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. Nehemiah 1:4
When Nehemiah heard of the destruction of Jerusalem he first prayed to God, prior to speaking. The priority occurred inside, before he spoke or took any action. A true introvert who thinks before speaking who is more concerned with the inner world of the mind enjoying praying, thinking, exploring thoughts and feelings. Nehemiah looked for direction from God. And then some months later ...
Then the king said to me, "What would you request ?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 2:4
Again, when King Artaxerxes noticed that Nehemiah was sad in his presence when as the cupbearer he brought wine to the king, Nehemiah prayed before speaking. He asked God for the right words not to avoid the conversation but to speak truth in boldness in spite of his fear at addressing the king with the pain he felt at the fall of Jerusalem.
Our first inclination before speaking or acting should be to fall to our knees either literally or figuratively to seek the guidance of the almighty God. To seek His direction, His truth and His strength to carry out whatever task He has set before us. I pray that as a world, a nation and individual people that each one of us would seek God's direction for our lives moment by moment. If we would pray to the God of heaven in all things how much different might our world and our lives be? Through His strength and grace I believe we can change the world. God bless!
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| "The Book" ©MalekoArts (Mark Schutter) 2012 |
Colored Pencil Drawing 3.5 x 5 inches
1 comment:
You are right on.. We all need to seek the Lord before we speak... we would be so much better off!
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