Nehemiah
Chapter One.
1 The autobiography of Nehemiah, the
son of Hecaliah:
In December of the twentieth year of the
reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, when I was at the palace at Shushan,
2 one of my fellow Jews
named Hanani came to visit me with some men who had arrived from Judah. I took
the opportunity to inquire about how things were going in Jerusalem.
“How are they getting along—,” I asked,
“the Jews who returned to Jerusalem from their exile here?”
3 “Well,” they replied,
“things are not good; the wall of Jerusalem is still torn down, and the gates
are burned.”
4 When I heard this, I
sat down and cried. In fact, I refused to eat for several days, for I spent the
time in prayer to the God of heaven.
5 “O Lord God,” I
cried out; “O great and awesome God who keeps his promises and is so
loving and kind to those who love and obey him! Hear my prayer!
6-7 Listen carefully to
what I say! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.
I confess that we have sinned against you; yes, I and my people have committed
the horrible sin of not obeying the commandments you gave us through your
servant Moses.
8 Oh, please remember
what you told Moses! You said,
“‘If you sin, I will scatter you among the
nations.
9 but if you return to
me and obey my laws, even though you are exiled to the farthest corners of the
universe, I will bring you back to Jerusalem. For Jerusalem is the place in
which I have chosen to live.’
10 “We are your servants,
the people you rescued by your great power.
11 O Lord, please
hear my prayer! Heed the prayers of those of us who delight to honour you.
Please help me now as I go in and ask the king for a great favour—put it into
his heart to be kind to me.” (I was the king’s cupbearer.)
Nehemiah 1:1-4. = Nehemiah, just an
ordinary man.
The Bible sometimes
compares the building of a work of God (Church) with the building of a
building. Acts 9:31 says: “Then had the churches rest throughout
all Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria and were edified; and walking in
the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied.”
“Edified” means to build up. It
is where we get the word edifice or organization, structure, group, or network.
Jesus said He would
build “His Church” and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Of
course, a church is not a building, it is a body. The body of Christ.
The church is not an
organization, it is a living thing, a living, breathing entity. It needs
health, it needs growth, and God wants to build it, bless it, and grow it. 1
Corinthians 3:9 says: “For we are labourers together with God: you are
God’s husbandry; you are God’s building.”
If we build people, the
church will automatically be built. My job is not primarily to build a church,
but to put out good feed. And so, we should not be about building a church as
much as building people. You build a church one person at a time.
Someone said: “In every church there
are THREE kinds of people:
1. Destructionists: they
tear down the work of God.
2. Obstructionists: they
get in the way of the work of God.
3. Constructionists: they
assist in building the work of God.
I would not want to be
one of the first two. Nehemiah is the perfect example of how to be the latter.
He led God’s people in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem which had been
destroyed by the enemy. It was the most amazing feat of engineering and
construction about which you will ever hear, and they did the job in 52 days!
The Book of Nehemiah
gives us lessons of leadership, organization, dealing with criticism and
opposition, and lessons on commitment and determination. We can ask 3
questions:
What did it mean
then?
What does it mean now?
What does it mean to
ME?
We need to apply these
principles to our lives.
Let us lay a foundation:
the first paragraph of a story is the most important, and that it should answer
the who, the what, the when, and the where. Nehemiah does this in the first
couple of verses.
hat is the Book of
Nehemiah?
Verse 1.
1 The autobiography of Nehemiah the son of
Hachaliah. In December of the twentieth year of the reign of
King Artaxerxes of Persia, when I was at the palace at Shushan” Nehemiah
1:1.
This is an
autobiography. His journals. His testimony of what God did in him and through
him.
God works for us =
Salvation.
God works in us =
Sanctification.
God works through us =
Service.
If I asked you now to write down how
God is using you to build up the work of God, what would you have to write
down? Would what you write challenge and inspire others? “The words of
Nehemiah” were something worth writing because God was working in his life.
Who is Nehemiah?
Verse 1.
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in
the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel”
Nehemiah 1:1.
“The son of Hachaliah.”
