Nehemiah 1 - Prayer

Prayer is one of the overriding themes of the book and the secret to Nehemiah’s success. The prayer in chapter one is the first of 12 different prayers recorded in the book. It begins with prayer in Persia and closes with prayer in Jerusalem. His prayers are prayers of anguish, joy, protection, dependence and commitment.

Its a story of compassionate, persistent, personal and corporate prayer. Prayer gives Nehemiah perspective; it widens his horizons, sharpens his vision and dwarfs his anxieties.

Nehemiah’s public life was the outflow of his personal life, which was steeped in, and shaped by, a lifestyle of prayer. His devotion to God, his dependence on Him for everything, and his desire for the glory of God found equal expression. He knew that only ventures that are begun in prayer and bathed in prayer throughout are likely to be blessed.

The first place Nehemiah started was with a concern about the problem in verses 1-4.

CONCERN About the Problem. We know from verse 11 that Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king. His job was to taste the king’s wine before the king drank it to make sure it was not poisoned.

As cupbearer, Nehemiah had a great job. He had intimate access to royalty, political standing, and a place to live in the palace. It was a cushy job that provided everything he needed. And yet, when one of his brothers returned from a road trip to Jerusalem, verse 2 says that Nehemiah “questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah was greatly concerned about what was happening in Jerusalem. He could have insulated himself if he chose to, but he didn’t. He sought them out and wanted to hear the first-hand report.

This is an important starting point. It’s so easy for us to stay uninvolved and unaware. Some of us don’t want to even think about stuff that’s going on in our own lives, much less take the time to investigate what is happening in the lives of others. Even though Nehemiah had never been to Jerusalem, he had heard stories about it, and knew that his ancestors had been led away in chains when Babylon destroyed it. He was doing what Jeremiah 51:50 instructed the exiles to do: “…Remember the Lord in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem.”

As he thought on Jerusalem, he listened to the report in verse 3 that the survivors were in great trouble and disgrace, that the wall of Jerusalem was in shambles and that its gates had been burned with fire. As he tried to imagine the shame in the city of David, he could barely stand it.

Nehemiah was broken over the complacency of the people of Jerusalem. They were living in ruins and they accepted it. They were willing to walk around the devastation instead of being concerned enough to do something about their situation. Nothing is ever going to change in our lives, in the life of this church, or for that matter, our nation, until we become concerned about the problem.

Some of us have become complacent about the way our lives are going. We're living with rubble and it doesn’t even bother us any more. Are we ready to allow God to do some rebuilding? If so, we need to become concerned about the problem by listening to the facts – even if we don’t want to hear them.

When Nehemiah heard the report, he hit the ground and began to weep in verse 4. He also fasted. In the Old Testament, fasting was only required once a year, but here we see Nehemiah refraining from food for several days. In fact, we know from comparing the different dates in this book that he wept, fasted, and prayed for four months! These are all signs of humility and show his deep concern for the problem.

Do you need some rebuilding today? Are your defenses broken down such that you are allowing some practices and sins to control your life?

Before you can ask God to rebuild, you must first become concerned about the problem.

Please feel free to comment on any of the questions that you are comfortable sharing about. Obviously, any other comments are welcome as well.

Source: Pontiac Bible Church