Prayer from the book of Nehemiah

“On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.”
‭‭“Then the leaders of the Levites called out to the people:
“Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!”
Then they prayed:
“May your glorious name be praised!
May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!
You alone are the Lord.
You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars.
You made the earth and the seas and everything in them.
You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.
You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaan.
And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.
You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea.
You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors.
You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten.
You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land! And then you hurled their enemies into the depths of the sea.
They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters.
You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way.
“You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty.
You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them. “But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them.
Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt.
But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love.
You did not abandon them, even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’
They committed terrible blasphemies. “But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness.
The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night.
You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst.
For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!
“They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them.
Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless!
Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased.
Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land.
They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.
But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you.
They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.
So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer.
But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.
But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them.
Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!
In your love, you were patient with them for many years.
You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets.
But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them.
But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever.
What a gracious and merciful God you are!
Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved. Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws.”
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭9: 1-3, 5-12, 15-21, 24-28, 30-31, 33-34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is a prayer the people of Israel prayed after some of them returned to Jerusalem. Their forefathers had been exiled to Babylon, seventy years before. The the temple in Jerusalem was torn down by their captors. The people gathered and acknowledged God and how he had been merciful to their forefathers even though they had sinned and went after other idols. They not only confessed their sins but acknowledged the sins of their forefathers. They humbled themselves with fasting.

From studies it is shown that brain cells grow when one fasts. Fasting helps to change and heal our minds. Old cells in our brain that remember thoughts that are not Godly can be washed away and new cells with new thoughts can come into the new cells. It has been shown by Dr Leaf that when one repents or changes his mind his brain cells change. God causes us to change our mind.

So fasting and confessing our sins of our generation past breaks curses from our forebears. To get free from generational curses one has to admit he could be under a curse. Then he can ask God to forgive and heal. The power of the curse down the generations has to be broken by someone whom God has anointed to pray in such a way.

This is what it means in Isaiah 61.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you want restoration? Are you praying for revival? Are you praying for healing? Are you praying for renewal of your youth. Then you need to confess your sins and the sins of your forefathers.

Then God will hear from heaven and heal you.