1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
It is now almost five months later. There is wisdom in waiting. While we should be burdened in prayer for the things that are wrong in this world marred with sin, it is not up to us to fix any of it. God is still the one who needs to do the moving, even if He chooses to work in us. There is wisdom in praying and waiting until God gives us our next step. Nehemiah is performing his duty before the king, serving him the wine, when the king notices he is sad. Nehemiah would not have shown sadness in front of the king because if that had happened and the king was in a bad mood, he might have been banished, or even killed. But on this day his burden overwhelms him and the king notices. King Artaxerxes asks him why he is expressing sadness of heart. Nehemiah explains his concern about the ruined city of his family. When the king invites him to make a request, he prays before continuing. This must have been one of those quick prayers of the heart before continuing. How wonderful that even just before we open our mouths we can pray, “Lord help me” and then continue. Nehemiah sees that God has opened up the opportunity to do something about the walls of Jerusalem so he makes his full request to the king. I’m sure that in the five months of waiting he had thought through some possible plans so that now that he is able to make a request, he knows exactly what is needed. The king granted Nehemiah what he asked, why? “for the good hand of my God was upon me.” Nehemiah was burdened so he prayed. He waited and planned, continually praying. When God opened the door it was obvious that the good hand of God was upon him! Are you praying, planning, and waiting?