I just recently started a new devotional study all about the book of Nehemiah in the Bible. I was very excited to start this series because this is not a book of the Bible that I know a lot about. I don’t necessarily know Nehemiah and his story. I have read through this book before, but it has been some time. The start of the book, as well as reading my devotional book has really opened my eyes to the beautiful way in which Nehemiah prays. He prays with adoration, patience and persistence, and prays for the good of multiple communities and people.
Something I have recently learned about Nehemiah was all about the importance he put on prayer. There is a lot of emphasis and care when it comes to his prayers. However, I believe the best part of his prayer is when he spends time in adoration or showing God praise before you ever ask for anything. Then second, he also prays for forgiveness. He is aware that he has sinned in the past and needs to ask God for forgiveness to be completely filled with His Spirit.
I was really struck by this because I am not always the best at spending time in adoration to God. I know I need to do a better job, but there are definitely times when I don’t spend time praising God as much as I do ask God for certain prayer requests. I do enjoy spending time thanking God for all he has done for me, but I don’t always spend the time to praise him for all of his quality traits. I definitely take them for granted. This made me realize that I need to make sure to not just spend time praying to God through making requests to God.
The other big thing about Nehemiah is his patience he had through his prayers. Nehemiah heard devastating news about the temple of God being in jeopardy. He also heard that his city of Jerusalem was not going to be protected by a wall as it was before. He was upset and was scared. However, we see him spend months and months praying for the exact thing that he was supposed to do. He knew he was going to have a role to play in helping to fix this issue, but what exactly? That was what he in part was spending prayer time doing.
After many months of spending time in prayer, Nehemiah was asked by the king as to why he was so sad, why he was upset. Nehemiah knew this was his moment to finally speak up about what his concerns were about Jerusalem and the temple inside. Nehemiah knew he finally needed to be honest about what he had been praying about and what he had been concerned with. So Nehemiah finally spoke to the king, with the courage and the wisdom from months of prayers, to finally ask to go and help build back the wall and the town of Jerusalem.
The King that Nehemiah was under simply asked how long he would be gone. He didn’t get angry or upset. He just let him go without any problems or concerns. This is because God had set the path for Nehemiah to go on his way and help with the new protections for the city of Jerusalem. God had a plan for Nehemiah, so he let it be so that he could be a part of that plan. The plan was revealed to him because he continued to pray. One quote from the devotional book I am reading from the daily grace company says, “Being used by God often begins with prayer and preparation. Patience and waiting are often things that mark our journeys in serving the Lord. We often push against seasons of waiting and preparation, but God uses those seasons to prepare us for the work that He called us to do.”
It is really important to stay consistent and patient in prayers. It is really important to watch out for God’s signs of His plan. One important piece is to remember to be on the lookout and to be ready for God to tell you when He is calling upon you to act. This really does become more and more obvious through time in prayer. I have had this when I was called to move to a new job and town a few years back. I was praying for direction, and then the Lord provided me with a new opportunity and a new community of which I really love.
One other thing that I want to highlight when it comes to Nehemiah’s prayers is that he was very good about praying for the world and the problems at large. I have talked about this before, but I in particular sometimes struggle to pray outside of my frame of reference. I am good about praying for the needs and the desires of the people around me. I am good about praying for my friends and family members, even my students. But sometimes, I struggle to spend time in prayer for the world and the natural disasters/heartaches around it. For example, as I am writing, the southern part of the United States was very much hit by a massive hurricane. One of the biggest in a long time. The destruction that it left was monumental. I need to challenge myself to remember to pray over the people and the communities that were lost in the wake of this massive hurricane.
My challenge for you this week is to spend time in prayer. However, I want this to be spending time in prayer like Nehemiah prays. This means spending time in adoration and praise to God to start. It can be very easy to start praying for the needs of the people around us, but to start time in praise and thankfulness is really the best way to do prayer. Then be spending time in prayer for the world around you. Yes, there is always an opportunity to make personal requests and for those loved ones around you, but really spend some time in prayer for those who are suffering all around the world.
Colossians 3:23 Blog 