There are THREE men who
played a key role in rebuilding Jerusalem after the Babylonians
destroyed it:
Zerubbabel, the prince,
represented the political side.
Ezra, the priest,
represented the religious side.
Then there’s Nehemiah,
who was a layperson, an ordinary church member.
He was not a prophet,
priest, or preacher. He worked a 9 to 5 job. And you do not have to be a
preacher to be used of God! The Lord God has a way of taking ordinary people
and doing extra ordinary things through them.
e.g., D. L. Moody was
never ordained to preach. He was a salesperson who got saved and heard a
preacher state that the world has yet to see what God can do with a man
completely yielded to him.
And Moody said, by the
grace of God, I will be that man. He had never been to school and would butcher
the English language. But God transformed this ordinary man into the mighty
evangelist that he became.
I
heard a story about Moody. He got a lot of hate mail, and much of it was
unsigned. One time in a meeting he came to the pulpit and found a small note
folded there. He opened it to find only one word inside, “Fool.” He told
the crowd, “In my years I have received a lot of letters with no signatures.
But this is the first time I have ever received a signature with no letter!”
There is no limit to what God can do
through YOU if you will decide to let Him do it! I would like to get everyone
on board in order for them to succeed. But God chooses to use the faithful few.
I would like to see a
big crowd out for witnessing, but God uses the faithful.
It would be nice if
everyone would come out to prayer meeting, but God does not want you to pray
because you have to, only if you want to!
Remember:
It was the minority that
believed God and got onto the ark with Noah.
It was the minority of
the spies who saw the Promised Land as God’s gift to Israel and the
enemy as defeatable.
It was the minority who
believed Jesus was the Son of God.
It was the minority who
followed Him even after He proved it by rising from the dead!
It has always been the
minority who gets serious about serving God.
And today:
It is the minority who
are truly faithful to God.
It is the minority who
believes in creation instead of evolution.
It is the minority who
believes in saving themselves for marriage.
Nehemiah did what he did as a minority,
and in the face of criticism, opposition, and many cynics. But one person,
if he is with God, makes a MAJORITY!
What is Nehemiah? A testimony.
Who is Nehemiah? A loyal
layperson.
Verse 1.
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the
month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel”
Nehemiah 1:1.
“The month Chisleu in
the twentieth year.” This corresponds with about November and December. The 20th
year means “of the reign of Artaxerxes” which would be 445 B.C. It was
extremely tough times.
Verse 3.
“And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in
the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is
also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire” Nehemiah 1:3.
It was a time of great
affliction and struggle for Israel. Not their glory days. Persecution was
at its highest. And we should never think that we cannot accomplish
wonderful things in these difficult days. God’s will be being accomplished is
not dependent upon favorable circumstances, but only upon the power of our
Almighty God! And the darker our world becomes, the brighter our light can
shine
Some today is saying, “you cannot build
a church today preaching doctrine and having standards. People want to be
entertained and pumped up and hear feel good.” If we do not preach the truth of
the Gospel, who else in our town will do it? Read the Book of Acts and the
missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul and you will see the greatest revivals
happened in the most wicked cities steeped in idolatry and immorality! But Paul
shined the light of the gospel, and it pierced the darkness in a flourishing
flood of souls being saved.
In Nehemiah it is the most difficult of
days, but just like today. Yet, God wanted to show Himself strong and true!
When did this happen? In dark days. Also, it was just another ordinary day in
the life of Nehemiah.
Verses 2-3.
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month
of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel,
2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked
them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and
concerning Jerusalem” Nehemiah 1:1-2.
It all sounds very
unimportant. They made small talk and the subject came up. One thing led to
another, and very quickly Nehemiah was driven by God into the ministry, leading
the building crew! God had a divine appointment arranged for Nehemiah on this
day in order to change his life and accomplish God’s will.
a. It was just an ordinary
day for Moses when after 40 years of watching sheep day after day God spoke to
him through a burning bush.
b. It was just an ordinary
day when David was called from the flocks to be anointed King of Israel, and
that shepherd boy became a king.
c. It was just an ordinary
day when Peter, James and John were fishing and mending their nets and then
Jesus walked by, and they became fishers of men!
