Nehemiah's Prayer by Patty Nicholas-Boyte

I’ve been going through the book of Nehemiah for several months now, both at work and in my personal walk. I find the lessons I am learning have been relevant in every area of life. I feel what Nehemiah experienced through the trails of rebuilding not only walls of Jerusalem, but also to re-establish the nation of Israel, and God’s people is relevant to what we are going through today during a global pandemic. While I love to write romance, intrigue and story, but it seems to be times such as these that bring me back to writing about what I am learning through Bible study.

My day job as an event planner has basically been put on hold, and instead I am spending hours each day on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s national prayer line. During the terrible time we are in, I realize there are a host of people who are hurting, lonely and desperate. To be able to minister to these people, I find the need to spend much more time in the word and in prayer for myself so that I can pray for others.

I find the need to spend much more time in the word and in prayer for myself so that I can pray for others.Click to tweet it!

I am sure I am not alone in the need for extra prayer before conducting any business for the day, whether it is for my writing or for my day job. So today my fellow writers, I hope that you permit me to share with you some of what God is teaching me about prayer.

Nehemiah 1:5-11 (NASB) 5 I said, “I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word which 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 those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10 They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king. 

I love Nehemiah’s prayer. He was bold, as well as specific. There is one thing that I see in the prayer above all else, and that is Nehemiah did not begin with his needs or the needs of the nation. No, he began with a reverence and an acknowledgement of who God is.

• He is the God of Heaven. (v5) 
• He is the God who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and Keep His commandments. (v5) 

Even though the needs of God’s people were many, Nehemiah’s next words were not a petition to the Lord for help in time of trouble. No, he confessed the sins of the nation, and reminded God of his promise to bring the scattered people home. Finally, we see his specific request to God.

“I beseech You . . . be attentive to the prayer of your servant . . . make your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” (v11) He was cupbearer to the king. What can we learn from Nehemiah?

• When he prayed, he declared God’s greatness. God is great no matter what our circumstance and deserves our praise and reverence. 
• He reminded God of His loving kindness and of His promises. 
• He confessed the sins of himself and he confessed the sins of his nation. 
• He asked for a specific request, and that was to be successful when he asked for help from the king. 

While Nehemiah’s Prayer was simple, it was not easy. What questions can we ask ourselves so that we can affect change?

1. What does it look like to slow down and acknowledge God’s greatness first? 
2. Have we let the current circumstance overtake our ability to see the greatness of God? 
3. What promises of God can we remind Him? 
4. What scripture can I turn back into a prayer to God? 
5. What specifics and not general things do I need to ask God to grant?

Multi award winning writer, Patty Nicholas-Boyte lives with her Husband Brian in the mountains of North Carolina. She is a busy event planner for the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove, and is a member of the Blue Ridge Writers Group. She is a mother of two grown daughters and grandmother of three. She writes Bible studies and devotionals as well as contemporary romance. 

She is a regular contributor to the Cove Blog.

Devotions are published in compilations by Lighthouse Bible Studies.
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