The end of a prayer

O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer. Nehemiah 1:11

The end of Nehemiah’s first prayer in the book ends. He begs and pleads to God to listen to his prayer as well as the prayer of others praying for the same thing. The ones who delight (desire) to revere (fear) your name; God we are trying to follow you and obey you. Please grant me mercy in the sight of King Artaxerxes (this man).

Nehemiah knows he needs to go before his boss, King Artaxerxes, and he asks God for mercy. We now find out the job of Nehemiah. He is the king’s cupbearer.

The job of the cupbearer was a very important and dangerous occupation. The Hebrew meaning from Strong’s (H8248) is causing to drink, a butler. Cupbearers had to taste the food and drink before the king to make sure it had not been poisoned. Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge says: The office of cup-bearer was one of great trust, honour, and emolument, in the Persian court. To be in such a place of trust he must have been in the king's confidence; for no eastern potentate would have a cup-bearer to whom he could not trust his life, poison being often administered in that way…

The end of chapter one, stay tuned for chapter two.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Prayer Continues

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: [9] But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. [10] Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. Nehemiah 1:8-10

As Nehemiah continues to prays, he reminds God of what He has said. Basically, Nehemiah is praying God’s word back to Him (Leviticus 26:33).

Remember what you said God, if we turn to you and keep your commandments you will gather us together and bring us to the place that you chose. God, these are your people and your servants please O God redeem them by your great power and strong hand. Bring them back together Lord, you are the only one that can do this, show them by your great power.

Tomorrow we will hear the end of this great prayer.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Nehemiah’s Prayer

And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: [6] Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. [7] We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Nehemiah 1:5-7

Nehemiah starts to pray. He recognizes Who God is, the God of Heaven (vs. 4). He cries to God (beseech – Heb 577 means oh now!) and praises Him for being a great and terrible (Heb 410 – to fear) God. He is a God that keeps His covenant (compact) and mercy (kindness) to those that love him and observe (take heed to) his commandments. Nehemiah reminds God of His word and His promises.

Then, Nehemiah prays, listen Lord and open your eyes to the prayer of your servant (he recognizes his stand before God). I am praying day and night for your servants. He does not stop there but continues by confessing the sins of Israel as well as the sins of him and his family. He then goes on to confess the sins by name: 1) corrupted your word; 2) not kept your law; 3) appointments; 4) divine law.

In a nut shell, Nehemiah is saying, God we have dealt wrong and have not obeyed You.

I usually get convicted when I read the prayers of Nehemiah. He was a humbled man who wanted to do right no matter what. Join me the next time to hear more of Nehemiah’s prayer.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Nehemiah

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, [2] That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. [3] And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. [4] And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, Nehemiah 1:1-4

Nehemiah is one of my favorite Bible characters. He trusted God with everything. He always put God first. For the next few weeks I will be doing lessons on the Book of Nehemiah. I hope and pray that you will enjoy my notes and thoughts on Nehemiah.

Background info:
Writer: Nehemiah
Time: 444 – 425 B.C.
Place: Third and last return to Jerusalem after Babylonian exile
In the Hebrew canon the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were one. It is believed that not until the close of the 4th century did it become known as the Book of Nehemiah. – Albert Barnes

We learn Nehemiah’s father’s name is Hachaliah, though nothing else is known of him. While Nehemiah was in the palace during the 9th month which is Chisleu (end of November, beginning of December) one of his brothers, Hanani, with some men come to speak to him.

Nehemiah was full of questions and concern for the Jews. What happened to them? How are they? What is going on?

The answers were probably fast and furious. The people are in great evil (affliction) and shame (reproach), the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and if that is not bad enough the gates are burned with fire. Nehemiah was overcome with sorrow for God’s people. He could not contain himself. He sat down and cried, mourned for days, fasted and prayed to God.

Imagine if we acted like this when we heard about Christian brothers and sisters who are persecuted today. Unfortunately most of us are so “wrapped up” in our own world that we forget about those who are being persecuted for their belief in Jesus. We need to step out and mourn, fast and pray for our brothers and sisters.

I will look at Nehemiah’s prayer on my next post.

Have a blessed day,
Donna