The prayers of the broken-hearted answered.
So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favour in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:2-5).
When Hannah had finished praying for Samuel, it says, “and her face was no longer sad” (1 Samuel 1:18). After Nehemiah had prayed to God, he continued to be sad. God had answered Hannah’s prayer and healed her broken heart. Nehemiah’s heart was still broken, and God used it to great effect. He wasn’t only going to heal Nehemiah’s broken heart, but a broken nation as well. Blessing always begins in the heart of God. He moves us into circumstances in which we begin to understand His heart and enter into His blessings.
It was a dangerous thing to be sad in the presence of kings in the days in which Nehemiah lived. He was the king’s cupbearer. His role was the safety of the king, and not to be distracted with other matters. But through the grace of God, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego, Esther and Nehemiah were not only promoted into the highest positions, but they were deeply valued and loved by those they served. The grace that kept them was manifest in them. There was an attractiveness about their godliness.
Nehemiah was both afraid and courageous. Mark Twain wisely said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” Nehemiah may have been dreadfully afraid, but he didn’t sound frightened; rather, he courteously and boldly explained his sorrow of heart. What is so amazing about the stories of Nehemiah, and other significant spiritual figures who emerged during exile, was how God moved in their lives. His timing was perfect. He placed them just where they would have the most significant effect. He used their suffering and broken heartedness to open the windows of heaven in blessing. The king did not dismiss his servant Nehemiah, but asked what he wanted. We often forget how God does not only work in our hearts, but He is also able to work in the hearts of those who are not His people. This should give us enormous encouragement. When we witness to the Lord, we are not by ourselves. He is with us. The Spirit of God moves people to do God’s will and also to open their hearts to His salvation. We may feel fearful, but we are not alone when we witness to our Saviour, and God can surprise us by the response we get to our faithfulness.
Nehemiah teaches us to spontaneously pray to God and immediately speak to men. And he also teaches us to ask for big things; to ‘rebuild a city’. It is incredible to learn that during the exile, with their freedom lost, their land taken away and their temple destroyed, the faith of men like Nehemiah and women like Esther shone so brightly. God does not want us to be cowed by the world we live in; He wants us to overcome it and to be His witnesses: “This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
