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You can learn a lot about leaders by listening to how they pray. In Nehemiah 1, we get to listen in on a prayer from Nehemiah, one of the Bible’s best leaders.When Nehemiah first heard about the fall of Jerusalem, he prayed for four months. He didn’t pray casually; he gave us a pattern for praying successfully. If you want to know how to pray, study the book of Nehemiah—particularly this model prayer.Here is what we can learn about how to pray from Nehemiah’s prayer.1. Base your request on God’s character. “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands . . .” (Nehemiah 1:5 NLT).Start off praying 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!” Notice that Nehemiah says three specific things about God:You’re great (recognizing God’s position).You’re awesome (recognizing his power).You keep your promises (recognizing God’s covenant).Nehemiah begins with the right perspective about the character of God.2. Confess the sin in your life. “I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:6–7 NLT).Nehemiah confesses his own personal sin, his family sin, and the nation’s sin. We tend to be very individualistic today. We’re taught to confess our own sins—not corporate sins. When was the last time you confessed the sins of your family, your church, or your nation? Our society has taught us we’re only responsible for ourselves, but that’s just not true! You are your brother’s keeper. We are all in this together. If you want to be a leader, you accept the blame and share the credit. 3. Claim the promises of God. “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored’” (Nehemiah 1:8–9 NLT).Can you imagine saying “remember” to God? Nehemiah is reminding God of what he said in the past. Does God have to be reminded of his promises? Of course not. But we do. Nothing pleases God more than when you remind God of one of his promises. When you remind God of his promises, you show him that you know what he has promised!  4. Make specific requests. “O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me” (Nehemiah 1:11 NLT).For God to answer specific prayers, you need to make specific requests. Otherwise, you’ll never know if God answers them.Nehemiah prays boldly for success. You may be hesitant to do that, but there is nothing wrong with praying for success if your aim is ultimately the glory of God. If you can’t ask God to make you a success at what you’re doing, do something else. God doesn’t want you to waste your life. Make specific requests with the aim of God’s glory and watch to see how God will answer them.

I know you’ve likely had a busy few weeks, full of Christmas services, programs, and ministry. By this point, you’re probably exhausted. But don’t miss the opportunity to take a few moments to reflect on the miracles of Christmas. You’ve preached about Christmas. You’ve talked about it. You’ve sung about it.It’s easy to get so busy doing ministry during the Christmas season that you never take the time to think about what God did at Christmas—and what it means for you.As you wrap up this season and head into a new year, take some time to thank God for these four Christmas miracles.God Came to EarthThe God of the universe became a man. The Bible describes Jesus as “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15 NIV). Jesus wasn’t just a good man—He was God in the flesh. The incarnation isn’t just a fancy theological term for you to preach; it’s a deeply personal reality to embrace in your ministry. God isn’t detached from the struggles you’re facing. He is right there in your fatigue, frustrations, and joys.Thanks to the miracle of the incarnation, you are never alone. God’s presence is the greatest gift you can receive this Christmas.God Came as a ManPaul tells us, “[Christ] gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself” (Philippians 2:7-8 NCV).Think about all the ways God could have revealed himself. He could have written his message in fiery letters across the sky or invented a worldwide satellite system 2,000 years ago to broadcast his arrival. But he didn’t.Jesus didn’t come as a distant force or an imposing deity. He came as a vulnerable, approachable, fully human baby. Why? So he could relate to you. He grew like you, experienced life as you do, and faced every temptation without sinning.Jesus understands the demands and challenges you face as a pastor. He knows what it’s like to be tired, to be misunderstood, and to carry the burdens of others. Let this truth sink in deeply this Christmas: You have a Savior who truly understands.God Came for EveryoneThe angels didn’t announce Jesus’ birth to the political and social elites of his time. They shared the Good News with lowly shepherds instead. It’s a powerful reminder that no one is excluded from the love Jesus came to earth to show.That includes you. You’re not just a shepherd caring for others. You’re a sheep under the care of the Good Shepherd. You’re not just a preacher of the Good News about Jesus—you’re a recipient of it as well.This Christmas, let that sink in: Jesus didn’t just come for the world—he came for you. his love is personal, and his grace is meant to renew your heart, even amid your ministry responsibilities.God Came for Our BenefitJesus didn’t come to condemn us. He came to save us. He came to give us a life of abundance and purpose. Remember what Jesus says in John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (NIV).That “they” includes you! In the busyness of the Christmas season, it’s easy to focus on what God wants to give to those you’re shepherding. But don’t forget to thank God for the gifts he brings you—including the gift of your calling as a pastor.Reflecting on the MiraclesPastor, these miracles shouldn’t just be the foundation of your Christmas sermons—they’re God’s gift to you. As you look back on this busy season, let these truths refresh your own walk with Christ.

