Nehemiah's Prayer #1: Passion
Some background to our reading today: Nehemiah is in exile in Babylon. After the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, they were defeated by the Persians and after 70 years of exile, the Persians released the Israelites to return to the promised land. Some Jews remained in Babylon in the high ranking positions they had risen to. Nehemiah was one of them - he is the cup-bearer to the Persian king.But Nehemiah's interest was the welfare of Jerusalem and the reason for his distress in this verse is the bad news that Jerusalem is in a sad state of affairs and defenseless in the absence of a city wall.
Over the next few days we'll look at aspects of his prayer to see what we can learn from it.
The first aspect of meaningful prayer is passionate sincerity. We are left in no doubt that the welfare of Jerusalem is very near to Nehemiah's heart. The bad news he hears leads to reflection, sadness, and fasting. His prayers are not a glib "Please bless the world" but a sharp and targeted arrow that has been released with all the force the archer can muster.
There is much that can be said about fasting. For the moment it is important to say that fasting has much more to do with preparing the heart of the one who prays than it has to do with twisting God's arm.
The passion with which Nehemiah comes to the task of prayer indicates:
- A clear belief that God will take him seriously
- There has been time taken to discern a clear outcome for which to pray
- A sense that Nehemiah is in a place where he prays in accordance with God's will.
Martin Luther said: "The wonder is not that God answers prayer, but that he inspires prayer."
Nehemiah's passionate (his tears) preparation (his fasting) for prayer is a most beautiful example for us...
| When I heard these things I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah1:4) |
