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^“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.

^“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

Intercession:

‘There is too much working before men and too little waiting before God.’ Alan Redpath.

We will be taking time, over the next week or so, to study Nehemiah’s prayer in the remainder of chapter 1. It is one of the major examples of intercession recorded in the Bible.

Matthew Henry famously said, ‘When God intends a great mercy for a people, first He sets them a praying.’

This is the first of 12 instances of prayer found in Nehemiah. The book opens and closes with prayer. The man epitomises the principle of prayer without ceasing. We see him shooting ‘arrow prayers’ in the midst of his days and his work. I believe we can also say of Nehemiah that he prayed like it all depended on God, but worked as though it all depended on him. He didn’t merely pray, and he didn’t merely work. In him, these two things God has joined together were not put asunder. Prayer and work were married, and had a fruitful partnership.

‘In whatever man does without God, he must fail miserably, or succeed more miserably.’ George McDonald.

PRAYER: Lord, please pour the Spirit of prayer upon your whole church. May we be like Nehemiah, willing to work hard and to do all that is required of us, but always looking to you and your strength.

^“3 They said to me, ‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’ 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.” NIV

Intensity:

‘When God puts a burden on your heart, don’t try to escape it, for if you do, you may miss the blessing He has planned for you. The book of Nehemiah begins with ‘’great affliction’’ (Neh.1:3), but before it closes, there is great joy (8:12, 17). ‘’Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning’’ (Ps.30:5)’ Warren Wiersbe OT Commentary, p.753.

Nehemiah’s heart was stirred and moved and burdened by the facts he heard. He showed a spiritual intensity that, I believe, would also be entirely appropriate for the situation we face in the world right now. Pentecostal Christians are regularly caricatured as ‘happy-clappy’. That’s probably an unfair designation. But as well as being a people who are very much in favour of overwhelming joy in the Holy Spirit, we also need to understand that there is a proper place for lament.

Fasting was required of the Jews only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29), but Nehemiah’s fasting (and mourning) went on ‘For some days…’

You don’t need me to tell you that our nation, and the world at large, is facing a monumental crisis. Look the facts of our situation squarely in the face, and then tell me that we don’t need to join in Nehemiah in mourning, weeping, fasting and repentance!

PRAYER: ‘Break my heart for what breaks yours.’

“The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, ² Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.   ³ They said to me, ‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’” NIV

Intelligence:

‘Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored’ Aldous Huxley.

We sometimes talk about praying ‘intelligently’. Nehemiah certainly could after he heard this news.

We saw yesterday that Nehemiah was profoundly interested in the state of his fellow Jews who had returned from exile in Persia. (It seems his job had kept him there). He says in (2), ‘’…I questioned them…’’ (I.e. the men from Judah, including Nehemiah’s brother), which seems to infer more than a mere superficial interest. He really wanted to know.

The news he received was not good, but it was to shape his destiny.

They say ‘facts are your friends.’ We may not always feel comfortable around these ‘friends’ but we need them.The facts about Jerusalem’s walls and gates meant that the city was open to ridicule and attack. This was not welcome information.

But information can lead to transformation, if we refuse to be mere consumers of news. I remember a member of our church, David Dowson, encouraging us to lift what we see on the news in prayer to God. That’s a great idea, although it’s not always easy to remember. However, information can be translated into intercession. This is what happened in Nehemiah’s case.

In Warren Wiersbe’s Old Testament Commentary, I was struck by these words:

‘Some people prefer not to know what’s going on, because information might bring obligation…Are we like Nehemiah, anxious to know the truth even about the worst situations? Is our interest born of concern or idle curiosity? When we read missionary prayer letters, the news in religious periodicals, or even our church’s ministry reports, do we want the facts, and do the facts burden us? Are we the kind of people who care enough to ask?’ (Pages 752/753)

“The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, ² Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.” NIV

Interest:

In the second act of his play, ‘The devil’s disciple’, George Bernard Shaw puts these words on the lips of Rev Anthony Anderson: ‘The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.’

As I recall, C.S. Lewis said some thing like this: if you were ever to meet a truly humble person, you wouldn’t think, ‘This is a humble man, or woman.’ What you would say is, ‘This person is really interested in me.’

I heard a story about a young employee who was leaving his firm. At his exit interview he was asked by a senior manager, ‘What would we have had to say to you to keep you?’ His reply was ‘Anything!!’

On the other hand, Paul said about Timothy, ‘’I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare’’ Philippians 2:20.

As we come into Nehemiah’s story, we see that he has an important job, and no doubt, comfortable circumstances. He is cupbearer to the king, in Susa. (This was the capital city of the Persian empire at the time, and site of the king’s winter palace). So, because he has access to the king he is a man of great influence. Yet, he is deeply interested in the welfare of Jerusalem, and of the exiles who had returned home many years earlier. How was it going with them, and the city? He wanted to know. It wasn’t one of those perfunctory questions where you’re not really bothered about the answer. It’s just a social nicety.

