks for taking time to listen to this audio on demand from Vision Christian Media. To find out more about us, go to vision.org.au