Nehemiah was a man of prayer, in fact, the book that bears his name contains at least prayers. There is no better way to introduce Nehemiah’s mastery of prayer then by a study of the prayer with which the book starts – the longest.
Nehemiah was an important man even before his success in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Many important people are quite arrogant – arrogant with others and, I suppose, arrogant before God. But Nehemiah did not show this spirit. He was a man of courage and bold action. But here he humbles himself before God even to the point of tears and fasting. Nehemiah is not presumptuous, but he knows that God can do what he asks Him to do. Therefore he comes submissively and seriously.
We need people who will pray like that today. Cyril J. Barber, has written, “The self-sufficient do not pray; they merely talk to themselves. The self-satisfied will not pray; they have no knowledge of their need. The self-righteous cannot pray; they have no basis on which to approach God.” A true leader is one who is not self-sufficient, self-satisfied, or self-righteous. On the contrary, he knows his need and is ready to humble himself before the One who alone is sufficient for it.
Alan Redpath said, “Much of our praying is just asking God to bless some folks that are ill, and to keep us plugging along. But prayer is not merely prattle: it is warfare.” Great leaders are great prayer warriors.
There is an acrostic for prayer that you have probably heard: ACTS. In this acrostic, A stands for adoration, C for confession, T for thanksgiving, and S for supplication. Each of these is present in Nehemiah’s model prayer.
Adoration is expressed in the opening sentence: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel.” This is a summary of Nehemiah’s regular prayer worship, as is evident from his saying that he prayed like this “day and night.” He acknowledges several great attributes of God: his sovereignty, love, faithfulness, and his ability to see and hear all that is going on, including Nehemiah’s prayer.
Nehemiah next confesses, Nehemiah knew that the sin of the Israelites had caused the judgment of God that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem. If Jerusalem were to be restored, it would need to be restored upon the basis of a confession of these sins. So Nehemiah is specific about them. What is most striking about his confession is that he includes himself in the acknowledgment of these sins: Nehemiah recognizes the principle of solidarity – he is one with the people, so his sins are their sins and theirs are his. Nehemiah recognizes that he is himself a sinner. There is no sin of the people that led to the fall of Jerusalem of which he is not guilty or is not capable of having done in the same circumstances.
Here is a secret of true leadership. A true leader is not so much aware of the talents or gifts he has that others do not have as he is of the fact that he is as weak and as capable of sin as anyone. It is when leaders forget their sinfulness that they fall into sin and lose their leadership ability.
Nehemiah next reviews God’s promises. Specifically, he reviews God’s covenant with Abraham, because although it contains a warning of judgment following disobedience (which the people had experienced), it also suggests a time of blessing if the people should repent. By his repentance, Nehemiah wants to represent the people in a way that will cause God to be merciful to them once again.
The final element in the ACTS acrostic is supplication. Having acknowledged God’s greatness, confessed his own sin, and reviewed God’s promises, he now lays his petitions before God: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man” (King Artaxerxes).
The final thing we need to see about Nehemiah’s prayer life, the first of his great accomplishments as a leader, is his persistence. Four or five months passed between the time Nehemiah began to petition God regarding Jerusalem and the time his requests were answered.
That is perseverance, a characteristic of all great leaders. Some leaders are great in persevering with men. Nehemiah was great in that area, but before he persevered with men he persevered with God, and prevailed.
A leader is a people person. A leader sees the needs of others and grieves over them. Nehemiah saw the need and wept. But even more important than his tears was the fact that Nehemiah prayed. More important than his friendship with people was his friendship with God, since it is God alone who is able to change hearts, move nations, and provide for our many needs.
Maranatha!
(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”)
Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org