Repent

SCRIPTURE Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah's Prayer 1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said: "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

OBSERVATION
Today on the Jewish calendar it is a High Holy Day. Today is Yom Kipper. also known in English as the Day of Atonement, it is the most solemn and important of the Jewish Holidays Its central themes are atonement and repentance Jews traditionally observe this High Holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer. They confess their sins and intercede for others on this day. The reading for today's Life Journal gives Nehemiah's prayer to us to review and also to make it our own prayer. Today is a good day to ask for forgiveness! Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We know that God is full of grace and has given his only begotten son to die for our sins so that we may have life. I am so glad that Jesus made atonement for us and that I can come before God everyday to ask for his mercy. I confess that I am a sinner and I have wronged many people.

APPLICATION
I believe, that Nehemiah prayed this prayer because he felt the conviction of God. God wants us to come into his presence, confess our sins and ask for his forgiveness. As a child, I remember praying every night before going to bed and saying my prayers. I remember asking God to forgive me for the sins that I committed that day and to protect us during the night. As an Adult, I confess that I have not stayed with the same routine. Now, that I have children I have been teaching them how to go before God each night and ask him to forgive them for their sins. It seems like we are always in a hurry and we take little time to say prayers. The average American prays less than 15 minutes of prayer. We often times skip over the repentance part. We say a 5 minute "Morning prayer", a 5 minute "Dinner prayer" and a 5 minute "Lay me down to sleep prayer". I think as a family we need to take more time out to genuinely pray for repentance and God's forgiveness.

PRAYER
Lord, I pray to you today that you will forgive me of all my sins. You know exactly the things I should of done or things that I did wrong. You know every time that I have failed you and have chosen to go my own way. Lord I pray that you will forgive me for my attitude and unwillingness to be more like you. I confess to you that I need your help so that I can be more like you. I am a sinner in need of a savior. I have wronged people and have not loved them the way that you wanted me to. Forgive me for my selfish desires and laziness. Please teach me how to live a righteous life that I may be pleasing to you. I pray for our nation and my father's house. Forgive us for the wickedness in our land. We have not followed your commands, decrees, and laws. We have ignored your Holy Spirit's guiding and we have rejected his directions. We pray that you will forgive us today Lord.