Faith is an inseparable part of your ministry. You can’t please God without it  (Hebrews 11:6). But how do you develop the kind of faith that God wants you to have? By pursuing the ministry dreams God gives you. Last week I shared with you three of the six stages that God will take you through as he gives you a dream and eventually fulfills it.God gives you a dream.You make a decision.You experience a delay.But God doesn’t leave you in that delay pattern. Here are the final three stages of how God grows your faith as you pursue his dreams for your ministry. Stage #4 — You encounter difficultiesUsually, you’ll have two kinds of troubles as you pursue God’s dream for your ministry. First, you’ll have circumstances that pull you down. Second, you’ll face criticism.Throughout Scripture, God’s people faced difficulties as they tried to chase his dream for them. Read the stories of Moses, David, and Joshua. Each had to overcome painful times in their journeys. You won’t escape that pain either. But you can know that God will work through those difficulties to help you reach the dream he has given you. Peter describes how God uses trials in the faith-building process: “There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure” (1 Peter 1:6-7 TLB).At this stage, God tests your faith. Remember, though—the testing is only temporary.Stage #5 — You hit a dead endDuring this phase, your situation will move from difficult to impossible. You’ll be backed into a corner and exhausted. You’ll think the future of your dream is hopeless. You’ll be at a dead end.The greatest Christian missionary in history, the apostle Paul, faced plenty of dead ends in his ministry. He said he felt crushed, overwhelmed, and scared of death. But that was good, he said! “As a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9 NLT).If God can raise the dead, he can turn around any impossible situation in your life. When you face a dead end, you need to trust God to fulfill the dream he put into your heart.Stage #6 — God delivers you!Just when it looks like the impossible situation will never come to fruition, God performs a miracle as you place your trust completely in him.  Right after Paul wrote about placing his faith in Jesus when he faced an impossible situation, he said: “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10 NIV).Not only did God deliver Paul, but the apostle knew he’d continue to do so.God is faithful. I saw it over and over again as pastor of Saddleback Church. Many times, I thought we’d hit a dead end along the way. I thought there was no chance we’d be able to start the church, get land, or build. But every time our backs were against the wall, God came through. He will come through for your dream as well. It may not happen as you expect, but God will always deliver you!I don’t know where you and your dream are in these six stages, but God will take you to stage six. You’ll get there. If God gave you this dream, he will fulfill it.

For your church to remain vibrant and fruitful, you need the blessing of God. When God blesses a church, miracles happen. Marriages are saved, lives are changed, and people are put back together. When God blesses a church, he dramatically changes people’s lives. That has always been the kind of church I wanted to lead. I’m guessing that’s the same for you.So, how do you maintain God’s blessing on your church? You do what God has told the church to do. To know what that is, you need to go back to the very beginning of the church.When you were born, you had all the DNA you needed for your life at the point of conception. You didn’t get any more DNA as you grew older. In the same way, the church in Acts 2 had all the necessary ingredients for God’s blessing. They were using everyone’s talents. They were devoted to God’s Word. They loved one another deeply. But above everything else, they prayed. That’s the starting point for a church that God blesses. The presence of God’s power makes the church different from every other organization. No business or government has the Holy Spirit. He gives us the power to do what we can’t do ourselves. Think about the responsibility God has given to churches. We are to populate heaven with unbelievers. But God doesn’t expect us to do this on our own. He gives us his power. And how do we get God’s power?It’s not rocket science. We get it one way: through prayer. Prayer and power have a direct correlation. Much prayer equals much power. Little prayer equals little power. No prayer equals no power. The early church understood this. Think about the story we’re picking up on in Acts chapters 1 and 2. Jesus had died on the cross, God had raised him from the dead, and he had walked on the earth for 40 days. Then he told his followers that they would be his witnesses in “Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NLT). But for now, they were to wait until Jesus sent his Spirit. So, the Bible says, “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer” (Acts 1:14 NLT). Jesus’ followers met for one reason and one reason only: to pray. Then on the tenth day, God sent his Spirit, and miracle after miracle came. Peter preaches the Good News to Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. Then, Luke writes, “A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders” (Acts 2:43 NLT).You know the story. God birthed the church that day. The Bible says 3,000 came to faith in Jesus. The world has never been the same.Your church has a God-sized mission in front of it. Your church can’t do what God has called you to do without his power. And you’ll never have the power of the early church without the prayer of the early church. Pray like the early church did. Pray as if your church’s impact depends upon it—because it does.