Tags
attentive, bible, discernment, inattentive, Nehemiah, Nehemiah 8, Proverbs, Proverbs 2, Proverbs 4, temptation, wisdom, words
Yesterday I posted a prayer that we might gather together as one man to hear God’s word based on Nehemiah 8:1-3. I’d like to continue on with that passage, and have us focus and reflect on the final portion of verse 3: And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
Nehemiah 8:1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
Proverbs 2:
1 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 4:
20 My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Our Father,
We know that apart from Your Spirit’s working in our hearts, our human tendency is to be inattentive to Your words! Yet we are Your children, born of Your Spirit. It is Your desire that we be attentive to Your words and love Your words. Make our ears attentive to Your words! Give us a love for Your words! Give us a thirst for the living Water and a hunger for the true Bread from heaven!
Forgive us, O Lord, for not being attentive to Your words and Your wisdom.
Sanctify us and our ears by Your truth – Your Word is truth – so our ears might not be itching ears.
Give us ears to be attentive to Your words alone, O Lord.
May we flee from the voices of strangers and flee to Your voice, Good Shepherd!
The voices of strangers will only lead us to devastation and death.
Incline our hearts to seek after You and seek to hear Your voice for Your words alone lead to holiness and life.
We are barraged day in and day out with so many words: spoken, written and sung words. We confess that we are attentive to so many, many words day that are not edifying to our faith, including so many that serve to tear down and disrupt our faith and the dismantle the work You have been doing in our lives.
Forgive us, O Lord, for not being attentive to Your words and Your wisdom.
Sanctify us and our ears by Your truth – Your Word is truth – so our ears might not be itching ears.
Give us ears to be attentive to Your words alone, O Lord.
May we flee from the voices of strangers and flee to Your voice, Good Shepherd!
The voices of strangers will only lead us to devastation and death.
Incline our hearts to seek after You and seek to hear Your voice for Your words alone lead to holiness and life.
We confess that we are allured by the world’s words. The devil disguises himself in the world’s words as an angel of light. Give us discernment to know truth from error and life from death. Protect us from the evil one and his schemes. Help us to put on and to keep putting on Your whole armor so we might not be deceived. Help us to walk not like the world but to set our minds on things above and put off any and all words that are not building us up in our faith.
Forgive us, O Lord, for not being attentive to Your words and Your wisdom.
Sanctify us and our ears by Your truth – Your Word is truth – so our ears might not be itching ears.
Give us ears to be attentive to Your words alone, O Lord.
May we flee from the voices of strangers and flee to Your voice, Good Shepherd!
The voices of strangers will only lead us to devastation and death.
Incline our hearts to seek after You and seek to hear Your voice for Your words alone lead to holiness and life.
Send Your Spirit, O Lord, to strengthen us. We confess we have no power to keep ourselves or guard ourselves apart from Christ’s resurrection power which dwells in us. Work in us so we might not turn to the left or to the right. Keep us from stumbling. Let us not give Satan a foothold in our lives by giving his words a hearing. May we continue to shore ourselves up by taking in Your word regularly, by being attentive to Your words and not his words.
Forgive us, O Lord, for not being attentive to Your words and Your wisdom.
Sanctify us and our ears by Your truth – Your Word is truth – so our ears might not be itching ears.
Give us ears to be attentive to Your words alone, O Lord.
May we flee from the voices of strangers and flee to Your voice, Good Shepherd!
The voices of strangers will only lead us to devastation and death.
Incline our hearts to seek after You and seek to hear Your voice for Your words alone lead to holiness and life.
Send Your Spirit, O Lord, so we might desire You and Your word more and more. Work in our hearts so we might be attentive to Your word. We know full well that Satan knows Your word is our lifeline, that is why he does all he can to keep us from Your word, or to keep us inattentive as we are hearing or reading Your Word. We confess we struggle with abiding in Your Word and letting Your Word abide in us. Strengthen us so we might be attentive to Your words and increasingly delight to hear and read them.
Forgive us, O Lord, for not being attentive to Your words and Your wisdom.
Sanctify us and our ears by Your truth – Your Word is truth – so our ears might not be itching ears.
Give us ears to be attentive to Your words alone, O Lord.
May we flee from the voices of strangers and flee to Your voice, Good Shepherd!
The voices of strangers will only lead us to devastation and death.
Incline our hearts to seek after You and seek to hear Your voice for Your words alone lead to holiness and life.
Zechariah 8:21 
Forever, O Father, Your Word is settled in heaven! You have told us to test everything, not to accept anything in this world without comparing it to what You have said. Those of us who have recognized Your Sovereignty, Your Omniscience, and Your Goodness must also recognize the Truth of Your Word over all other so-called “wisdom” and “truth.” We constantly need to examine all that our minds are exposed to and give place there only to what is in concert with Your Truth. Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to lead us to ALL Truth! Your Word is Truth. Amen!