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“When I heard all this, I sat down and wept. For several days I mourned and did not eat. I prayed to God, (1:4) Lord God of Heaven! You are great, and we stand in fear of you. You faithfully keep your covenant with those who love you and do what you command. (1:5) Look at me, Lord, and hear my prayer, as I pray day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess that we, the people of Israel, have sinned. My ancestors and I have sinned. (1:6) We have acted wickedly against you and have not done what you commanded. We have not kept the laws which you gave us through Moses, your servant. (1:7) Lord, these are your servants, your own people. You rescued them by your great power and strength. (1:10) Listen now to my prayer and to the prayers of all your other servants who want to honor you. Give me success today and make the emperor merciful to me. “In those days I was the emperor's wine steward”. (1:11)
1. Introduction
Exiled, Nehemiah won the trust of the King and he was appointed to serve in the King’s Palace. He was assigned to serve the King’s cupbearer. (Nehemiah 1:11). This position can only be given to but a trusted person.
Nehemiah was a man of faith who believed in His God. He also, loved his people and was a man of prayer. He continued to remember his people back home and was asking their situation whenever someone comes from his home country.
2. Bad news from home:
Having been in exile, Nehemiah was someone who was eager to return back home like the rest of his brothers and sisters. Nehemiah was concerned about his people and his homeland. He continued to pray for his return, but also, he used to get information from his country and about the situation and his people. One day, he received very sad news from Hanani that those who survived and returned were treated badly by the foreigners because they were insulted and mistreated by them. Moreover, the walls of Jerusalem were in ruins while the gates were burned.
3. The Prayer of Nehemiah
We are told that Nehemiah having received this news, he did four things:
1. He sat down and wept for several days.
2. He mourned.
3. He fasted and
4. He prayed
His prayers were specific:
• He praised God for His greatness and His faithfulness
• He confessed his sins and the sins of his people Israel
• He asked God to hear his prayers and the prayers of his others servants who are faithful to him
• He prayed that God would give favor and success so that the King would be merciful to him and to grant him his request to go back to his homeland.
Prayers were answered:
Chapter two tells us how the King approved Nehemiah’s request.
The most interesting thing is that, Nehemiah didn’t ask, but it was the King who did! “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” (Nehemiah 2:2) It was because Nehemiah had already asked God in prayer.
Nehemiah got the opportunity and explained why he was sad and what he wanted to do. He requested the King to be given opportunity to go back to his homeland. The reason was to encourage, rebuild the ruined wall of Jerusalem, restore the burned gates, but more importantly, to rebuild the lives and the hearts of the broken people.
Nehemiah was indeed found favor from the King and he was able to fulfil his vision. Having arrived his homeland, he was welcomed, but the same time, he faced opposition who tried to make him fail in his project. Sanballat, Tabiah and Geshem were the main opponent of Nehemiah’s great project. Nehemiah response to them was:
“The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” (Neh. 2:20)
4. Conclusion:
As chief shepherds, it is expected of us to be speaking to and with God. We must be focused and specific in our needs. Recognizing the greatness of God, recognizing our sins and our failures. Praising God for His goodness and His faithfulness and then asking what we need. We should take the example of Nehemiah. May His name always be glorified in us and in His Church.
The Most Revd. Ezekiel Kondo
Primate of Episcopal Church of Sudan &
Bishop of Khartoum
