NEHEMIAH PRAYED FOR THE PEOPLE

PROCLAMATION

“I said, ‘Please, Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments; 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, confessing the sins … which we have committed against You …’ ”  Nehemiah 1:5-6 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

The Bible Book of Nehemiah was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Nehemiah, the cupbearer to Artaxerxes the king of Persia.  He led the third return of the exiled Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls.  While he was in Chislev, Nehemiah, the son of Hacallah, met some of the men who had come from Judah.  He asked them about the Jews who had survived captivity and escaped to Jerusalem, and he also asked them about the status of the city of Jerusalem.  They told him that the people were in distress and disgrace, and the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates were burned. (Nehemiah 1:1-3)  When he heard this, he wept and mourned for days.  He also fasted and prayed to The Lord God of heaven on behalf of the people of Israel.  He confessed that the people had sinned against God and not kept His commandments.  He also reminded God that He said if the people return to Him that You would gather them together and bring them to the place that You chose for them. (Nehemiah 1:4-9)  He also told God that these are Your servants and Your people whom He redeemed by His great power and His strong hand.  Then Nehemiah prayed for God’s mercy. (Nehemiah 1:10-11)

 

APPLICATION

There is a song which is entitled, “Somebody Prayed For Me.” (Dorothy Norwood)  The words of that song are as appropriate for us now as they were for the children of Israel back then.  We may not even know the names of all of the people who prayed for us.  In fact, some of our blessings may be the answer to a prayer which was prayed by someone else.  We need to pray for believers everywhere because everybody is dealing with or going through something.  All of us are either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or heading into a storm.  We all need help so we should pray for one another. (James 5:16)