Nehemiah’s prayer has great application and relevance to us today. It gives a model of how a great leader prays to the Lord God.

1. Concern (vs. 4)

Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king and his main job was to taste the king’s wine first to make sure it was not poisoned. It was a dangerous job! It also gave him  intimate access to royalty, political standing and a place to live in the palace. Nehemiah had great concern about what was happening to his countrymen in Jerusalem and wanted to hear the first-hand reports. It’s so easy for us to stay uninvolved and unaware. Nehemiah was perhaps applying Jeremiah 51:50 which instructed the exiles to do: “Remember the Lord in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem.” The report was 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. There was complacency by the people of Jerusalem. They were living in ruins and they accepted it. You can live with rubble and it doesn’t even bother you any more. God can’t rebuild unless we become concerned about the problem by listening to the facts ­ even if you don’t want to hear them. Nehemiah cries out to God and it seems he wept, fasted, and prayed for four months! These are all signs of humility and show his deep concern for the problem. Before you can ask God to rebuild, you must first become concerned about the problem.

2. Conviction (vs. 5)

Nehemiah now expresses his conviction of God’s character and acknowledges that his God is beyond the earthly realm and above all other gods. God deserves to be honoured, revered and feared by all because of who his character. He is always consistently truthful, faithful and trustworthy. Xerxes was the greatest and mightiest king on earth, but compared to God, he was nothing. Nehemiah was concerned about Israel in a far away land but yet they were like tiny specks of dust under the vast canopy of God’s heavens. It is often when we go to God in prayer that things are put into their proper perspective.

3. Confession (vs. 6-7)

Nehemiah’s conviction moves him to admit his sin and the sins of his people. Few people get beyond the concern and conviction to actually confess their sins. Nehemiah boldly asks God to hear his prayer and notice what he does in his confession of sin. He wept, fasted, and persisted in prayer. These are all signs of humility and show his deep concern for the problem. Nehemiah knows that the captivity was due to the disobedience of the people but that God had promised He would send them back to Jerusalem. If God is ready, then Nehemiah is ready to get involved!

4. Confidence (vs. 8-10)

Nehemiah spends some time in broken confession but doesn’t wallow in past sins for too long. Nehemiah weaves together a skilful mosaic of great Old Testament warnings and promises, with quotes coming from Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles and Psalm 130. He was confident of God’s promises so much that he would believe it and claim it. Nehemiah knew God would keep His covenant of love with his people. He also knew that, even though God did not need his help, he was ready to make a commitment to get involved.

5. Commitment (vs. 11)

Do you see the progression in Nehemiah’s prayer? Concern -> Conviction -> Confession -> Confidence and this leads Nehemiah to a commitment to get involved. If God’s will is to be done on earth, it is certain He needs people to be available for Him to use. Nehemiah’s praying increased his burden for Jerusalem and his own mission. He didn’t pray for God to send someone else ­he want to go himself! He was ready to approach the King and request a leave of absence!

The true measure of our concern is whether or not we are willing to make a commitment to get involved. A great quote by Martin Luther said, “Pray as if everything depends on God, then work as if everything depends on you.” Brothers and sisters, It’s Time to Build! It’s also a time to rebuild. When we have the courage to admit that we’ve messed up, when we become concerned enough about the way we’ve been living that we confess our sins, we know that God will do his rebuilding work ­ He’s promised to do so.

Categories: Nehemiah