THE POWER OF PRAYER

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.

When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.

Nehemiah 2:1-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Chapter 1, Nehemiah came before the Lord in prayer “in the month of Kislev in the twentieth year.” At the end of the prayer, he asked for God to grant him “success…by granting…favor in the presence of this man.”

The man Nehemiah was speaking of was none other than King Artaxerxes who Nehemiah served as cupbearer.

It would be four months until Nehemiah would assess whether his prayer had been successful. We know this because Chapter 2 opens “in the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes” and Nisan was four months later than the month of Kislev.

Nehemiah, aware of the distress his fellow Israelites were under in Jerusalem, wanted to do something to assist but this would require him leaving Babylon and traveling to Jerusalem. The danger in asking the king for this was that the king could view the request as disrespectful from one of his servants and result in consequences…consequences which could include death. Nehemiah was willing to take the risk, trusting that God would help him find favor with the king.

And so we read that when Nehemiah took wine to the king, he did so with an uncharacteristic sad face prompting the king to ask, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

The door was open for Nehemiah to share his heart and what troubled him. But how would the king receive his words? Nehemiah was “very much afraid” but we sense he trusted that God would answer his prayer for he said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

Nehemiah had shared his sadness. Jerusalem, the city where his ancestors were buried, was in ruins with its gates destroyed by fire. This is what was upsetting Nehemiah. But he still had not stepped over the line and asked to leave. His opportunity came available courtesy of the king’s next question.

For scripture tells us King Artaxerxes asked his servant Nehemiah, “What is it you want?”

The door was open. Nehemiah needed to be brave…to trust God to help him through this moment. And so before he turned to the king and his question, Nehemiah first turned to the Lord, praying “to the God of heaven” before answering the king’s question.

Friends, if we truly believe in the power of prayer, we will follow Nehemiah’s lead. Before we enter into any possible challenge, we will first turn to the Lord in prayer, gaining His strength and guidance. God is ready to deliver on our petitions and will not forsake us when we call on Him.

Emboldened by the Lord’s strength after prayer, Nehemiah went for it and asked for permission to go back to Jerusalem saying, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

The request had been made. Would Nehemiah have the King’s favor that he had prayed to God for?

The answer was yes for the king asked Nehemiah, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” Indeed, it “pleased the king to send” Nehemiah to Jerusalem. And so Nehemiah not only set a time that he would go for and then return but he also boldly asked for more help from the king. He first asked for “letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah”. He then asked for “a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy.” We read where Nehemiah received the letters and gave them to the “governors of Trans-Euphrates” and also received a bonus offering from the king as “army officers and cavalry” were sent along with him.

Did the king grant the requests because he liked Nehemiah? No, the requests were honored “because the gracious hand of my God was on” Nehemiah. It was God’s will that Nehemiah was blessed with what he asked for. Nehemiah had prayed for the king’s favor and God delivered, placing His gracious hand upon Nehemiah and helping him find his way out of Babylon so he could go and make a difference in God’s holy city among His chosen people.

Like Nehemiah, God is ready to use us in ways that will accomplish His will. As we enter into situations, we should pray for God’s will to be done and then ask God for what we need for His will to happen. God will answer that prayer and show us what He wants us to do.

The power in prayer comes from the One we pray to, the omnipotent God of gods, King of kings and Lord of lords. Pray to Him with confidence and trust. His way will always be perfect. We only need to walk in it.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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