Nehemiah 1 - Nehemiah’s AAA Prayer
- Joshua Carpenter
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
Whatever you face in life, take it to the LORD in prayer!
Nehemiah has heard that those who've returned from exile to Jerusalem are in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.
Nehemiah 1:4–11 (ESV)
4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Canons of Dordt
Point 1, Article 13: The Fruit of This Assurance
In their awareness and assurance of this election God’s children daily find
greater cause to humble themselves before God, to adore the fathomless
depth of his mercies, to cleanse themselves, and to give fervent love in return to him who first so greatly loved them. This is far from saying that this
teaching concerning election, and reflection upon it, make God’s children
lax in observing his commandments or carnally self-assured. By God’s just
judgment this does usually happen to those who casually take for granted
the grace of election or engage in idle and brazen talk about it but are unwilling to walk in the ways of the chosen.
Summary
Today, we turn our attention to the book of the Bible immediately following Ezra, that of Nehemiah, who, as we will see tomorrow, lived at the same time as Ezra. By the time of Nehemiah, Ezra and others had returned to Jerusalem, where they had worked on the temple of the LORD amidst great persecution from surrounding peoples. Now, as we are introduced to Nehemiah, cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, a troubling report reaches him from his kinsmen that the walls are still destroyed, and it brings him to his knees in concern.
Instead of wallowing in despair, Nehemiah turns to the LORD in prayer. There have been various ways Nehemiah’s prayer has been dissected, but taking a look at it, we can see that AAA prayer pattern we use each day:
Acknowledge Who God is
Oh LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments. I love how Derek Thomas describes this: “Like bookends, the prayer begins and ends with adoration. Like a lot of other biblical prayers, Nehemiah begins by telling God about God. Doing so, of course, helps Nehemiah (and us) to put everything into perspective. When we remember that God is God, problems seem to take on smaller dimensions.”
Align Your Life with God’s Will
Nehemiah goes on to confess his and his people’s sin before the Lord, recognizing they are sinners in need of His mercy, grace, and forgiveness, yet are also those who have been redeemed by the LORD.
Ask God For What You Need
Nehemiah asks the LORD to be attentive to his prayer, asking that the LORD would give him success when he goes and talks to the king about what is troubling his heart, because it could very well lead to the end of his life. Notice that the asking portion of the prayer is the shortest!
Dig Deeper
When Nehemiah was met with the troublesome report of those who had returned to Jerusalem and was in the throes of despair, what was his first reaction? In the midst of his mourning and weeping, he responded with fasting and prayer. Nehemiah’s gut reaction was to turn to the God of the universe, Who is ever faithful, in prayer.
When we face trials and tribulations, when we are faced with the throes of despair, is that our initial response, to pray? How about in good times, is it our gut reaction to turn to God in prayer, thanking Him for His blessings to us? When things go wrong, it can be so easy to respond with complaints, wallowing in our despair, or we turn to everyone else rather than turning in prayer to our Great God through our mediator and Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, He Who is Sovereign and faithful, laying at His feet our cares and concerns. When things go well, it can be easy to forget the LORD, to forget to respond with thanksgiving and gratitude in prayer.
Rather, whether we are in a time of despair and trial, or when things are going well, may the LORD ever mold and shape us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to turn to Him in prayer first, bearing our souls to our Creator, our Redeemer, our God!
As that beautiful hymn reminds us:
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
oh, what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
May we truly carry everything to God in prayer, not as an afterthought, but as our initial response in both joys and trials!
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you'll be a good servant of the LORD who delights to fear His name;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
