The prayers of the broken-hearted
So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven (Nehemiah 1:4).
Nehemiah had a good life in Persia. He had a very important job and he was highly valued by King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah was a spiritual man with a deep love for his people and the land God had given them. When his brethren from Judah visited him and told him about the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem, it broke his heart. It was a moment which changed his life and drove him into the presence of God.
Nehemiah could have sorrowed over the bitter circumstances and simply accepted that God was judging His people, who had turned their backs on Him. He could have convinced himself that conditions in Jerusalem were beyond his control, and that God had spared him to enjoy a new life with new responsibilities. But Nehemiah didn’t do that. Instead, he wept, mourned, fasted and prayed. His tears were an expression of what was felt in his heart. His mourning showed the regret and sadness he experienced because of the failure of God’s people. He fasted to sacrifice his own interests so as to come humbly before his God. And he prayed, recognising that only God could change the circumstances which overwhelmed him.
The Psalms tell us:
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit (Psalm 34 17-18).
And Isaiah writes:
For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite one’’ (Isaiah 57:15).
It was from this position that Nehemiah prayed in faith. He began by worshipping God in the wonder of His Person and the power of His promises. Nehemiah simply asks God to hear his prayer. He approaches God, not only to confess the sin of his people but to associate himself in that sin. This was not an empty sentiment, but something felt deeply in his heart. He speaks to God based on His word and reverently reminds God of what He had promised. Finally, he sacrificially asks God to use him to fulfil His purposes, and places himself in the hands of God (vv. 5-11).
Nehemiah has much to teach us. He woke up to needs he could have chosen to ignore. Nehemiah was a man of compassion and spiritual insight. He felt the needs of others in his own heart, a Christlike feature. Nehemiah knew how to come into the presence of God. He teaches us about the power of a broken heart and how to touch the throne of God. Nehemiah didn’t rest in his high office but placed himself humbly on the altar of God’s will in complete confidence and trust.
There are many things which break our hearts, but there is only one Person who can heal them.