No, Nehemiah looked beyond his immediate circle and circumstances and was deeply interested to know about his fellow- Jews in a far away land. The answer he received was to be a turning-pont. Warren Wiersbe says, ‘Like large doors, great life-changing events can swing on very small hinges.’

Thought: Who, outside of your immediate circle, and natural spheres of interest, might you show concern for today? Somebody called Jesus, ‘The Man for others.’ His followers cannot be wrapped up in themselves.

As the series on 1 Peter was coming to a conclusion, my mind naturally turned to the question: ‘Where in the Bible should we go next?’ As I lifted the thought to God in prayer, I felt a very definite nudge (in fact it was a bit stronger than that – more on the way to a shove probably) in the direction of the book of Nehemiah.

Someone said, ‘Nehemiah’s sacrifice of a fine position for the good of the cause (2:5) may typify the sacrificial service always needed when a great work is to be accomplished.’

Nehemiah had a great position and, no doubt, a comfortable lifestyle in the court of the Persian king. But when he discovered the state Jerusalem was in, with its walls broken down and gates burned, he sought permission to return and organise the re-building project.

This book has so much to teach us about spiritual leadership/organisation/administration. We are living through days where we are facing a kind of re-building project, and what is re-built will probably not look quite the same as what we knew before. It’s possible that this re-build may involve us in a painstaking process over many months, and I think Nehemiah is full of timely, and encouraging lessons for us.

I have set my mind in the direction of not only reading Nehemiah, but also praying my way through it. I invite you to join me on this exciting journey. Keep your heart wide-open, praying, ‘Lord show me/us what you want us to see in these days.’

PRAYER: Lord, even though we may think that we are involved in a re-build at ground level, we recognise that you have never stopped building your church, nor will you, until it is complete. So we trust your kingdom purposes. But we see this is not a time for passivity. Help us to roll up our sleeves and work, even as we aim to rely on you alone.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.¹² With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.¹³ She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. ¹⁴ Greet one another with a kiss of love.Peace to all of you who are in Christ.” NIV

‘All grace is in God for every hour and need, v.10. We too are called to his eternal glory through Christ. The path of suffering, and that path alone, leads to the world where suffering is unknown. The suffering is only for a little while.’ F.B. Meyer, ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.617.

‘No matter what our situation, no matter what our need, God’s grace is sufficient for us.’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.922. This is such a helpful comment, don’t you think, as we live in these uncertain times.

We sometimes forget that God is in the little details as well as the big things It could be easy to miss the significance of the reference to Mark in (13). But Mark wrote the very first gospel, and it is thought that Peter is the eye-witness behind his account. As Peter wrote his letter from ‘Babylon’ (Rome), Mark was with him.

Looking at the very last line, we can call to mind the words of Jesus:

‘’Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to your as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’ (John 14:27).

Oswald Chambers said, ‘When God gives me a vision of the truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do.’

As our readings in 1 Peter come to a close, may I ask, ‘What has God shown you?’ And, ‘What will you do about it?’

As regular readers will know, in the past few days I have been particularly drawn to Eugene Peterson’s translation in ‘The Message’. Let’s look again at this modern paraphrase today:

‘’The church in exile here with me—but not for a moment forgotten by God—wants to be remembered to you. Mark, who is like a son to me, says hello. Give holy embraces all around! Peace to you—to all who walk in Christ’s ways.’’

 The idea of being a ‘’church in exile’’ seems to resonate. It’s not always easy to put into words what I feel about these many weeks when we haven’t been able to physically gather. We are very much still the church. Nothing can change that. But doesn’t it sometimes feel like we’re in a foreign land, away from home? Like the Jews in Babylon, at times we could sit down and weep when we remember ‘Zion’. Early on in the crisis, I found myself in a ‘Zoom’ pastors gathering. One of the speakers told us we should take time to ‘grieve’ all we have lost in this season. This is not just a word for leaders. It’s applicable to us all.

But it’s good to know that we are ‘’not for a moment forgotten by God.’’ He was not taken by surprise when lockdown came, and He is mysteriously and wonderfully at work in the midst of this crisis, doing, I believe, far more than we can ask or imagine.

At times we may feel lonely, but we are not abandoned.

As of now, if we were able to have a small meeting, we wouldn’t be able to give ‘’holy embraces all around.’’ Even so, let me encourage you to keep walking ‘’in Christ’s ways’’, and may you experience His deep peace.

PRAYER: Lord, like Peter’s readers, we find ourselves scattered, but by pandemic rather than persecution. Nevertheless, right where we are, help us to walk in your ways and enjoy your peace, knowing we are not here by accident.