Faithwebbin.net > Witness Walk

The History

"The words or story of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: Now in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year [of the Persian king], as I was in the castle of Shushan,

Hanani, one of my kinsmen, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped exile, and about Jerusalem.

And they said to me, The remnant there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its [fortified] gates are destroyed by fire."---Nehemiah 1:1-3

The Prayer

"When I heard this, I sat down and wept and mourned for days and fasted and prayed [constantly] before the God of heaven,

And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, Who keeps covenant, loving-kindness, and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to listen to the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You day and night for the Israelites, Your servants, confessing the sins of the Israelites which we have sinned against You. Yes, I and my father's house have sinned.

We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.

Remember [earnestly] what You commanded Your servant Moses: If you transgress and are unfaithful, I will scatter you abroad among the nations;

But if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the farthest part of the heavens [the expanse of outer space], yet will I gather them from there and will bring them to the place in which I have chosen to set My Name.

Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.

O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere and fear Your name (Your nature and attributes); and prosper, I pray You, Your servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was cupbearer to the king."---Nehemiah 1:4-11

The Answer

If you are really observant (by nature), I'm sure the first thing that you are noticing is that there is no answer listed...no apparent one, anyway. Hold tight. There is great significance in that.

Although I have heard a few sermons about Nehemiah in my time, after reading through this book of the Bible, he is definitely one of our "unsung heroes" and one of the best examples when it comes to humilty in leadership. He was focused, he was driven, he was committed, both personally as well as professionally and as a direct result, great things took place during the course of his life. As a matter of fact, the Max Lucado Bible calls him the Abraham Lincoln, General George Patton and Winston Churchill of the Old Testament.

His story begins as the king's cupbearer---a very prestigious and profitable position at that time. But as the story unfolds, it shows a man who was more concerned with serving God and God's people, than being honored and esteemed (that is a good word in itself). When he received word that the people of Israel were about to reconstruct their Temple, immediately, there was a sense of urgency in him...things were desolate in Jerusalem and there had to be a wall to protect the Temple. However, he knew that in order to help the people, he needed grace from the king, his earthly employer, which was the basic motivation for this prayer.

As you reflect over his words, think about the last series of prayers that you have presented before the Father. I will be the first to admit that I find myself somewhat embarrassed. In the time that I have been focusing on prayers in the Bible, in many cases, there have been three definite trends: There is praise that goes to the Father before a want is spoken, there is blatant and real honesty, and words are used to remind God about what He said and who He is.

There are great lessons that we all can work from that. If you feel, as I sometimes have, that your prayers have been ineffectual, this very well could be the reason why. God loves praise, honesty and honor, but as I am maturing spiritually, I am also coming to realize that in following these prayer steps, it reminds me of who my "Daddy" is, who I am and what God said He would do as a direct result of both.

But there is so much more than needs to be addressed and applied. As the monkey said to Simba in The Lion King (in preparation for his leadership role as well, mind you), "look deeper".

When was the last time you heard news concerning your family, your friends, the people in your church, on your job, in your country and became broken? Sadly enough, we rarely fast for ourselves, let alone purely for the fate of someone else. It seems almost unrealistic to expect people to pray and fast on the behalf of others...but that is just what we are to do, what God expects us to do.

Nehemiah knew that the people of Israel were in serious trouble and that something needed to be done---and quick. He didn't simply throw up a "catch phrase" prayer hoping that God was on the receiving end. He didn't mail a $10 dollar check to the Temple ministry. He didn't sit around with his other "upper class" friends and gossip about how those people got in all that mess in the first place.

No, he went to the Father to plead mercy on their behalf and grace on his. What I love about this prayer is that, even with our personal modern-day issues, it is still one that we can apply to our lives today...and each and every day after this.

"Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to listen to the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You day and night for the Israelites, Your servants, confessing the sins of the Israelites which we have sinned against You. Yes, I and my father's house have sinned.

We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses."

What I respect about this part of the prayer is that Nehemiah did not go to the Father based on assumption. He went both conscious and respectful of His time and His position. Too often, we go to the Father assuming that because we say "jump", He is the one who is supposed to ask "how high"...how disrespectful.

Then he readily and openly admitted that he and the people of Israel were sinful. There was no manipulation or justification, just the facts...plain and simple. How many times have you gone to God admitting when things are your fault; sharing with Him that you are in the state that you are in because of your own hands; that at the end (and beginning for that matter) of the day, you are the one in need Him, not because He owes you anything, because you are in debt. Shoot, we rarely can apologize to one another when we have made a mistake---and each other, we can see. When we are honest, with God and ourselves, we are clear-visioned and sober-minded---the prime candidates for a sure response.

Remember [earnestly] what You commanded Your servant Moses: If you transgress and are unfaithful, I will scatter you abroad among the nations;

So many of us pray with low spiritual self-esteem. When we are in a tight spot, or a jam, the Enemy tends to whisper all of the bad things that we have done and how God will respond to us as a direct result. He knows that if we focus on that, we will not dwell, obsess, thrive on what will happen to us if we would turn from our ways and claim the promises of God.

Some of us are worried at this very moment that we are in the state that we are in politically because of the sins our president has previously committed; what we need to be doing is focusing on what God said He would do for His people amidst confusion, conflict and fear. The focus should not be in President Bush (and I have to tell myself this daily), but our people, just as the focus for Nehemiah was not King Artaxerxes, but the people of Israel. There was something bigger than his position then, and there is something bigger than our governmental leaders and their positions now.

So, as a result of Nehemiah's "prayer ettiquette", what was God's answer? This is the most vital lesson of the prayer. In this case, God didn't speak audibly to Nehemiah. He did not send a prophet. If Nehemiah was not careful, he may have missed the answer. What Nehemiah wanted was grace, tolerance and understanding before his earthly boss, and at the time that he went to King Artaxerxes, although he went with his flesh in fear, because his prayers went before his body, the king honored his request. His prayer was answered.

Sure, there were rules that had to be followed ("How long will your journey be? And when will you return?"---Nehemiah 2:6), but because he was responsible in his spirit (which pleased God) as well as his flesh (which pleased the king), both his leaders knew that he could be trusted. Some of us are not granted favor because in either, and in many cases, both areas, we are not equally as responsible.

Fasting for the troops does not necessarily mean that you are to quit your job and pray at home all day.

Being the boss of a corporation doesn't mean that you treat your employees disrespectfully. Many of you are leading modern-day Nehemiahs...remember that...

You do not get "Escape from consequences scott-free" cards just because you acknowledge that you are wrong in prayer.

And praising God while praying for others doesn't mean that you will always get the answer you want, in the way you think it should arrive, at the time you think is best.

Above all, Nehemiah was honored for his selflessness and his sense of responsibility in every area of his life. We could all learn a few things from him.

So, where are you this week in your prayer life? Is there a particular burden on your heart? Have you followed the lineup of praise, honesty and scriptural repetition? Have you actually taken the time to look beyond yourself to the many needs of those around you? Have you made sure that you are acting maturely as well as responsibly when it comes to your Heavenly Father and the earthly beings that He has placed in leadership over you?

And most importantly, have you prayed for discernment so that you can know when your prayer has been answered?

Shellie R. Warren/2003

Shellie R. Warren is a writer, poet and entrepreneur in her own right. Check out Shellie's debut book Inside of Me: Lessons of Lust, Love and Redemption or visit her Web site.