Pausing to Pray - October 29
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 40, 54; PM Psalm 51; Neh. 2:1-20; Rev. 6:12-7:4; Matt. 13:24-30
Today’s Reflection
“Then the king said to me, ‘What do you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it.’ The king said to me (the queen also was sitting beside him), ‘How long will you be gone, and when will you return?’ So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a date.” Nehemiah 2: 4-6
I’ll be honest—before yesterday in Morning Prayer, I don’t think I had ever read anything from the Book of Nehemiah. Maybe I have at some point, but if I have, I don’t remember it! All I knew about it before that it is an Old Testament book that comes after Ezra and before Esther.
But as I’ve read the first couple chapters this week, I’m discovering that Nehemiah is more interesting than I would ever have guessed. Nehemiah is a book about a hero and his quest to find the resources and the companions needed to fulfill a very important mission: to rebuild the walls of his hometown, Jerusalem.
When we first find Nehemiah is yesterday’s reading, chapter 1, Nehemiah has learned from his brothers, who are returning from their travels, about what has happened to the Jews who were living in exile and what had unfolded in their beloved Jerusalem. When Nehemiah heard the news that “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire,” his response was deep and from the heart: “I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah is pouring out his heart to God, acknowledging his shortcomings and those of his people, and asking for God’s love to continue to be extended to them anyway. He is confessing and seeking forgiveness. And he is also praying that God, in his great mercy, will somehow make a way for his people to be gathered again to the place that he has chosen and allow God’s name to dwell there. Nehemiah is praying for God’s help: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
“This man” is King Artaxerxes of Persia. At the very end of chapter 1, after Nehemiah’s long prayer, we learn this: Nehemiah is serving as the cupbearer to the king. He is the one who bringing the king and queen their wine, so one can imagine that he has very personal access to the leader on a daily basis. And as a result, the king has gotten to know Nehemiah well enough to notice when something is wrong—and to care about how things are going for Nehemiah: “And the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Nehemiah felt afraid—someone in his position was supposed to keep up appearance, to be a pleasant person with a smile on his face when he brought the king his cup.
But in that moment, Nehemiah decided to be honest, and shared the bad news he had learned about Jerusalem. The king’s response was not the one Nehemiah had been fearing, but instead was a supportive response: “What are you requesting?” This threw Nehemiah for a second—he didn’t know quite what to say! In that moment, Nehemiah quickly realized that the king could provide help to Nehemiah that would allow him to help attempt something huge: to rebuild the walls! But instead of just blurting out an excited response, we learn that Nehemiah took a moment to ask for God’s help, too: “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” And after that pause to take a deep breath and ask for God’s wisdom, Nehemiah began to speak—and when he did, Nehemiah spoke boldly, and he asked for exactly what he needed: to be sent to Judah, to be given letters to allow him to pass through the lands between Persia and Judah, and to be given all the timber needed to rebuild the walls. Nehemiah stepped out in faith and made the big ask—and in response, “the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of God was upon me.”
As Nehemiah unfolds over the next several days in our lectionary readings, we’ll continue to follow the adventures of this hero as he arrives in Jerusalem, overcomes opposition, works on behalf of the poor, and responds to conspiracies. Nehemiah’s story is most heroic not because of what he builds for God and his people (though that, too, is important), but because of the way he goes about it: by devoting himself to God, and always seeking God’s wisdom and purpose through prayer.
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
When has someone noticed your feelings, despite your hope to hide them? How did it change things to know that someone else noticed and cared enough to ask how you are doing? How do you respond when someone unexpectedly offers you help?
Daily Challenge
Read more about why Jerusalem held such spiritual importance for people like Ezra and Nehemiah.