When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer!” [Nehemiah 1:4-5 (NLT)]
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Nearly fifty years after Jerusalem was destroyed, the first of the exiled Jews returned to the ruined city. Although his brother Hanani returned to Judah, Nehemiah, who served Persia’s King Artaxerxes as cup-bearer, didn’t. While his job included ensuring the safety of the king’s food and drink, Nehemiah was more bodyguard than waiter. In constant contact with the king, he served as both confidant and companion to Artaxerxes. He carried the king’s signet ring and possibly served as his chief financial officer.
When Hanani returned from Jerusalem to visit, Nehemiah casually asked how the exiles were doing in the city. When his brother replied that Jerusalem’s walls still were in shambles and without any gates, Nehemiah was distraught. Without its walls, Jerusalem’s residents (and the Temple’s treasures) were vulnerable to attack by gangs, bandits, and wild animals. Worse, having remained in ruins for over 140 years, Jerusalem’s broken walls signaled a defeated and weak people. After hearing his brother’s distressing report, Nehemiah spent days mourning, fasting, and praying.
Nehemiah’s prayer is beautiful in its simplicity. Reminding God of His unfailing love for His people, the cupbearer humbly asked God to hear his prayer. After confessing both the sins of Israel as well as those of his family and himself, he repeated God’s promise to Moses that He’d restore the people when they returned to Him. [Deut.1-4] Nehemiah asked God to hear his prayer and the prayer of those “who delight in honoring you” and closed by asking the Lord to grant him the king’s favor. What Nehemiah didn’t do was tell God how Jerusalem’s problem should be solved. He simply laid his burden on God, claimed God’s promises, and let God get to work!
It was three months later that Nehemiah’s downcast demeanor caused the king to ask what was troubling him. Although terrified to answer, the cupbearer told the king he was sad because Jerusalem’s walls remained in ruins. Nehemiah was frightened for good reason. A sorrowful expression in the king’s presence was considered an insult to him and, several years earlier, Artaxerxes ordered Jerusalem’s reconstruction to stop. [Ezra 4:21] The king’s response, however, was to ask what he could do. After praying again, Nehemiah responded that he’d like to go to Judah and rebuild the city’s walls. When his request was granted, Nehemiah went all in and requested the king’s financial, political, and military support in Jerusalem’s rebuilding.
Without a doubt, Nehemiah was a man of action. Once in Jerusalem, he rebuilt the city’s walls in 52 days (when it took 22 years for the Temple’s restoration). Nevertheless, he waited three months before speaking to the king. Although Scripture doesn’t tell us what Nehemiah did during that time, I imagine he spent it in prayer while patiently waiting for the God-appointed time to take action.
By working on God’s timeline rather than his own, Nehemiah had a well formulated plan, knew how much time was needed, and what materials and help he needed. If he’d impetuously spoken to the king immediately upon hearing about the city walls, things wouldn’t have gone so well. Without God having softened the king’s heart, the cupbearer might have been punished for his disrespect in daring to look sad, his insubordination in expecting the king to reverse a previous decree, and his impudence in asking the king to fund the project!
Although Nehemiah’s prayer tells us he knew the king’s favor was essential to any solution, I suspect he didn’t know that he’d be the one to lead the rebuilding effort when he first prayed. Nehemiah saw Jerusalem’s need but, rather than devise his own plan, he relied on “the gracious hand of God” to fulfill that need. Moreover, when the time came, he willingly accepted God’s call to leave a cushy job in the king’s palace to serve as a construction foreman in a land he’d never seen! If we want God’s will to be done on earth, like Nehemiah, we must let Him devise the plan and be available for His use!
Devotions of the Heart 