2. The Prayer

From its opening moments, set in the Persian palace fifteen centuries ago, the story of Nehemiah immerses us in a tragic tale. The visitors from Judah finish their report by describing the terrible conditions in Jerusalem:

“The remnant left of the captivity there in the province is in great affliction and shame. And the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

Nehemiah is struck deeply. He is in complete anguish as he hears these words — describing his response in stark terms:

And it happened when I heard these words, I sat down and wept. And I mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven.

Deep emotions; spiritual agony; refusing any food. He is broken before God, acknowledging full accountability for the conditions in Jerusalem. Nehemiah knew God had grown increasingly disappointed with His people. His prophets had encouraged, warned, admonished, rebuked and praised the children of Israel for twenty generations. Finally, the hammer fell. These palace visitors merely brought up-to-date proof of the judgment that still hovered over the land of David. The remnant of its citizens were still suffering.

Nehemiah hears this awful report about his ancestral homeland and it clearly grieves him deeply. Why? Born in exile, he had never actually lived in or seen Jerusalem. But Nehemiah longed for the restoration of his beloved country. He knew the spiritual reason that this extended punishment hung over the countryside — no one had fully repented for the cycles of idolatry that eventually invited God’s wrath. Filled with wisdom and practical insight, Nehemiah immediately understands the reasons why his homeland is in such misery.

Look now at Nehemiah’s five reflexive actions listed in verse four. After hearing the report we read that he:

• Sat down – Instead of raging and pacing and shaking his fist at God, instead of feeling abused, deprived and victimized, he calmed himself and sat down. He expressed no cynicism and no anger. He tempers himself emotionally to meet with a holy God.
• Wept – Nehemiah has compassion. He cares deeply for his people and their great, fallen city. King David once wrote: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee.” Psalm 122:6 Nehemiah laments the condition of his native city and its people and he expresses his grief through tears.
• Mourned for days –To mourn spiritually is to be heartbroken over our transgressions against God. Jesus later said, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 The news from Jerusalem pierced Nehemiah to the core. He recognized God’s grief over the neglect and the godlessness of the people. He demonstrated spiritual discernment as he linked the former sins of Judah to its wretched, present-day conditions. He connected consequence to cause.
• Fasted – by denying himself food, Nehemiah builds spiritual acuity and places his body in submission to his spirit.
• Prayed – after setting the stage for an appropriate appeal to God, Nehemiah is finally prepared to speak properly to the Father of Lights, the Judge of all the earth, the Rock of our Salvation.

Many people use bad news as an excuse for self-gratifying behavior. Some sulk and pour a tall glass of wine. Others indulge a craving for chocolate. Some share their disappointment with friends, finding comfort and empathy in animated conversation. Some look to entertainment to assuage the pain. Of course, bitterness, blame and rage are the natural choices of those who allow pride to invade their spirit. Instead of linking foolish, human choices to terrible outcomes, some people assert that God must have caused the trouble or that He is simply neglectful and useless in times of deep suffering.

I admire Nehemiah’s approach. He is quick to adopt an attitude of reconciliation with God. We read: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as those who have a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18 And later we see in Psalms, “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from which cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord.” Psalm 121:1-2a Prayer and fasting express our faith that the spiritual dimension can provide practical answers to tragic problems. With the right heart attitude, we can appeal to God to reveal His TRUTH and His WILL. If the Lord believes we will act accordingly, He provides context and spiritual solutions to our present-day dilemmas. He was already spiritually keen, historically aware and gifted in political leadership. As cupbearer to the Persian king, he had observed the intricacies of civil government. He knew the challenges and opportunities facing those who attempted to lead.

Now we have a rare privilege. Have you ever wished to peek in while Billy Graham, or perhaps your pastor, addressed the Lord in prayer? Perhaps they possess a wonderful manual teaching the secrets of a successful prayer life. If you look at the fruit produced in some people’s lives you just know the Lord is blessing them. Laid before us, in the very first chapter, is a peek into Nehemiah’s prayer closet.

Notice the thoroughness and structure of this heart cry to the Lord. This is a classic prayer, one that can serve as a model for you and I. As you read it, please consider four points which underpin the richness of this prayer:

1. Does Nehemiah admit to any wrongdoing or does he make excuses? Do we hear a “confession”, an agreement with God, that the nation has committed sin, or does a spirit of self-pity and victimization overtake Nehemiah?
2. If a confession is heard in a godly prayer, normally repentance is close behind. Repentance is “turning away” from sin. Let’s watch for any sign of heartfelt repentance in this prayer.
3. Does Nehemiah remind God of His promises, His reputation or His character qualities? Or do we witness a slippery hint of accusation toward God as seen with Adam who said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Genesis 3:12
4. Is there a specific request made of God? Or does Nehemiah dare to make a demand?

