Nehemiah 1/Ps 5 Pray with Expectancy

Nehemiah is a man of prayer, but he also knows this principle: a key aspect is to listen, discern, and use your time reflectively. Like Daniel and many others, Nehemiah did not just pray once but for many days. Hannah prayed over and over for a child. Jeremiah prayed for Jerusalem and its people that they would repent. Daniel prayed over and over as he read scripture, and God honored his questions. Are we like these as we spend time in a mode of prayer for ourselves, our church, our country?

Like David in Psalm 5, Nehemiah began; Lord “carefully consider,” meaning, Lord pay attention to my cry. Nehemiah prayed with boldness since he was a servant of King Artaxerxes. So he went to his prayer closet, where he met with the real and true king, Jehovah. Like the psalmist, Nehemiah came in a mode of repentance: “I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed against you.”  He closed his time in prayer by asking the Lord to listen and to grant him success “today.”

Father, may we be bold to pray that we would be successful ‘today.’ Spend time in prayer and “then wait expectantly for an answer,” knowing that God rewards the godly and protects them with His shield.