God can take an ordinary
person on an ordinary day and do extra ordinary things. Perhaps He is speaking
to your heart about this right now! It was an ordinary weekday when I first
heard and understood the gospel and I got saved and my life has been quite
different than what it would have been. It was an ordinary invitation like a
thousand others with my head bowed and my eyes closed when God spoke to me
about my salvation, and all changed from that ordinary day.
Where did Nehemiah take
place?
Verse 1.
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month
of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in the palace at Shushan”
Nehemiah 1:1.
What was Nehemiah, the
Jew, doing in the Babylonian King’s palace? 150 years before this the Babylonians
had conquered Israel, destroyed Jerusalem, leading many of the Jews
off to Babylon as prisoners? Why did God allow this? It was
because Israel repeatedly ignored God’s pleas for them to abstain from
idolatry.
Yet, they returned to
idols over and again, and so God said, you want idolatry, I will send you to
the fountainhead of it all! Be careful about what you want so badly. God may
give you what you are insisting and give you a shove in that direction so you
can see His way really was best. Then you can learn the lesson better and come
back to Him.
100
years later, 50 years previous to Nehemiah’s day, a group of Jews were
permitted to return to Babylon and rebuild the temple, but the walls were
never repaired.
Who cares about the walls? In those
days, they were everything. They stood for protection, for separation and for
glorification, where God’s glory would shine. Plus, for anticipation, for the
prophets had foretold that the walls would be rebuilt for the coming of the
Messiah.
Verses 3-4.
3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in
the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is
also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
4 So it was, when I heard these words,
that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying
before the God of heaven” Nehemiah 1:3-4.
When Nehemiah heard
about the broken-down walls it broke his heart. It became his burden, and his
responsibility to fix it.
Why was he in Shushan
the palace?
Verse 11.
11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be
attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who
desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and
grant him mercy in the sight of this man." For I was the king's
cupbearer” Nehemiah 1:11.
It was a great position
to have. It was a well-paid government position like being in the Secret
Service or bodyguard to the President/Queen because you would taste their food
first and be their personal assistant. History tells us that to have this
position Nehemiah had to be handsome, cultured, and knowledgeable. And because
he had daily access the king, he had profound influence.
Here was a man who had it made. He
lived the way the king lived, and ate the way he ate, and dressed the way he
dressed. In the lap of luxury. Who cares about the sins of his ancestors and
some walls a thousand miles away? It was not his fault!
Many people do not want to know what is
going on, because knowledge brings responsibility. But Nehemiah’s heart was
broken by the news, and he volunteered to do something about it. He left
comfort and security, trading it all for the harshness of a ruined city. He
exchanged status for poverty, and comfort for disapproval, and royalty for
mockery. He left an easy job to do an impossible task.
Conclusion on Nehemiah
the man:
The lesson of the book
of Nehemiah is: The Kingdom of God and His Church are built by those who are
willing to sacrifice and leave their comfort zone.
Nehemiah 1:5-11. =
Pray for the Impossible.
A Jew being the cupbearer to Artaxerxes, the Babylonian King, is an
impossible thought to ponder. How could this possibly be? It was an
impossible situation, but we serve the God of the impossible! The Jews are
being held in captivity, and their release seemed impossible.
And the destruction of Jerusalem also seemed to be a situation
far beyond comprehension and rebuilding it and its walls even less
likely. But here is where God does His best work, in impossible
circumstances.
Nehemiah was just an ordinary man with a regular testimony for the Lord,
and it was just your average day when he heard about the rebuilding of the
temple, and of the need to do the same with the walls which once surrounded the
city, which now stood in heaps.
The gates were burned with fire. The people there were discouraged
and devastated in poverty. Its broke Nehemiah’s heart. He began to
weep and pray and fast over it.
Verse 4.
“So it was, when I heard these words, that
I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying
before the God of heaven” Nehemiah 1:4.
