Nehemiah: A Contemplation on Prayer
I have been doing a Bible Study with a group of young ladies on the Book of Nehemiah. For me, Nehemiah has always seemed like one of those books that men ought to read more often than women. It's sort of a manly book, filled with leadership lessons. Not exactly something women flock to. Yet, here we are already knee deep in the vibrant and bold lessons that Nehemiah has to offer to every believer; lessons which we have already begun to glean.
The first thing I want to draw everyone's attention to is Nehemiah's heart. He has a heart of compassion. He has a heart that is easily broken for the disadvantaged, the displaced, and the broken. Nehemiah's heart broke for his people the destruction of Jerusalem. As one of many Jews who had been exiled to Babylon, and later taken by the Persians, we can easily jump to the conclusion that Nehemiah was empathizing with people of his own standing. Perhaps laborers. He was not. Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the Persian King. He was living a life of luxury. He was perfectly placed in a position of influence with the king, and he had a heart that broke for those without. He lived a nice life as the cup bearer, and he could have easily brushed the plight of Jerusalem off as nothing. He didn't though. His heart broke for the fallen city and a fallen people.
This leads into the second thing which strikes me about Nehemiah. When he first hears about the plight of his people the state of disrepair that Jerusalem is in, he falls to his knees, weeps, and then prays and fasts. He prays and fasts for four months before he is able to take action. Four months. This hits me in the heart for a couple of reason. First, is the blatant fact that the first thing he did was fall to his knees and pray. How many of us have done this before undergoing a major project or making a decision? If we were all honest, we have not done this perfectly every time. So many things block us from falling to our knees: fear, pride, and a lack of faith. If you're like me, pride gets in the way. I'm a problem solver. I like to see what I can do first. I want to see what I can do. Pride. On the flip side, I don't like being over emotional. I hate the idea that I might be over reacting to a problem that might have popped up. Instead of going to my knees in prayer, I sometimes let the problem blow over. I ignore it. Often times when I do this the problem will not go away, in many cases it only gets worse. When it gets worse, then we pray. Fear, Pride, Lack of Faith.
This was not the case for Nehemiah. He knew that in order to complete the physical action of rebuilding Jerusalem, he had to have the spiritual strength. Prayer is the most important step in any task we undertake. I would gander to say that prayer is more important than the physical act.
Second, is how Nehemiah prays. He prays scripture. When he speaks to God, he reminds Him of the promises He made to His people. Then he asks for forgiveness. He asks for forgiveness for his nation and for himself. Nehemiah knew that he was just as guilty of sin as the rest of the nation. When it came to forgiveness, Nehemiah knew he needed God's mercy just as much as the rest of his nation. Humility. Nehemiah's actions are refreshingly opposite of our own. How many times have we heard a message at church and thought, "Wow, So and So really should have been here to hear this. They needed to hear about.... (fill in the blank with any spiritual truth of your choosing)." We are so willing to point out the flaws, the specks of dust, in others and say what they need to hear. When, in fact, the message is just as important and applicable to our lives.
Nehemiah knew that he had to have sin and sinful life style choices weeded out of his heart before he could even consider taking up the task God had laid upon his heart: the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Nehemiah knew that he had to have the spiritual foundation laid down and firm before he took up the physical act of building. He knew that God would not share the throne or the Glory. God will not share the throne or the Glory with us either. Four months of prayer ladies. Four months of prayer. As author and Gospel Singer, Kelly Minter said "God will not share us with our American Dreams."
Ladies, what has God laid upon our hearts to do for others? Are we willing to commit this to months of prayer before taking action?
The first thing I want to draw everyone's attention to is Nehemiah's heart. He has a heart of compassion. He has a heart that is easily broken for the disadvantaged, the displaced, and the broken. Nehemiah's heart broke for his people the destruction of Jerusalem. As one of many Jews who had been exiled to Babylon, and later taken by the Persians, we can easily jump to the conclusion that Nehemiah was empathizing with people of his own standing. Perhaps laborers. He was not. Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the Persian King. He was living a life of luxury. He was perfectly placed in a position of influence with the king, and he had a heart that broke for those without. He lived a nice life as the cup bearer, and he could have easily brushed the plight of Jerusalem off as nothing. He didn't though. His heart broke for the fallen city and a fallen people.
This leads into the second thing which strikes me about Nehemiah. When he first hears about the plight of his people the state of disrepair that Jerusalem is in, he falls to his knees, weeps, and then prays and fasts. He prays and fasts for four months before he is able to take action. Four months. This hits me in the heart for a couple of reason. First, is the blatant fact that the first thing he did was fall to his knees and pray. How many of us have done this before undergoing a major project or making a decision? If we were all honest, we have not done this perfectly every time. So many things block us from falling to our knees: fear, pride, and a lack of faith. If you're like me, pride gets in the way. I'm a problem solver. I like to see what I can do first. I want to see what I can do. Pride. On the flip side, I don't like being over emotional. I hate the idea that I might be over reacting to a problem that might have popped up. Instead of going to my knees in prayer, I sometimes let the problem blow over. I ignore it. Often times when I do this the problem will not go away, in many cases it only gets worse. When it gets worse, then we pray. Fear, Pride, Lack of Faith.
This was not the case for Nehemiah. He knew that in order to complete the physical action of rebuilding Jerusalem, he had to have the spiritual strength. Prayer is the most important step in any task we undertake. I would gander to say that prayer is more important than the physical act.
Second, is how Nehemiah prays. He prays scripture. When he speaks to God, he reminds Him of the promises He made to His people. Then he asks for forgiveness. He asks for forgiveness for his nation and for himself. Nehemiah knew that he was just as guilty of sin as the rest of the nation. When it came to forgiveness, Nehemiah knew he needed God's mercy just as much as the rest of his nation. Humility. Nehemiah's actions are refreshingly opposite of our own. How many times have we heard a message at church and thought, "Wow, So and So really should have been here to hear this. They needed to hear about.... (fill in the blank with any spiritual truth of your choosing)." We are so willing to point out the flaws, the specks of dust, in others and say what they need to hear. When, in fact, the message is just as important and applicable to our lives.
Nehemiah knew that he had to have sin and sinful life style choices weeded out of his heart before he could even consider taking up the task God had laid upon his heart: the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Nehemiah knew that he had to have the spiritual foundation laid down and firm before he took up the physical act of building. He knew that God would not share the throne or the Glory. God will not share the throne or the Glory with us either. Four months of prayer ladies. Four months of prayer. As author and Gospel Singer, Kelly Minter said "God will not share us with our American Dreams."
Ladies, what has God laid upon our hearts to do for others? Are we willing to commit this to months of prayer before taking action?
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