Nehemiah’s Prayer
One of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible is the prayer of Nehemiah. It is found in Nehemiah 1:4 and it demonstrates the kind of passion we all should have to not only return home, but to also accomplish mighty things for God.
Jesus Did not Die to Just Get Us Home
Having been ransomed from sin, hell, death, and the grave by the blood of the Lamb, so many of us as believers (former exiles from God) grow content with just getting home. This is demonstrated by the prevalence of language like “I want to go to heaven and rest” in our worship and church parlance. It shows in our lackluster approach to ministry and the things of God, and it is illustrated in our low zeal and fervor for the work of kingdom-building.
The challenge is that Jesus did not die just so we could make to heaven (back to the promised land). He did not ooze blood, hang his head, and die so exiles could skate by to glory. His sacrifice was to ransom us and make us citizens, yes, and greater still, soldiers and workers in his kingdom.
A Time to Be Exiled, A Time to Rebuild
Nehemiah’s heart’s cry and the desire of his exile weary soul was to see the house of God rebuilt. It is crazy to me because as a cupbearer for the king, he held a position of relative prestige while in exile; yet this did not excite him. The pleasures of exile were bitter gall to the spirit of a man whose palate was conditioned to eat from the promised land. He was not so impressed with the benefits of exile as to forget the ruin of his home. He was so concerned about the state of Jerusalem that he interrogated his brethren who just arrived from his homeland to find out its condition. Upon receiving word that Jerusalem was in ruins and the city walls burned, he wept and sought God for favour with the king so that He could approach him regarding making a trip home to repair Jerusalem. God granted His request and Nehemiah was not only permitted to make his desired trip, but the king wrote letters for him to have safe passage and funding for his mission. This is what happens when we are not so preoccupied with employment in exile to neglect the spiritual and physical bankruptcy of our homeland.
Kingdom Citizens
The whole purpose of us being called home from exile is to become citizens of heaven. There is no greater nationality to possess, no higher domicile, no grander jurisdiction to belong to. We do not just exist as citizens; we are called to LIVE as citizens and this involves kingdom work. Wall building, mess clearing, rubble destroying, city restoring work.
Has your heart longed for home? When was the last time you even asked about the condition of a certain ministry in your local church with a view to giving yourself to support that arm? What was the last wall you rebuilt? The last old foundation you cleared through prayer. The last gap in the wall you defended. Yet you are longing to go to heaven and “rest”? Not so my comrade! There is much work to be done.
Repentance Then Restoration
Nehemiah’s prayer opens with repentance for neglecting the one true God and His laws. Let us begin there. To transition from exile from God to citizen of heaven, this must be our prayer too. One of simple, sincere repentance. This prayer of repentance is also necessary for those of us who have grown complacent with the call. Those of us who have lost our first love and grown distracted with the trinkets and drunk with the delusions of captivity. Nehemiah continues His prayer with a call to remembrance where he outlines all the promises of God to His children to gather them from the ends of the earth and restore them to their possession once they repent. Having repented on behalf of the people of Israel from a position of intercession, Nehemiah proceeds to remind God that they MUST be restored based on the promise of His word. God will never break His word and it was this simple truth that Nehemiah relied on in asking God for restoration.
Pray the Word
There is no more effective prayer than to pray the word of God, how then can you miss the will of God? He will never fail to honor His own word. Pray the word and see mighty results. Pray the word and see your nation, family, relationships, finances, health, power, and faith restored! This was the strategy Nehemiah employed and it was with significant effect. Because he acted in faith and activated the promises of God, he received an expedient response from heaven and a favorable result on earth.
So, the Nehemiah formula if you will is A. Repentance, B. Citing the promises of God’s word, C. Request your needs. This does not just move you from exile to citizen, it transforms you from exile to kingdom builder! Sit with the prayer of Nehemiah (Neh. 1:4-11) and pray it through in faith.