One of the major themes which emerges from the book of Nehemiah is
prayer. The book and opens and closes with prayer. I have
read there are 12 prayers recorded in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah
realized “there are many things you can do AFTER you pray, but there is nothing
you can do UNTIL you pray!”
When we are dependent on God we walk through life with the most joy,
but, not when we heap things around us as our gods. If we took 1% of the
energy, we put into trying to MAKE things happen and invested that into prayer,
we would see an increase in blessings!
This book is about
building a work for God, and behind every great work of God there is somewhere
someone on bended knees. All of heaven’s power becomes focused on the work
of God when the people of God are willing to weep, pray, and fast for that
which is truly important in this life.
Nehemiah hears about
this impossible situation:
He is down but not out.
Depressed but not defeated.
He has a faith outlook. God’s people are not helpless in the face
of problems. We do not have to sit idly by and just accept whatever life
deals our way.
A Christian should not have the negative mindset, for in every
difficulty there is an opportunity. I heard a story of a shoe salesman
sent to a remote jungle village. After a few months we sent a message back to
his head office, “no one wears shoes, cannot make a sale.” A second salesperson
was sent there, he sent a message back to the head office, “No one wears shoes,
send more stock!”
A good Christian sees an opportunity in every difficulty! But every
miracle God ever performed started out with a problem, that is why a miracle
was needed. “Jesus did not do miracles to make good things better. He
did miracles to make bad things good!” He righted wrongs and fixed broken
things. Problems are opportunities for God to show Himself strong.
Nehemiah’s REACTION to the news was weeping and sadness, like any
of us humans. But fasting and prayer was his COUNTE-RACTION. God’s
people have a powerful tool our disposal. It is a most powerful
counteraction. It is the mighty weapon of prayer.
2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds.”
“Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.”
Here is one of the mightiest prayers in all of the Bible.
1.
A prayer of contrition, (remorse,
regret, sorrow, and shame).
He understands he is kneeling before the great God of heaven.
Verse 5.
5 And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome
God, you who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe
Your commandments” Nehemiah 1:5.
He is not coming to God lightly. Yes, prayer is conversation with
God, but always with reverence for who He is. Jesus prayed this way in His
example of the Lord’s prayer. “Hallowed be Your Name.” Nehemiah did
not rush into the presence of God asking for his problem to be fixed.
Why “great and
terrible?” Terrible here means ‘one who provokes terror.’ It is
not about His characteristics; it is about His position over us. It comes
from the same root word from which we get the term ‘reverend.’ We live in
a culture today where we only want to hear about the love of God, the mercy and
grace of God, and the goodness of God.
They are all very real, and I am thankful for those attributes. But
if you reject the above the Bible says it is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God!
2 Corinthians 5:11 “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we
persuade men.”
We live in the ‘no fear’ generation. We have lost the fear for the
God who gave us life! And the church is getting forgetful also. We
used to fear God and it showed in our behaviour and lifestyle. I am not talking
about an unhealthy fear of a dictator. Rather, we used to be afraid of
letting Him down!
I am against today’s
preaching and music and programs in the church that tries to pull God down to
man’s level. The church today is saying to the world, “Since you are not
willing to go to the One who said, ‘Come unto Me,’ we will bring a more
tolerable version of Him down to where you like to live!” God is not ‘the man
upstairs.’
Verse 10.
“Now
these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great
power, and by Your strong hand” Nehemiah 1:10.
Learn from Nehemiah how to move the hand of God and get prayers
answered. When you have real problems and impossible situations you do not
need a God you can walk up to and ‘high five.’ You need a God that is so
great, mighty, and powerful, that coming into His presence causes you to kneel
in humble contrition.
2.
A prayer of concern. (Alarm, distress,
uneasiness, and anxiety).
Nehemiah did not
pray just because it was time to pray. He was not sitting down to eat or
taking up the offering or praying any kind of prayer by routine and tradition.
He was praying a real prayer of concern.
