“Nehemiah: A Praying Man”

Saturday, February 01, 2020

Do you believe in prayer? Do you think prayer is powerful? Would you agree with James that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas. 5:16)? I know a man who believed wholeheartedly in the power of prayer. His name is Nehemiah.

On several occasions in the book of the same name, Nehemiah was involved in prayer and in speaking to God (1:4, 6, 11, 2:4, 4:4, 4:9, 13:14, 22, 31). Nehemiah knew that if he was going to get anything done, he needed to make sure he was communicating with the God of Heaven!

A casual reading of the passages above shows us that Nehemiah prayed to God to confess sins and ask for forgiveness. He also prayed to God for help in times of need. He was a man who was acquainted with God and made talking to God a priority! As we read this book, we will see that such a prayer life was vital to his survival, as well as the survival of the people in Jerusalem.

What kind of a prayer-life do you have? How often do you pray? I hope you are not like George Bailey (It’s A Wonderful Life), who said he was not a “praying man.” Worse, I hope you are not like Charlie Anderson (Shenandoah), who bowed his head and said, “Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvest it. We cook the harvest. It wouldn't be here, and we wouldn't be eating it if we hadn't done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you Lord just the same for the food we're about to eat, amen.”

Instead, let us learn from Nehemiah (Rom. 15:4). His example shows us how we ought to be. He led the people and helped to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem in fifty-two days (Neh. 6:15)! This was not done without God’s help. Instead, it was done by God’s power! Not only did Nehemiah pray for God’s blessing through it all, but when the work was done, prayers still ascended! Nehemiah 9:4-38, for example, is a prayer offered to God by the Levites who were in the city and had gathered the people to read God’s word and to repent of sins committed through the years. In the final chapter of this book, we read of three occasions where Nehemiah asks God to remember him (13:14, 22, 31)!

Prayer is a powerful weapon in our arsenal (Eph. 6:18)! When suffering, let us pray (Jas. 5:13, 16)! When tempted, pray (I Cor. 10:13)! When we are grateful, pray (Ps. 110:4: Col. 3:15; I Thess. 5:18)! Let us be like Nehemiah and “pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17)!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

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