Nehemiah a Man of Prayer
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Whatever the Challenge, Prayer is the Answer
Nehemiah 1:1–3 ESV:
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
This is about 446 BC, 90 years after the first of the captives had returned from Babylon. Ezra had already led them to rebuild the temple, but the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down. We learn in Ezra Chapter 4 that neighboring nations were against Israel rebuilding the wall.
Nehemiah 1:4 ESV:
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.
Nehemiah prayed for four months.
An initial compassion swelled up inside of Nehemiah about the wall of Jerusalem, and his response was—prayer.
Nehemiah 1:5–7 ESV:
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.
You can compare this prayer to what we know of as The Lord’s Prayer and see parallels.
Nehemiah 1:8–9 ESV:
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.’
There, you see honest talk with God.
2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV:
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Nehemiah 1:10–11 ESV:
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 bring to a successful conclusion, or to advance] to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
For four months, he had prayed, but now he expects to receive today.
There are a number of examples in the Old Testament where someone is said to prosper, meaning that they successfully accomplished something that God wanted to come to pass.
Nehemiah 2:1–4 ESV:
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
When the King asked Nehemiah what he was requesting, the first thing Nehemiah did was pray to the God of heaven. It’s a lifestyle of prayer where you don’t just jump in without praying first.
Nehemiah 2:5– ESV:
5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River [Israel was called “Beyond the River”], that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
Hebrews 4:16 ESV:
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
During those four months of praying, God had been working in Nehemiah’s heart to know what would be needed.
Nehemiah 2:9–12 ESV:
9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
Nehemiah 2:16 ESV:
And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
Scoping it out before talking about it is a great indication of wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 8:6 ESV:
For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him.
Nehemiah 2:17– ESV:
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper [to bring to a successful conclusion, or to advance], and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
Chapter 3 details building the wall.
Nehemiah 4:1–5 ESV:
1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” 4 [Nehemiah prays] Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
Nehemiah prays and asks God to fight the battle. We can do the same thing today.
Nehemiah 4:6 ESV:
So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind [heart] to work.
The people got on board with Nehemiah’s vision, and they worked hard with a lot of heart.
Nehemiah 4:7–8 ESV:
7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
This was the third record of the outsider’s opposition to what Nehemiah and the Israelites were doing. What was Nehemiah’s response?
Nehemiah 4:9 ESV:
And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
Nehemiah’s continual response to opposition was to pray.
Philippians 4:6–7 ESV:
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Threats are opportunities for God’s people to stand up and obey.
Nehemiah 4:14 ESV:
And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Nehemiah 4:15 ESV:
When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.
God made sure they found out where the attack was coming from, who was going to do it, what time it was, and revealed all the secrets of the enemy.
Nehemiah 4:16–17 ESV:
16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.
Chapter 5 talks about another issue that was occurring.
Nehemiah 6:1–2 ESV:
1 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.
They wanted to draw Nehemiah and others about 30 miles away and isolate them so that they could get them to compromise.
Nehemiah 6:3–5 ESV:
3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. 5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
This open letter was so that all would see find out about the accusation they were going to make about Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 6:6–9 ESV:
6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
Nehemiah’s prayer was short and to the point.
Nehemiah 6:10–13 ESV:
10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
Again, Nehemiah prays.
Nehemiah 6:14 ESV:
Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
Nehemiah 6:15–16 ESV:
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
No matter what is thrown at us, the answer is prayer.
Prayer is the means by which the Lord of all brings His determined purposes to pass.
When my people pray, I will heal their land. When my people seek my face, I will be there for them. When you call on me, I will answer.
Psalm 5:1–3 KJV:
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. 2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Audio teaching also available on the Acts Now Fellowship website
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