Nehemiah prays real quick…

In chapter two of Nehemiah, 3-4 months since he first began praying, we get to see him at the job. The text doesn’t seem to indicate that this was the first time Nehemiah was in the presence of the King since his time of morning and fasting, but it does indicate that it was his first time being sad; maybe the fact that God was not answering his prayer in the way that he desired was weighing heavily, the reality of long-term, “hard-winter” prayer. The kind that accepts hard life as reality, like when the Ingalls family in Little House on the Prairie was getting prepared for winter; they knew that it would be a long time before hope, in the form of Spring, returned.

So, Nehemiah does what every adult would do, he gets up, he gets dressed, and he goes to work. What else is there, but to continue life, or some semblance of it? Then, as if he jumped into the icy cold water, he realizes that the King has noticed his sadness; and his journal records “Ï was very much afraid.” When I imagine all of the scenes in the Old Testament of servants and slaves in the court of the King, I imagine those where people walk quietly, everything is perfect, please don’t upset the King, please don’t anger the King, please don’t offend the king; these types of sentiments seem to rule the day, and Nehemiah, by his very demeanor invites the Kings’ personal inquiry. Confronted, Nehemiah boldly states the source of his sadness, knowing that his honest response will be the only true explanation. Then the King responds to Nehemiah “What would you request?”

I can only imagine the surprise in Nehemiah’s heart at this question, “did he just ask me this? Someone make sure I heard this correctly, did the King just ask me what he could do?” And what did Nehemiah do in the brief moments between the King’s question and his timely response? Nehemiah prayed real quick…..

Now, I couldn’t just let this go. This is my soapbox, the one that I stand on each year for the past ten or more, decrying the act of praying “real quick.” Prayer isn’t something we grab, like the sucker at the barber shop as we are rushing out the door. Prayer is connection with God, it’s heartfelt journeying, it’s time and thought, and time and quiet, and time and listening, and time and crying, and more time. It’s the journey process, not the quick, give-me-what-I-want candy jar. Yet here he is praying in that brief moment between the question and the answer; it can only be a second, maybe two.

But that’s what I love about Nehemiah and the way he prayed. Nehemiah’s journal stated that this is the first time that he was sad in the King’s presence; it also states that the reason for his sadness was for the city of Jerusalem. As all of this is true, I believe that in Nehemiah’s life, we catch a part of what it means to pray without ceasing. It almost seems that Nehemiah’s very demeanor and life takes on this prayer, this mourning for the Jews, for Jerusalem, for a people who are enduring separation from God. He takes the burden on as his own. This isn’t just sadness; this is life demeanor in conversation with God, one that begins to influence his very actions; his relationship with the Father influences his “real” life. Or, maybe his “real” life is finally influencing his existence. Maybe his community with God is finally breaking into his-so-called-life.

Sure, Nehemiah prays for maybe a second, under his breath as he inhales before exhaling the radical proposal that he take off from work for a journey to rebuild a slave town and his request for the king to fund it. Yet, this wasn’t the beginning of the God-conversation, it is the natural continuation of a conversational life with God, one that is interacting, that is pleading and listening, watching and waiting, and when the answer comes, recognizes that it is God speaking in events, to use the impossible, the unbelievable, to move in His world, the “real” world, the world of God’s Kingdom.

a comparison

I look for many models of pray - be it Hannah's prayer or a Davidic Psalm. I must assume that Nehemiah's prayer is a good model. I noticed some similarities between how Jesus teaches us to pray and how Nehemiah prays:

Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name.

I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God,

Your kingdom come your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

(praying to our Father, declaring His everlasting covenant with us - the kingdom)

Give us this day our daily bread.

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,

(there is an immediate need)

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. 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.

(we have debts, forgive us Father, we have been scattered)

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 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.'

(reconnect us with you Father, return us to Your ways, make our paths straight. May we delight again in being with You in the land of our Father's father, in the land where Your name dwells. Bring the kingdom Father.)

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 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.

(Father may your will be done here today. You work towards redemption. May we be redeemed unto your kingdom. May we live more and more in it everyday. Your name has power forever.)

