Nehemiah's Prayer - ANB W3, D5 - 3.22.13

Friday, March 22                                                             Nehemiah’s Prayer

Nehemiah 1.1-11

We move now into the book of Nehemiah and the continuation of Israel’s new beginning after the exile to Babylon. Nehemiah was the cupbearer of Artaxerxes I in Persia. This means that he was the one responsible for the drink of the king. He would literally be required to taste everything that the king was to drink so that if it were poisoned, the king would be spared. How would you like to have that job? But, Nehemiah was also a devout Jew, who knew the Law and the teaching of the Law.  He was a man who sought after the heart of God, to know Him more intimately. News is brought to him that even though the temple has been restored in Jerusalem, the city itself has been left in shambles. And this brings overwhelming feelings of discouragement and melancholy to Nehemiah, so he does what any of us should do. He turns to God in prayer.

Nehemiah’s prayer displays his deep feelings about what is going on in Jerusalem. It is very clear that this issue is of extreme importance to him. It is certainly easier to pray about things we have deep concern for. You can look over the prayer list at church and see the ones that you pray the most for, those that are closest to you. It is natural for us to pray for those things. But, it is equally important for us to pray about things we do not have a profound “feeling” about. When we do so, we show a greater concern about God’s honor and power which will then result in more intense concern about prayer needs. What is at the center of Nehemiah’s prayer need here is not the state of Jerusalem or her walls. It is centered on his personal repentance and confession of his sin. But not only his personal sin, but the sins of Israel. He starts in verse 6 confessing the sins of the people of Israel and ends with “I and my father’s house have sinned.” Once again we see this corporate identity addressed in confession. He speaks of the breaking of the covenant given to Moses, but also prays the promise of God. He says, “if you (Israel) return to Me (God) and keep My commandments…I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen (Jerusalem) to cause My name to dwell” (v. 9). He recalls what God had promised Israel that He would do. It was a prayer of reconciliation.

Too often we approach God with our wants and “needs”, demanding from Him a certain number of things to be done. When we do this we forget that the primary goal of prayer is our reconciliation to Him. This is what is at the heart of Nehemiah’s prayer. He does not barge into the throne room of God and say, “How could you let Jerusalem lay in ruin? Give us a wall and restore to us our former glory.” His petition before the Almighty is first confession and repentance, a petition of purity that would grant him permission to stand before the throne of God. Confession and repentance are our first steps toward reconciliation with God. Once Nehemiah had confessed his sin and the sin of his people, he asks God for reconciliation. Not that God would be his genie and grant his wishes, but that God would restore the relationship He had with Israel, which was symbolized in the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah recounts that God promised to make his name dwell there. This is the relationship that Israel had with God. He dwelt with them, but because of their sin, they had been exiled and that relationship was broken.

Our first step in A New Beginning must be reconciliation with God. No matter what effort we put forth, it is nothing if we stand at enmity with Him. As we pray for a vision for our future, it cannot be a “God do this for us” prayer, but a prayer that is drenched with repentance, leading to reconciliation. If we truly seek to repent and be reconciled, the rest will fall into place. Buildings will be built and parking lots paved, but the most significant event will be that God’s presence will dwell among us and our community will be greatly impacted and souls will be saved. Oh the power of a prayer that seeks repentance and reconciliation.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for wanting to reconcile with me. I confess that I have gone about church in the wrong way. I know Your Spirit dwells within me, but my sin has squelched the vibrant impact that should have on those around me. Assist me with being reconciled to you that we might be a light in the darkness and win our community in Your name.