And now, we observe Nehemiah, having sat, wept, mourned and fasted, as he begins to pray:

Nehemiah’s First Prayer

And I said, “I pray You, O LORD God of Heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments; let Your ear now be open, and Your eyes open, so that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You now, day and night, for the sons of Israel Your servants, and confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You.

Both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very wickedly against You, and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which You commanded Your servant Moses. I pray You, remember the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you turn to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though you were cast out to the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather you from there and will bring you to the place that I have chosen to set My name there.

And these are Your servants and Your people whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. O LORD, I pray You, let now Your ear be open to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name.

And I pray You, bless Your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man {Artaxerxes}.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.

What did you notice in that dynamic prayer? Before you read our analysis, do yourself a big favor — take two minutes and read those verses aloud. Challenge yourself to identify at least three important qualities in that 251-word prayer.

In the opening line, Nehemiah sets a powerful framework for the rest of his prayer. He opens with a description of God, using the name “Lord,” and acknowledging that God resides in heaven, a spiritual realm far different from the natural one. In the same verse, he appeals to God’s reputation. In a spirit of humility, Nehemiah reminds the Lord that He keeps His promises and describes the conditions under which man can appeal to that reputation:

“I pray You, O LORD God of Heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments;“

Nehemiah acknowledges that this is a God of integrity, not whimsy. The Lord doesn’t play hide-and-seek with His people. He claims, “I am the Lord; I change not.” Malachi 3:6 How can that be? How can anything or anybody never change? In our living world we notice that trees blossom, birds migrate, children grow, trash accumulates, leaves decay and people die. Change is the only constant in the natural world. Yet the Lord claims that He never changes.

We live in a world governed by entropy – a slow decaying of matter into useless energy. In the spiritual world, which is not restricted by the measurement of time, everything is permanent. We simply cannot judge anything spiritual by the same standards we judge this world. Time does not exist in the spirit world. God is contemporaneous with Abraham, Moses, Jesus and you. He is simultaneous, crossing all time boundaries. When he was tasked with freeing the children of Israel, Moses asked God, “Who shall I say sent me?” God replied, “Thus shall thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM sent me unto you.” Exodus 3:13-14 Even at that moment, the Lord asserts that He is an ever-present God.

As a man of tremendous, authentic faith, Nehemiah recognizes that the Lord had not changed. Upon hearing the awful news about his homeland, Nehemiah does not blame God. Quite the opposite! Instead, he reminds the Supreme Being that He keeps his covenants. He has a history, a heavenly character and a sterling reputation to uphold. Since God is forever identical at all times to all people, and since His character is perfect, Nehemiah has wisely reminded the Lord about these excellent qualities prior to speaking his next words.

Next we see the transparency of confession:

Let Your ear now be open, and Your eyes open, so that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You now, day and night, for the sons of Israel Your servants, and confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very wickedly against You, and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which You commanded Your servant Moses.

Nehemiah places himself as an intercessor between God and centuries of Israelites who transgressed against Him. He admits the failures and calls them “sin.” In legal terms, this is called an allocution — a full confession of the crime. Nehemiah does not mince words. One has a sense that he is hiding nothing, attempting no escape and negotiating no compromise. We are on holy ground, gentle reader. Nehemiah’s first recorded prayer is teaching us how to make an appeal in the throne room of heaven. After the full admission of guilt, Nehemiah brings God into remembrance of his own redeeming words:

I pray You, remember the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you turn to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though you were cast out to the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather you from there and will bring you to the place that I have chosen to set My name there.

The spiritual power before us cries out across the centuries. Let’s provide some perspective. Moses lived around 1400 BC. Nehemiah is praying nearly 1,000 years later, in 445 B.C. His prayer summarizes a simple logic statement, “If you sin, I will scatter you; but if you turn to Me… I will gather you…” He realizes that he is speaking to the same unchanging God who made uncompromising promises to Moses ten centuries ago! Nehemiah is well versed in the deep covenants that guide decision-making in heaven. Since the Son of God Himself prayed “Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven,” we detect a “secret” of effective prayer. Nehemiah is calling forth the very Will of God, asking Him to activate the “gathering” promise made centuries earlier.

Although his visitors had focused on the desperate, current living conditions in Jerusalem, Nehemiah prays way beyond the need to rebuild the city walls. This prayer is transcendent. He is calling for nothing less than a reversal of the heavenly judgment prophesied and executed over Israel by a furious and mighty God. Perhaps we have found the project manager with the skills and the heart and the motivation and the perseverance to accomplish the incredibly important task of rebuilding Jerusalem.