Nehemiah 1:1-11

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, ² That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. ³ And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. ⁴ And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, ⁵ And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: ⁶ Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. ⁷ We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. ⁸ Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: ⁹ But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. ¹⁰ Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

There are countless books written on the subject of prayer in addition to the Bible. Some of them are very helpful and others, not so much. There have been seminars, retreats, and meetings galore all discussing the subject matter of prayer. With all of the wealth of information and opportunities to learn to pray, God’s people seem to be less enthusiastic and engaged in prayer than at other times. One thing is consistent throughout the history of the Church is that God has used great men and women of prayer to accomplish His work. What is missing today that God’s people do not pray? Why do many Christians seem so apathetic to prayer? The book of Nehemiah opens by introducing to us a man serving in a foreign land in a prominent position. Nehemiah, even though he was a Jew far from home, was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, the ruler of the Persian Empire. The Jewish people had been in captivity and Jerusalem left desolate for approximately 150 years to this point, but under the reign of Cyrus, a remnant was allowed to go home and then a later group commissioned to begin rebuilding the temple. Nehemiah receives word from his brother of the terrible conditions of the city and those who live there and his heart is burdened for his people. It is through this time that God calls Nehemiah to lead the rebuilding of the wall, but what is Nehemiah to do? His response is to pray and, from his prayer, we learn three things that are essential to genuine prayer and how important prayer is as a first step in engaging in the work of the Lord.

First, we learn that true prayer begins with genuine concern. Being a cupbearer speaks to Nehemiah’s integrity and favor from God because he was a foreigner entrusted with such an amazing responsibility. While serving faithfully, Nehemiah receives word from his brother Hanani about the state of his homeland, particularly the capitol city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was in shambles without a wall to protect the city and it was full of returned exiles who were dejected and discouraged. When Nehemiah receives this news from his brother, his heart breaks for his people. What does he do about it? Does he gather up a group to go fix it? Does he begin raising funds to meet needs? No. He prays. As simple, and even cliché, as it has sadly become to us as Christians, Nehemiah does what must be the first action of God’s people when it comes to living the Christian life and serving Him…He prayed. What drives his prayer? We are told that when he receives the news that he “wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted.” Nehemiah’s prayer was motivated and driven by a genuine concern for three major things. First, it was for God’s name being defamed and blasphemed because His people had were defeated and oppressed. Second, it was for God’s people who were suffering. Perhaps thirdly, it was for the sins of the people of Israel throughout their history that led to such a situation. The work of God always begins with prayer from God’s people and that prayer must be driven by a genuine concern for His name, His people, and His work.

Second, we learn that true prayer includes honest confession. Verses 5-9 give to us the contents of his prayer. Nehemiah’s prayer focuses on confession, both of his sin and the sin of his people. He recognizes that Jerusalem’s present predicament is as a result of the sin of its people. God had blessed Israel immeasurably by choosing them as His people, delivering them from Egypt, and giving them the promised land by giving them victory over their enemies. God had chosen to dwell among them, enter into covenant relationship with them, and give them His Word. Yet, what we find throughout Israel’s history is that they broke the covenant. Despite God sending prophet after prophet to them to warn them of the consequences that He clearly laid out about violating His covenant, they persisted in their sin and rebellion against His grace and mercy. Notice that Nehemiah uses “we” when he refers to Israel’s sin. While he was not alive prior to the captivity, he recognizes that the sin of his people is his sin. He recognizes that he is guilty of sin along with his people. Whenever you and I approach God, we must recognize that we do so as a sinful creature approaching a holy and perfect Creator. God is high and lifted up and He is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13). We approach Him on the basis of the reality that our sins have separated us from Him, but we are only able to approach because, in His grace and mercy, He has made atonement for our sin through the death of His Son. While Christ had not come and died yet for sin, Nehemiah approaches God in confession of his people’s sin and in recognition that the only hope for his people was the covenant faithfulness and mercy of God. You and I have no right to demand anything of God. He gives, not because we deserve it, but because He is a faithful God who honors His Word and His covenant through His Son in us. True prayer includes honest confession. We cannot do God’s work or serve Him properly and faithfully unless we are right with Him. We must humble ourselves before Him and learn to cast ourselves on His mercy recognizing that any good that comes our way is purely driven by His love and grace.

Lastly, we learn that true prayer involves humble obedience. Prayer is not actionless. When we talk about “waiting” on God in prayer, it is not an apathetic throwing our hands up. Instead, it involves a readiness to carry out His will when His will is made clear to us. Nehemiah identifies the people as God’s “servants” and he prayed for the opportunity to present itself for him to act on the burden that God had placed upon his heart. That burden was for the security of the city of Jerusalem. Years prior, Ezra the priest had led a group in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. The city now stood unprotected because it lacked an essential structure for any major city’s defenses of that time, a wall. The burden Nehemiah had was to see the wall of Jerusalem rebuilt and its people strengthened. If the people were going to worship and serve the Lord, the walls were needed to allow them to do so because enemies of God and His people surrounded them on every side. Nehemiah had access to the king and he knew that the resources of the king would enable him to carry out the task. However, he knew that ultimately it depended on God’s timing and will. Nehemiah did not rely on his favor with the king, but his favor with God. How many times have we thought our knowledge or our abilities sufficient for a task? That is a dangerous place to be. We must maintain a humble posture because we never have all the facts. Only God does. If we rush ahead of Him in self-confidence, we inevitably make a mess of things, and we may not every realize it. Therefore, he waited until God presented the opportunity for him. Nearly four months later, that door would finally open. Praying does not mean we are actionless. It means that we stand ready for humble obedience. If we try to take things into our own hands in serving God, we will make a mess. If we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think and we are not patient, it will result in harm in the work of God for the people of God, not benefit. God’s sovereign timing is critical. We must understand and trust that the things He has called us to are ultimately in His power to bring to pass, not ours. We are simply to be patient, waiting, and yielding vessels when the time comes. Have you been praying to be used by God for something? Is there someone you’ve witnessed to or wanted to witness to that He’s placed on your heart? Is there a ministry you feel burdened to serve in? Pray and be ready to obey.

True prayer begins with genuine concern for the things of God, the will of God, and the people of God. It does not begin with our selfish desires. It then moves us to understand our approach to God in light of who He is and who we are. True prayer recognizes that you and I have no right to demand anything from God because we are undeserving sinners. Instead, we recognize that the basis of God’s answering our prayers is grace and mercy toward us in our sin. True prayer also calls us to action. It calls us to obedience and faithful patience as we wait on the Lord to answer. Have you really prayed lately? What have your prayers been about? What has motivated them? Call on the Lord today from a humble heart and see His mighty and gracious hand work.