“A Leader’s Prayer Life” Part I “God’s Character” – Rick Warren

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I came across this article on pastors.com all about a leader’s prayer life. This article is not just for ministry leaders. It’s for anyone who prays! He takes a look at how Nehemiah prayed throughout his trials, and it’s very enlightening. I feel that this article could completely transform your prayer life! It’s a pretty long article, so I will break it down into four parts. Today’s first part talks about God’s character.

“You can learn a lot about a person by the kind of prayer he prays. For instance, a selfish prayer indicates a selfish spirit. Have you ever heard a prayer that sounds like a Christmas list – I want this, and I want that? Some people try to impress you with their prayers, yet they come off as arrogant and prideful.

For leaders, there’s a model prayer in the first chapter of the book of Nehemiah. Remember Nehemiah? When he first heard about the downfall of Jerusalem, he prayed for four months.

This was not just a casual prayer. It gives us a pattern for successful praying. If you want to know how to pray, you should study the book of Nehemiah – particularly this prayer.

Here are four secrets to answered prayer from the life of Nehemiah:

1. Base your request on God’s character
Pray like you know God will answer you: “I’m expecting you to answer this prayer because of who you are. You are a faithful God. You are a great God. You are a loving God. You are a wonderful God. You can handle this problem, God!”

Nehemiah approaches God and says, “God, I want you to do something back over in Jerusalem. Verse 5 says, “O Lord God of Heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his command.” Nehemiah said three things about God:

1. You’re great – that’s God’s position.
2. You’re awesome – that shows his power.
3. You keep your promises – God’s covenant.

The first thing Nehemiah did was to acknowledge who God is. That’s what praise is. Acknowledge who God is and his greatness. He starts off by getting the right perspective. In starting to have answered prayer, say, “God, I want you to answer because of who you are. You’ve given us all of these things, these promises. You are a faithful God, a loving God, a merciful God” – all these things the Bible tells us he is. You base your request on God’s character.”