Nehemiah 1:4
“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”
I love seeing Nehemiah’s response to his brother’s news. He had gotten the report that Jerusalem was in great trouble and shame because the walls were broken and the gates destroyed by fire. This meant that the city was vulnerable, defenseless, and spiritually discouraged. It is interesting to note that Nehemiah didn’t jump into action immediately; instead, he sat down and wept. He didn’t just do it for a moment; he mourned, fasted, and prayed for days. Nehemiah showed great care for his people. His actions revealed a deep compassion that he had for them. He also shows grief through his mourning for sin, suffering, and brokenness. But Nehemiah doesn’t just stop there. He doesn’t just stay sad and in grief of this news, he then shows us how we respond in our care, compassion, and grief. He goes right to God and fasts and prays for days before he takes any steps of leadership that we see throughout the book. By choosing to fast and pray, we see a great dependence on God and how are leadership should flow from that and not our own abilities in any way. Nehemiah displays a great prayerful dependence on God throughout the book and is a great example for us to learn from.
Nehemiah didn’t just rush into finding a solution, but instead he responded with a broken heart. Choosing first to fast and to pray long before rebuilding the walls. Nehemiah first chose to align himself and his heart with God. This is very important for us to see and to challenge ourselves with in our own lives.
Do we have this same compassion for others? Do we go to God first in everything? Or do we try to fix things right away? Are our lives guided by prayer and aligning ourselves with the Lord?
“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”
I love seeing Nehemiah’s response to his brother’s news. He had gotten the report that Jerusalem was in great trouble and shame because the walls were broken and the gates destroyed by fire. This meant that the city was vulnerable, defenseless, and spiritually discouraged. It is interesting to note that Nehemiah didn’t jump into action immediately; instead, he sat down and wept. He didn’t just do it for a moment; he mourned, fasted, and prayed for days. Nehemiah showed great care for his people. His actions revealed a deep compassion that he had for them. He also shows grief through his mourning for sin, suffering, and brokenness. But Nehemiah doesn’t just stop there. He doesn’t just stay sad and in grief of this news, he then shows us how we respond in our care, compassion, and grief. He goes right to God and fasts and prays for days before he takes any steps of leadership that we see throughout the book. By choosing to fast and pray, we see a great dependence on God and how are leadership should flow from that and not our own abilities in any way. Nehemiah displays a great prayerful dependence on God throughout the book and is a great example for us to learn from.
Nehemiah didn’t just rush into finding a solution, but instead he responded with a broken heart. Choosing first to fast and to pray long before rebuilding the walls. Nehemiah first chose to align himself and his heart with God. This is very important for us to see and to challenge ourselves with in our own lives.
Do we have this same compassion for others? Do we go to God first in everything? Or do we try to fix things right away? Are our lives guided by prayer and aligning ourselves with the Lord?
Posted in Devotional