Articles
Nehemiah Prayed
Nehemiah Prayed
As we open the book of Nehemiah, we should recall how we got to this part of the story:
· Cyrus allows the Jews to return to the homeland – 538 B.C.
· They build the altar and begin offering the sacrifices – 538 B.C.
· They lay the foundation of the temple, but then neglect to finish it
· Haggai and Zechariah motivate them to complete the building of the temple – 515 B.C.
· Mordecai has saved the Jews from annihilation – ca 480 B.C.
· Ezra had returned and begun the restoration of the law into the hearts and actions of the people – 458 B.C.
· Now, Nehemiah hears that they have not yet built the walls and restored the city of Jerusalem – 446 B.C.
Interestingly, even after this much time and the fact that the temple and worship had been going on for 90 years, with the attempt to build the walls of the city there was still opposition! We see the typical reaction against God’s people and work they were trying to do: slander, ridicule, legal interference, physical aggression.
Nehemiah’s reaction to such opposition is classic: he prayed and worked.
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:4
4 Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, "If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." Nehemiah 2:4-5
But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night. Nehemiah 4:9
Nehemiah prayed but he also went, planned, purposed, encouraged, withstood. Thus, “the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days” (Nehemiah 6:15). The people prayed, worked, and God responded: “When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:16).
We are to pray without ceasing (1Thess. 5:17) and to “at all times pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Along with such constant prayers we are to actively obey what is commanded of us. For example, we are to pray for peace (1Tim. 2:1-2) and then seek peace and pursue it (1Pet. 3:11). We pray for peace and we set out to BE, as much as lies within us, to be at peace with all men (Romans 12:18).
To not pray is just ungodly. To pray and not obey is still rebellion. Do the activities of your life match your prayers?
Hugh DeLong
