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⁴ The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favour in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.’ NIV

How amazing when the king says, ‘’What is it you want?’’

 Well, Nehemiah knew. He’d had time to think everything through carefully. He had not only prayed; he had also planned. Some people plan without praying; some people pray without planning. Nehemiah did both! He recognised that in God’s work, these two are not ‘singles’; they are married!!

Artaxerxes, rich and powerful as he was, also happened to be limited and human. But how wonderful that our Almighty Heavenly King, who is unlimited and divine, bids us come and ask of Him. (See Hebrews 4:14-16. The word ‘’boldly’’ in verse 16 means ‘freedom of speech’).

‘Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring; For His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much.’

Warren Wiersbe says of Nehemiah: ‘He was not content merely to get answers to prayer: he wanted to be an answer to prayer.’ (From ‘With the Word’).

In his Old Testament commentary, Wiersbe also writes:

‘The king’s cupbearer would also have to sacrifice the comfort and security of the palace for the rigours and dangers of life in a ruined city. Luxury would be replaced by ruins, and privilege by ridicule and slander. Instead of sharing the king’s bounties, Nehemiah would potentially pay for the upkeep of scores of people who would eat at his table. He would leave behind the ease of the palace and take up the toils of encouraging a beaten people and finishing an almost impossible task.’ (P.755).

Like Isaiah, he was saying, ‘’Here am I. Send me! (Isaiah 6:8).

In His willingness to go, he reminds us of Jesus, who sacrificed more than anyone to get God’s will done on earth, as in heaven (See Philippians 2:1-11).

PRAYER: ‘I will go Lord, if you send me. I will hold your people in my heart’.

“In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.’I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, ‘May the king live for ever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’NIV

There’s a book by Susan Jeffers entitled, ‘Feel the fear and do it any way.’ I haven’t read it, but I think it’s a great title. As I see it, courage is not the absence of fear, but the strength to do the right thing, even though you may be frightened.

‘’I was very much afraid, but I said to the king…’’

 This was Nehemiah’s moment. He had been waiting for it; praying for it; looking for it. He wasn’t going to let understandable fear rob him of the opportunity. How often have I let fear have the last word? But Nehemiah did not; he would not.

Emotion has a part to play in the life of a believer. It may not always be chirpy, bouncy, chandelier- swinging emotion either. We don’t have to wear fake, superficial smiles all the time. It is right to feel sad about many things in this world. For example, whenever we see the broken-down state of the church in any setting, should this not move us? Ought it not to be fuel for prayer and action?

Prayer: ‘Soften my heart, Lord, soften my heart. From all indifference set me apart.’ (Graham Kendrick).

“In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.’ ” NIV

It seems some time elapsed between Nehemiah beginning to pray and this moment. During that period, Nehemiah just got on with faithfully doing his job. While you are involved in one area of work/service, God may put into your heart a vision for something else. But between the sensing that there’s another ministry for you to take up and the actual doing of it, there may lie weeks, months, even years, of patient waiting. So, until God opens the door for the new thing He’s calling you to, keep going in your ‘lane’. Do your best in the work you are currently doing.

Eastern potentates were to be protected from seeing anything unpleasant. Nothing was to come into their presence that might threaten, or dilute, their happiness (see, for example, Esther 4:2). Nehemiah was taking a big risk by looking sad. Not that he could help it. His heart was mirrored in his face. But, you know, whether or not I’m right to be, I’m touched by the thought that this powerful king noticed. ‘Well,’ you might say, ‘it was obvious was it not?’ Yes it was. But it wasn’t just the noticing; it was his kindness in asking. He took the time to be interested in Nehemiah’s pain.

Are we too busy to notice the signs of stress in someone else’s features; too self-absorbed to care?

PRAYER: Lord, may I not be in such a hurry that I fail to see the heartaches of others; may I not be so selfish that I insulate myself against their pain.

¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’ I was cupbearer to the king.NIV

Nehemiah had a special assignment:

‘’I was cupbearer to the king.’’

 As previously noted, Nehemiah had an influential role at court.

Warren Wiersbe writes: ‘That Nehemiah, a Jew, held such an important position in the palace speaks well of his character and ability (Dan.1:1-4). For nearly a century, the Jewish remnant had been back in their own land, and Nehemiah could have joined them, but he chose to remain in the palace. It turned out that God had a work for him to do there that he would not have accomplished elsewhere. God put Nehemiah in Susa just as He had put Esther there a generation before, and just as He had put Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon. When God wants to accomplish a work, He always prepares His workers and puts them in the right place at the right time.’ Old Testament Commentary, p.752.

I read a quote from Oswald Chambers where he was saying, wherever God dumps you down, whether in a slum or a desert or wherever, He has a purpose for you. Wherever you find yourself, pray. You may or may not want to be where you are, but God certainly cannot use you where you are not!

In Persia, Nehemiah had a special assignment.

But in his heart he felt the call to another special assignment. It would take him back to Jerusalem, and an appointment with destiny.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord that I am not where I am by accident. Help me, here in this place, to pray to you, and see what assignment you have for me. As you led Nehemiah centuries ago, I pray you will lead me today.

^“8 ‘Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”¹⁰ ‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. ¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’ NIV

‘We should deal much more successfully with men if, like Nehemiah, we dealt more largely with God.’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.205.

‘’In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.’’ Proverbs 21:1.

Nehemiah’s request was clear and definite. He was to receive a specific answer

The idea of ‘’favour’’ comes up a number of times in the Bible. Think about the story of Joseph in Egypt. In Esther chapter 2 you can read about the ‘’favour’’ Esther found in the Persian court.

