Keep Praying Part 2

This week we will consider the prayer life of the godly man, Nehemiah. He was a man of great repute in the Persian Empire, yet he identified with his people who had returned from exile, only to find themselves in dire straits.

Nehemiah 1:4–11 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, 5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

His prayer is of note for its seriousness and sensitivity as Nehemiah prepared to petition God with fasting and weeping (v. 4). Furthermore, the approach was with great reverence and repentance (vv. 5-7). Then there was a relating of God’s promises (praying God’s Word back to Him) with an expectation of God’s response as before (vv.8-10). In addition, there was a continued begging for mercy in humble submission to uphold God’s character.