The wonderful thing about Nehemiah’s book is that it gives us an insight into one of the greatest leaders in history and also one of the greatest spiritual leaders. The opening paragraphs show us the heart of a man who was driven by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was soaked in the scriptures. He knew what God’s promises were (note his reference to the promises made to Moses and the reference to Leviticus 26:33). We see him praying for Jerusalem in tears begging God to restore his homeland. He offers himself as God’s servant to gather the scattered people and to rebuild the nation.

I love the last line of the chapter. “I was cupbearer to the king” (v.11b). It’s almost a throwaway line that you could easily skip over. But it tells us that he was a man who had risen through the ranks of the king’s household to a position of responsibility. A position where he would have seen how a nation was run, he would have understood the role of a national leader and would have been able to see exactly what was required of someone in that position. But we also see a man who had his motivation rooted in prayer.

In any venture that is how we should be. Rooted in prayer, prepared to serve God and ready to follow His command. Nehemiah was prepared to surrender himself for this task. We should be prepared to do the same. Few of us (if any) are likely to be called to rebuild a nation but we might be called to respond to some other calling. To start a new outreach or to gather people in some new way. Nehemiah shows us how we should be.

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Question:

As you look at the world around you what breaks your heart the most? What brings you to your knees to ask God for His blessing in the way that Nehemiah did? And what are you doing about it?

Prayer:

O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commands, hear the cry of our hearts as we lift to you……(Inset your prayer here).