It was a big thing to ask: ‘’…favour in the presence of this man’’, because ‘’this man’’ – King Artaxerxes, had previously ordered the work on Jerusalem’s walls to stop (It is worth taking the time to read Ezra 4:8-23) You had to tread very carefully with despots like these!

Nehemiah needed a mountain moving, but he knew it was possible.

^“5 Then I said: ‘Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. ⁷ We have acted very wickedly towards you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. ⁸ ‘Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” ¹⁰ ‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. ¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’I was cupbearer to the king.”NIV UK

F.B. Meyer says of Nehemiah: ‘The secret of his efficiency lay in his constant bringing of all the problems before God…’ He goes on to say Nehemiah reveals ‘…the mighty power that can be exerted by one who has no purpose in life and no power that is not centred in God.’ ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.204.

There are other details in this prayer we haven’t spent time on. For example, Nehemiah reminds God that Israel is ‘’your people’’(10). The Lord bought them. He delivered them at great cost and with tremendous effort.

There is also the thought that he recognises other people are praying about the situation (11a – Maybe there were even other people joining him in prayer?)

But the prayer eventually arrives at this one one focussed request:

‘’Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’’

 Someone said, ’Pray until you pray.’

I heard one preacher say something like this, ‘When you start out praying, it might take a little while to get a sense of direction, then suddenly ‘the gears mesh’ and you’re away.

I don’t know whether Nehemiah always knew he was going to pray this particular prayer, or whether it gradually dawned on him, or came to him in a flash of inspiration. But I do know that sometimes it is after a lengthy time of prayer that you get a strong sense of what it is you ought to pray. You seem to feel a special ‘anointing’ – a power, a conviction – on this particular request.

‘Pray until you pray.’

PRAYER: Lord, there is so much about prayer that is a mystery to me. Lord, please, teach me to pray

⁵ Then I said: ‘Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. ⁷ We have acted very wickedly towards you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. ⁸ ‘Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” ¹⁰ ‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. ¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’I was cupbearer to the king.NIV

Nehemiah recognised that the people of Israel were suffering the negative consequences of their sins. But he stands in the tradition of the great Biblical intercessors by confessing not only his own sins, and those of his family, but also the guilt of the entire nation. Was Nehemiah personally responsible for all these many other offences against God? Certainly not. But he had a sense of solidarity, of identification with his people. He confessed their sins as if his own.

The sins of our nation against God (and one another) are many and grievous. I regularly pray that God will ‘’heal’’ our land, and the many lands afflicted by the coronavirus (see 2 Chronicles 7:14). But I absolutely believe that I have a responsibility to sit with Nehemiah and confess not only my own sins, but the sins of my land.

PRAYER: ‘Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy.’

^“5 Then I said: ‘Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. ⁷ We have acted very wickedly towards you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. ⁸ ‘Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”¹⁰ ‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. ¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’I was cupbearer to the king.” NIV

Nehemiah’s prayer is soaked in Scripture.

In verse 6a there is an allusion to Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:29)

In conjunction with verses 8,9 it’s good to keep in mind Leviticus 26:33, 36-39, 40-42 & Deuteronomy 30:1-5 (Also Deuteronomy 12:5 and 1 Kings 8:48).

Underlying the whole is the recognition that God is a covenant-keeping God (5). He is faithful; He is true to His Word. He will do what He says if we play our part.

I think it’s true to say that the greatest intercessors in the history of the church have been those men and women who have prayed, as it were, with an open Bible. They have taken what God says seriously, and they have dared to stand on it. Eugene Peterson has pointed out that prayer is answering speech. God has the first word, and we respond to Him in prayer.

‘This prayer of Nehemiah’s is very beautiful, saturated as it is with quotations from Scripture, and so effective with God because based on his own Word.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.205

Just recently something has ‘clicked’ for me. I’ve come to see that you can pretty much take any text of the Bible and turn it into prayer. I find it helpful to think:

• What does this verse (or passage) command? (State? Promise? Etc);
• How does it provoke thanksgiving?;
• What do I need to confess in the light of it?;
• What does it move me to pray?

PRAYER: Lord, please teach me the mighty power of praying your Word.

^“4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said: ‘Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,” NIV

Over the next few days we will be looking at Nehemiah’s prayer as recorded in the rest of this chapter. The first thing to note is that it’s a prayer grounded in the greatness of God.

Jesus said this is how we should pray:

‘’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…’’ Matthew 6:9. Remember, God is great, and to be revered.

We read in Acts 4:24, that in a time of persecution, the early Christians prayed along these lines:

‘…they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘’Sovereign Lord,’’ they said, ‘’you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them…’’ ‘

 That was their starting point. They had a profound awareness of the greatness of the God to Whom they prayed.

Many years ago, J.B. Phillips wrote a book entitled, ‘Your God is too small.’

Probably more than a couple of decades on from that publication, Canon John Young wrote, ‘Your God is still too small.’

I suppose our grasp of God’s greatness will always lie somewhere in the valleys of understanding, rather than on the heights. At best, we know ‘’in part’’. But what becomes clear as you read through Nehemiah’s prayer is that he was soaked in the Bible as he knew it at the time. I believe the more we meditate on God’s Word and turn it into prayer, the more aware we will become of ‘How great is our God.’ Such an understanding is foundational to all believing prayer.

PRAYER: Almighty God, I know you will always be infinitely greater than my limited understanding. But I pray you will open the eyes of my heart that I may see you more clearly. I want to grow in the knowledge of my God.