Nehemiah Devotional: Nehemiah 1

INTRO AND INSPIRATION:

I was so inspired by this post and its challenge that I would like to imitate her format.

I have been studying Nehemiah this summer (I'm only on chapter 7, but I'll share what I have so far.) I have been very inspired by what God has shown me, so if you would like to participate as well in my little study, I will post a few times per week about this book.

When God gave me Nehemiah, I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed.  It's not a "go-to" book of the Bible for me.  However, Nehemiah is definitely one of the most consistently faithful, wise, and strong leaders in the entire Bible (well, just my humble opinion!!).  He has definitely been an inspiration to me.

I am going to post each chapter separately.  Please read the chapter first (so you can hear ONLY God first and not be influenced by what God shared with me), then read my commentary. I would be so blessed and honored if you would comment on what God has shared with you as well.  I LOVE to hear other people's insights into God's Word.  I feel like the Bible is incredibly deep in meaning and purpose, and I can only barely scratch the surface of what He wants me to grasp.

Here is today's devotional.

NEHEMIAH 1:

First, I was struck by the meanings of the various names mentioned in this chapter:

• Nehemiah means "Yahweh has comforted."  I just love that!  It's a quick reminder that God is my Comforter, and I can recall various times in my past when He has done just that.  :)
• "Hanani" means "gracious."  It is my reminder that I serve a gracious God.  He is gracious toward me, therefore I must be gracious toward others.
• "Hachaliah" means "Who waits for the Lord."  It is my reminder that I must wait for Him.

Verse 3 also stuck out to me:  "The survivors .. are ... in great distress and reproach."  Just the fact that they survived the Babylonian capture of their homeland, but they were still in distress.  Sometimes when I have survived a difficult trial, I find myself trying to convince God that I need a "break" from hard times--that I deserve a season of rest and contentment.  Verse three and this verse remind me that He does not operate that way:  

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Then, of course, I was moved and inspired by his reaction to the state of Jerusalem in verse 4.  He was so deeply grieved by the situation that he fell apart emotionally.  I can definitely relate--I have had a few seasons of my life where my whole life fell apart in a few seconds, shocking things that pulled the rug out from under me.  BUT, and this is so inspiring, HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO--He pulled himself together and fasted and prayed "before the God of heaven."  He didn't whine and moan indefinitely.  He wasn't overcome with anxiety.  He didn't obsess about the situation.  He went straight to the source of help--the ONLY source of help in times of dire distress. He was wise enough to understand that the situation was completely out of his control. He did not have the power to begin to fix the situation.  He relied only on his God.  I will admit that I resist God when I feel that He is calling me to fast.  I have done it, but I think He calls me to do it more often and I disobey Him.  It's so hard for me, but I definitely believe there is power in it (maybe because God understands that it is an incredible sacrifice?  I don't know.)

It made me wonder about the spiritual influences in his life.  How did he come to know God personally and trust Him so implicitly?  I have to believe that my life and teaching influences my children and students and inspires them to know God more deeply.

Verses 5-11 are a profoundly beautiful supplication to his God (aka OUR God!).  This was just him seeking his almighty God with all of his soul.  To me, this is an amazing example of intercessory prayer.  I find it striking that Daniel uses an almost identical prayer format in Daniel 9:1-20, and Hezekiah uses a similar format (although shorter and without the confession part) in II Kings 19:14-19.  

The heartfelt nature of this prayer is so inspiring, and you can almost see a "prayer formula" if you compare Daniel's prayer with Nehemiah's.

• FAST AND PRAYER:  
• Nehemiah 1:4--"I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."
• Daniel 9:3--"Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes."
• They both began immediately with fasting and praying.
• PRAYER:  GLORIFY GOD FIRST
• Nehemiah 1:5--"I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant of mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments ..."
• Daniel 9:4--" And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ..."
• Isn't it striking that both prayers begin the same ... almost verbatim?!  Nehemiah lived over one hundred years after Daniel.  I wonder if he knew the book of Daniel (was it even written then?), or if it is divine "coincidence"? 
• PRAYER:  "HEAR US" ... "SEE US"
• Nehemiah 1:6--" ... please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which a pray before you day and night ..."
• Daniel 9:18--"O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies."
• I think that there must be some significance to the fact that both men include this component in their prayers, but I am missing the importance.  I feel like when I pray I don't need to ask God to hear me or see me (or the people I'm praying for) because He already knows and sees.  I sometimes seek Him and ask Him to show me what I'm missing (or if there really IS no significance), but so far I have not received a response either way.
• CONFESSION:
• Neh. 1:6-7--" ... for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You.  Both my father's house and I have sinned.  We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses."
• Daniel 9:5-13--"we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ... We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.  “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth." 
• A key component of prayer is confession.  It denotes humility before an awesome God and a sincere desire to please Him as well as gratitude that He will forgive our sins.  This must be our primary attitude any time we have any interaction with Him.
• PETITION:
• Neh. 1:11--" ... and let your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." [He had to approach the king with a major request.]
• Daniel 9:16-19--"O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us [Jerusalem was desolate.].  Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary [Jerusalem], which is desolate.  O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name [Jerusalem]; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” {He was petitioning God to restore Jerusalem.  Interesting that both Nehemiah and Daniel petitioned God for the same reason over a century apart.}
• I think it's significant that both men petitioned God for "many days."  Some people have tried to convince me that we should never continue petitioning God with the same requests, that we should petition once and let God be God.  I have been on the fence for a long time, but I am beginning to believe that we are definitely allowed to "bother" God on a regular basis for major issues we deal with.  Both Nehemiah and Daniel did, and God did not rebuke them--on the contrary, both of them received answers from God.  I also have to think of the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8:  
• "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
• I am also comforted by the fervency of their prayers.  Sometimes I feel that I call out to God in deep desperation and I feel guilty--like my prayers should not be so desperate. After reading these passages in Nehemiah and Daniel, I definitely feel like it's okay to pray like that.  Deeply difficult situations might even require deeply heartfelt and desperate prayers. I just don't think I should do that ALL the time with every prayer request.  There are definitely times when I sense God telling me to back off and JUST TRUST HIM.  Until I hear that directly from Him, though, I will continue to knock on heaven's doors repeatedly.

I don't like to repeat myself, so for my last revelation about Nehemiah 1, you can check this post. It describes the significance of the last sentence of chapter 1.

God's Word is so rich, isn't it?!

Feel free to leave a comment!  I will treasure any wisdom you are willing to share with me!  If not, that's ok.  :)

Here is Nehemiah Chapter 2, Part I if you're searching for the next section.