There is two times to pray: when you feel like it and when you do not
(ha, ha). And we especially need to pray when we feel like it the
least. And there is two times to get into the Bible, meditate on it, and
ponder its truth.
Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not
depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that
you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you
shall make your way prosperous, and then you shalt have good success.”
When is the last time you prayed not because you were called upon or out
of habit, but because you were broken hearted and hurting?
When is the last time you were burdened about someone’s soul so much
that you wept and prayed for them?
When is the last time you bore the burden of a fellow Christian and took
their request on your back so much that you helped carry that burden, and you
carried it to God in prayer, believing you could ‘pray it through’ for them?
Someone said:
“We pray without crying,
We give without sacrificing,
We live without fasting,
Is it any wonder that we
sow without reaping?
We are a dry-eyed church in a hell-bent world.
“Our eyes are dry, our faith is old, our heart is hard, our prayers are
cold.”
Nehemiah never could
have rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem until he wept over the
ruins. The burden led to the prayer that led to the miracle! You
cannot heal what you do not feel. Tears are a language God understands. He
is moved by what we are moved.
Psalm 126:5-6 “They that sow in tears shall reap
in joy. He that goes forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
1.
A prayer of confession. (Acknowledgement,
declaration of guilt).
Verses 6-7.
6 Please let Your ear be attentive and Your
eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You
now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the
sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my
father’s house and I have sinned.
7 We have acted very corruptly
against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the
ordinances which You commanded Your servant, Moses” Nehemiah 1:6-7.
The best prayers are the ones that God hears. And He has promised
that He does not hear the prayers of those who willfully are not right with
him.
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me: Nehemiah knew it was sin that led to the
destruction of Jerusalem and her walls. And it would do no
good to weep over the ruins if he were not willing to repent of the sin which
led to those ruins.”
Is your life lying in
ruins? Is sin to blame? Do not just cry over your plight. But
make it right before God! It has been my personal experience that many times
God will give you back more for your repentance than you lost through your sin!
We serve a great God, and He is not finished with you yet.
There is a
difference between being sorry for your sin and just being sorry you were
caught. Some people only weep over their sin once they are experiencing
the painful consequences of sin. There is a difference between weeping
because you do not like your consequences and weeping because you let down the
God of heaven, who loved you and gave Himself for you!
Nehemiah did weep
over the consequences, but primarily he wept over the sin which led them there.
Look again at:
Verses
6-7.
6 Please let Your ear be attentive and Your
eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray
before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants,
and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned
against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.
7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the
commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your
servant, Moses” Nehemiah 1:6-7.
Notice
the “we” “I” and “my” words. What is Nehemiah doing saying such
words? He was not even alive for those sins. He was born and
raised a thousand miles away from it all. This is the identification
principle. He is identifying with the sins of his people.
Ezra 9:5-6
5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness;
and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out
my hands unto the Lord my God,
6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to
lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are
increased over our head, and our trespass is
grown up unto the heavens.
Nehemiah recognized the true fact that when a nation turns against God
there is a sense in which we ALL bear some responsibility. We are all in
this together. And even if it is not, you personally sinning it is our
indifference which has allowed it right under our noses.
We blame our leaders for many things, but we elected them. You say,
“my vote does not matter enough.” It is not just your vote, it is your
influence, your stand, your testimony! Never a year goes by that a big-name
preacher does not fall by the wayside morally. As a pastor I am asked
about these things often and the temptation is to answer in a way that puts me
above that, but not so. I am a man and but by the grace of God there go I!
So, we need a
national confession, but also a personal confession. It is much easier to
point out sin in others’ lives than in your own. Yet, great things can happen
when we get right with God.
Verse 11.
11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be
attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who
desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and
grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king's cupbearer”
Nehemiah 1:11.
“But
Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26.
Nehemiah 1:5-11. =
Pray for the Impossible.
Last time we said
that God does His best work, in impossible circumstances! Matthew 19:26
“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
And I spoke about
Nehemiah prayer of:
1.
A prayer of contrition.