I see a lot of connections between these two prayers. How much do I long to live in the place where God has chosen His name to dwell! How joyful am I that He dwells in me! The kingdom coming is a city being built. God will reign.

Sorrow and Resolution

In verse 3 of chapter 1 we see Nehemiah hearing about how the Jews who had escaped were faring. Then we see him fast, pray, and weep over the news. I have heard some commentators who say that Nehemiah was truly concerned and lamenting anew over the razing of Jerusalem 140 years earlier. In this, they make an argument for our recognition of the gravity of some situations and to own the sorrow and sin of corporate/community rejection of God. Other commentators feel that Nehemiah is referencing a failed attempt at rebuilding Jerusalem detailed in Ezra 4:7-23. My gut feel leans toward the latter as it seems to make more sense. However, my choice is based on just reading some opinions and choosing what seems most logical in explanation.

However, what I am intrigued by is his response to the need of Jerusalem, “I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” I fully understand that an ancient Jewish culture more understood how to truly mourn than we do today; Middle East morning is an event for participation. Yet, I’m not even sure if these types of things move me to one hour of mourning versus Nehemiah’s days of mourning. I think about tragedies in the last five years that have moved me: Rwandan genocide, Sudanese genocide, Ugandan child refugees, Katrina victims at the Super Dome; these have caused me pause. Yet to be honest many have not moved me to action or response like Nehemiah. I may have prayed and mourned some. I may have even given some time and energy to helping a particular cause associated with people affected, but I’m not sure I mirror the depth of Nehemiah’s seeking God, nor the things in Nehemiah’s mind.

It does seem that Nehemiah already began to form in his mind what he would (and could) do in this situation. He seems to be subjecting himself to God, looking for his guidance, and planning on moving forward. I don’t know how much was formed in his mind at this point, but he truly has an agenda in speaking to God. Nehemiah also demonstrates care for the people, a real heart-love for these Jewish survivors. He doesn’t sugar-coat the problems, but demonstrates his connection to the trouble and the need for repentance. Additionally, Nehemiah states that he understands what the objective is for the people to move forward, “if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them.” Interestingly, he seems to have a bit of a plan of how he personally will be involved in the restoration of these Jewish survivors and how he will ensure its success, “and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” Nehemiah has begun his plan, not satisfied to merely mourn, but to change the situation, to resolve the difficulties.

Nehemiah's Prayer: God-Focused

It occurred to me quickly that Nehemiah's prayer reflects a belief that the world revolves around God, not Nehemiah. Some could say that this is simply persuasive language, as if Nehemiah is engaged in persuading God to do something; he is making his case, pleading his cause, for God to act. And, in the world where I live, this seems plausible. But in the world of the kingdom, everything is focused on God, so that our understanding of life as we know it, is filtered through God as we know it. With this perspective the prayer takes on another meaning. Now, Nehemiah is simply describing things in their proper context, the context of who God is and what God has done.
verse 5: I beseech You (who else would I ask?)...God of heaven...great and awesome...preserves the covenant (you're faithful even when it seems you are not)
verse 6: Your ear...Your eyes (I speak only to you)...Your servant (Nehemiah's position)...Your servants (those who he is praying for)...we have sinned against You (recognition of sin at the core, against God)
verse 7: against You (object of our sin)...You commanded (God's authority)...Your servant (Moses described in light of who God is)
verse 8: You commanded...Your servant
verse 9: return to Me (God never changed)...My commandments (recognizing God's word/voice)...My name (Place centered around God)
verse 10: Your servants...Your people (God's people)...You redeemed (God's action)...Your great power (God's efforts)...Your strong hand (God's effort)
verse 11: I beseech You...Your ear...Your servant...Your servants...Your name...Your servant

This is in sharp contrast to Nehemiah referring to himself
verse 5: I beseech You (I beg of you)
verse 6: I am praying (subjected to you)...I and my father's house (personal accountability for sin)
verse 7: We (sin accountability)
verse 11: I beseech You...him (in the Hebrew, and I'm no Hebrew scholar, there is no word for him, it seems to be an understood indirect object of grant, the receiver of compassion)

In light of God-focused, kingdom living, maybe Nehemiah just recognizes better his relationship with God, whereas my natural response is to persuade God; can both sound the same? Where is my heart?