“Nehemiah’s Dependence on Prayer”

Wednesday, February 08, 2023

Clearly, one of the great characteristics of Nehemiah is his dependence on prayer. He was far away from the temple, but he continually turned to the God of heaven who needs no temple to hear from His servants. Nehemiah often offered brief “arrow prayers”; short, and shot straight into heaven, “The king said to me, ‘What would you request?’ So, I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king...” (Nehemiah 2:4-5).  Also, Nehemiah was a great man of penitent prayers. He knew how to weep in prayer. He was a man of dependent prayers, putting himself in the hands of God. One of the things that made Nehemiah’s prayers so powerful is, they were full of Scripture. This young man raised in exile, was also raised in Scripture, for he often prayed the promises of God. Nothing is more powerful than asking God to do what He has promised to do. 

Doors of opportunity are built by patient prayer. One reason we often fail to seize our opportunities is because we will not wait for God to act. So, we rush out with our plans, and we begin to force it when the time isn’t ready yet.  When we think we know what God wants, it’s hard to wait for the doors to open. 

One version starts chapter two saying, “One day four months later.” That is what it means. In Chapter one he said this whole thing started in the month of Kislev, that’s December on our calendar. Then chapter two says, “In the month of Nisan,” that’s the month of April on our calendar. So, Nehemiah is saying every day from December to April he prayed constantly for God to open a door, and nothing happened. Every day for four months he wrote the same thing in his journal, “Prayed again today, nothing happened.”  Yet, he remained patient and persistent in prayer and waited for God to make the opportunity. Nehemiah patiently waited on the Lord for directions.

When we wait on the Lord in prayer, we are not wasting our time; we are investing it. God is preparing both us and our circumstances so that His purposes will be accomplished. However, when the right time arrives for us to act by faith, we dare not delay.

For today, we need to stop the frantic pace of life long enough to pray, even if it is a short prayer. Though it may be short, don’t rush to get done. Also, we must be persistent beyond what we might think is a reasonable time for God to answer. Time is what we live by, not God.

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