Do I see the Hand of God upon me?

Nehemiah 1-3 All Praise and Honor to God!

Nehemiah is a man of character, integrity, honesty, emotions high and low and lastly, he is a man of prayer. Although raised in Babylon, his heart is still with his Jewish brethren and when his brother Hanani arrives back from a trip there, he falls to his knees, mourns, and prays for the city in which his father’s tombs are located. Truly, I have never thought of doing that although I know that the tombs of my parents are thousands of miles away from me. Why? I guess it comes from what my great-aunt Lois told me when my father died: he is gone and is not returning as she cleaned out my father’s belongings. Yet, when an opportunity arose for me to go to my parent’s gravesite, I did have some pangs of sadness and so I can relate to Nehemiah in that respect.

Nehemiah said more than once: the hand of my God was upon me just as Ezra had said. He knew that his future was in the hand of God and he would either die there in Babylon serving the King or he might, just might, be given the opportunity to seek restoration of the city of the tombs of his fathers. This did not come about lightly but because he spent time in prayer and fasting. When I want God to open doors do I fast and pray as he did so I am prepared mentally, emotionally, and more importantly spiritually?