Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1-11 May 18, 2025

Message: “Nehemiah’s Prayer!”

by Pastor George Gnade

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Introduction:

1. Presently we are doing a series on Ezra and Nehemiah.  We are studying them together because they overlap. Ezra arrived in Judea in 458 B.C.  Nehemiah joined him 13 years later in 445 B.C.

2. In Ezra 1-6, we learned how the Jews returned to their own land; and with the permission of Cyrus the Great of Persia, they began to rebuild the temple in 538 B.C.

a. Due to opposition from their neighbors, the work was temporarily stopped until 520 B.C. But with God’s help it was finally completed in 515 B.C.

b. While the Book of Ezra begins by telling us about how the temple was rebuilt, in Ezra 7, we learn how and when Ezra himself arrived.

3. He arrived about 60 yrs. later in 458 B.C. and he brought other Jewish people with him. That was the good news. But some of the people who had returned had already begun to wander away from the Lord, and Ezra was used by God to revive them.

a. Ezra was a priest who had earned the respect of King Artaxerxes of Persia quite early in his reign. Then, about 13 years later, in 445 B.C., we learn about Nehemiah in the Book of Nehemiah which was named after him.

b. He was the cup bearer for King Artaxerxes of Persia and was also well respected by him. A cup bearer would test the food and drink of the king before he ate it to make sure it was not poisoned.

4. Because he was working for the king, he had not returned to Judah with the others. But at least one of his brothers had. His name was Hanani (Neh. 1:2).

A. Let us begin by discussing his visit with his brother.

1. In vs.2, we are not told why Hanani and some other men from Judah came to the citadel of Susa. Possibly they were involved in a business trip. 

a. But clearly Hanani deliberately made an effort to visit Nehemiah.

b. When he did, Nehemiah asked him how everyone was doing.  He was shocked to hear his report. In Neh. 1:3, Hanani told him: “Those who survived the exile and are back in the providence are in great trouble and disgrace. The walls of Jerusalem are broken down and its gates burned with fire.”  

2. This had happened way back in 586 B.C. when King Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem. That was 145 years earlier! Still nothing had been done.

a. Not only was Jerusalem an ugly place to live under these circumstances, it was certainly not a safe place to live. Most of the people lived outside the city.

b. Hanani described those who had returned with him to Judah as being “in great trouble and disgrace.”  If you had a brother who was in trouble like that, wouldn’t you be upset? But what could Nehemiah do?

B. The very first thing he felt led to do was to fast and pray.

1. In Neh. 1:4, we are told how Nehemiah was so upset that he fasted, and wept, and prayed for a number of days.

a. Haven’t we all cried and prayed when close family members are hurting?

b. I would suggest that many in his spiritual family were also hurting. Just as churches stand together and try to help one another, so Nehemiah wanted to help his brother and godly friends.

2. But he was only a slave working for the king. What right did he have to ask for anything? So the best place to go was to God in prayer. 

a. I like the song: “What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer. O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”

b. When you need guidance, remember God’s promise: “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7).

C. Let us now consider the prayer that Nehemiah prayed.

It follows a pattern that should be helpful to us too.

1. It begins in Neh. 1:5 with praise and adoration “to our great and awesome God.”

a. In fact, the chorus called “Our God is an awesome God” certainly affirms this verse.

b. Another reason to praise Him is because He “keeps His covenant of love with all those who love Him and obey His commands” (vs. 5 b). That reminds me of another chorus about God being a “promise keeper and miracle worker.” These are all good reasons to praise Him. That is a good way for us to start our prayers too.

2. This sets the stage for Nehemiah’s first prayer request. 

a. In vs. 6, he prayed: “Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying.”

b. In fact, this was so important to Nehemiah that he was “praying day and night.” And it was not a selfish prayer, but a prayer “for the people of Israel.”

c. This might be compared to us praying for our own church as well as God’s church located all over the world.

3. But before he went any farther, Nehemiah used this as an opportunity to “confess the sins of the Israelites, including himself and his father’s household” (vs. 6b).

a. Even in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, we are taught to pray:  “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.”

b. It always surprises me when people like Nehemiah and Daniel (Dan.9) included themselves and confessed their own sins as well as the sins of the nation.

c. It is a reminder that we are all sinners and none of us are as perfect as we might seem to others.

4. This reminded Nehemiah of Moses’ prayer for the nation, promising them that even if they wandered and God allowed them to be scattered, if they would turn and pray to Him, He would “gather them and bring them back” (Neh. 1: 8-9). It reminds me of II Chr. 7:14 where Solomon prayed something similar.

5. Finally, he ends his prayer with two more petitions.

a. First, he repeats what he said in the beginning, asking God to be attentive his prayer, but this time he also includes the prayers of others who were equally concerned.

b. This reminds us that God is even more deeply moved when many approach the throne of grace together.

6. The second and last petition is basically the first personal request that he makes. In his heart, he wanted to help his people but he was very anxious about approaching the king. So he concludes by asking God to help him do it.

In conclusion:

1. That is the topic of Nehemiah 2 which we will cover next week. But I pray all of us may have been blessed by studying this passage today.

2. Our problems, both as a nation as well as individually, are not that different. Neither is our God nor the Lord Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb.13:8).  

3. So whatever concerns are a burden on your heart, don’t ever give up. Just keep praying and believing in our awesome God. In His time, it will all work out. Amen.