Nehemiah’s Prayer

You might say he was among the lucky captives, living in the palace, cupbearer to the king. Doing such a good job that the king not only took notice of his moods, but responded with offers of help. Nehemiah had a burden on his heart for Jerusalem and the remnant left behind.

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. 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. 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, (Nehemiah 1:2-4 KJV)

Before we take a look at Nehemiah’s prayer, I want you to remember this one:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

Now, take time to read Nehemiah’s prayer:

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, 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: 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. 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. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 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. (Nehemiah 1:4-9 KJV)

Sin = scattering, loss of nation; turning around, back to God = gathering, returning to His promises. How many times have we seen examples of this seemingly never-ending circle? People lose their faith, lose their commitment to God’s will, lose material goods. Stories of generations lost before response to a message causes us to turn around, returning to God. Yes, ‘us’, not only Israel – we need to take this personally and apply it to our lives.

Read more of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. Good stories there!