He understands he is kneeling before the great God of heaven.
Verse 5.
5 And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome
God, you who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe
Your commandments” Nehemiah 1:5.
I am thankful that I can talk to God as a friend and as a Father, but I
need to remember Who He truly is!
2.
A prayer of concern.
He wept and prayed, and then fasted. Jesus said the big things come
by fasting. Nehemiah never could have rebuilt the walls
of Jerusalem until he wept over the ruins. The burden led to the
prayer that led to the miracle! You cannot heal what you do not feel.
3.
A prayer of confession.
Verses 6-7.
6 Please let Your ear be attentive and Your
eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You
now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the
sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my
father’s house and I have sinned.
7 We have acted very corruptly
against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the
ordinances which You commanded Your servant, Moses” Nehemiah 1:6-7.
The best prayers are the ones that God hears. And He has promised
that He does not hear the prayers of those who willfully are not right with
him.
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me.”
Nehemiah knew it was sin that led to the destruction
of Jerusalem and her walls. And it would do no good to
weep over the ruins if he were not willing to repent of
the sin which led to those ruins.
Is your life lying in
ruins? Is sin to blame? Do not just cry over your plight. Make
it right!
Now is time to move on.
4.
A prayer of confidence.
(self-assurance, certainty).
Verses 8-10.
8 Remember, I pray, the word that You
commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter
you among the nations;
9 but if you return to Me, and keep
My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest
part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the
place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.'
10 Now these are Your servants and
Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong
hand” Nehemiah 1:8-10.
He says, “God, remember those promises from your Word? I am holding
you to your Word!” Nehemiah not only knew God’s Word, but he also believed
it. Here is real prayer.
Not just thinking of what you want and asking God for it.
Not just having your agenda and begging God to get on board with your
plans.
Real prayer is taking God at His Word. Real prayer is claiming the
Rock Solid Promises He has given us in His Word!
Nehemiah says God, I
am asking you now to do what you have said you will do. We are returning
to you in faith and repentance, and now we will await your favourable response
back to us as you have promised. Nehemiah is holding God to his Word.
God is not offended
by this. He delights in us believing Him and taking His Word. Without
faith it is impossible to please God, and so having faith pleases
Him! Faith is taking God at His Word. Faith is believing God’s
promises regardless of the circumstances and regardless of the consequences.
Someone said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance; it is laying
hold of His willingness!”
5.
A prayer of commitment. (Promise, vow,
and obligation).
Verses 10-11.
10 Now these are Your servants and Your
people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your
ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your
servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I
pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king's
cupbearer” Nehemiah 1:10-11.
” Servant” is the key word. Nehemiah is
making himself available to God. He is willing to be the answer to his own
prayer. He says “Lord, something needs done in Jerusalem, and if you want
to use me to fix it, I am available!”
It does no good to be contrite, concerned, confessed, and confident, if
you are not personally committed. We must be willing to put our hands and
feet to our prayers, not just praying for God to do it through someone
else. If you want to pray for someone to be saved, great, but remember you
are at the top of God’s list as a potential witness to help make it happen!
Getting on our knees
is wonderful, but what do we do when we get up and our feet hit the
floor? We can do nothing until we pray, but there is much we should do
AFTER we pray! That miracle happened because of prayer, and we serve the God of
the impossible, and we should pray impossible prayers with confidence, and with
commitment to be used of God!
Nehemiah did not rush out to do the work until He sought the Lord about
it.
Prayer gives us a clearer vision.
Prayer brings peace.
Prayer makes us more productive.
Chapter Two. Verse 1.
1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the
twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the
wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before”
Nehemiah 2:1.
All Nehemiah did in chapter One was pray. Now in chapter Two it is
the month Nisan. It is 4 months later. How long did Nehemiah
pray? 120 days! It goes on to tell how Nehemiah then asked the king
for permission to go rebuild the walls.
How long did it take to rebuild the walls? Just 52 days! He
prayed longer than he worked. He prayed for 4 months and had it done in
less than 2 months!
That’s all folks!
