The Prayers of Nehemiah

Nehemiah’s 2^nd Prayer – Nehemiah 2:4

Then the King said to me, ‘What are you requesting?’ So, I prayed to the God of Heaven. Nehemiah 2:4 ESV.

Insights

1. Nehemiah finds himself before the King performing his tasks as cupbearer. His countenance was such the King noticed how he appeared, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Nehemiah 2:2.
2. Nehemiah responds with words of honor in a moment of being afraid, “Let the King live forever…” v.3 He then describes the heaviness of his heart because the city of his home, the graves of his ancestry were in ruins and the gates were burned. A national crisis such as captivity will crush your heart and spirit.
3. The King asks a question, “What are you requesting?” So, I prayed to the God of Heaven.” Since this book is a first-hand account of Nehemiah, he does not tell us exactly what he prayed and the details of what he was feeling in this moment.
4. Nehemiah requests to return to Judah to rebuild the city.
5. This conversation continues with the King desiring to know how long you will be gone and when will you return. Nehemiah obviously, provides a response and also offers a request for building materials the ability to travel through other regions safely. The conclusion, “And the King granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.”

Observations

1. This is the shortest of Nehemiah’s prayers in that his countenance was being called out by the King. In a split-second Nehemiah prayed. The magnitude of this reference can only be understood in the context of days of prayer and fasting that previously had occurred in Chapter one.
2. Nehemiah’s response should be viewed in the fact he had already wrestled with Judah’s sin that put the nation in this position in the first place. Yet, he was willing to be used to restore and rebuild the city. No small request! As you read Nehemiah’s prayer in chapter one we realize that repentance must come before empowerment.
3. A concise response can only be offered when a thorough evaluation and honest appraisal of responsibility is dealt with. The political debate is not my motivation, we are all in this moment of crisis no matter how we got here. I am not declaring that COVID is a response of divine judgement because of national sin. However, I am declaring this intersection of historical events should at the very least cause us to pause and evaluate the trajectory of what we have called Christianity.
4. The song “The Heart of Worship” dates back to the late 1990’s that came out of a season of apathy in the Soul Survivor church of Watford, England. Matt Redmon was the Praise and Worship director. Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?” In the midst of awkward silence with no instruments and sound systems, over the coming weeks the church began to find their voice of worship. The song, The Heart of Worship, came out of this awkward moment and has now gone global. 
5. Could we include “Discipleship” into this time of national reflection? As we come out from our global pandemic, our goal as a faith community is not be “FIRST” in terms of returning back 100% to what we had prior. Our prayer should focus more upon our gospel mandate of reaching the lost, discipling the saved – “rinse/repeat!”
6. We are at a cross-roads moment of BIG “C” vs. little “c” – Kingdom of God vs. local church! Reopening our churches and businesses is proving to be far more difficult than imagined. Pastor’s emotionally are a mix of moderate optimism and discouragement and anger. You do not get a trophy for being 1^st to reopen 100%.
7. Do not build massive movements without massive impact.

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