The Nehemiah prayer

“Then the king said to me, ‘What do you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven” (Neh. 2:4 NKJ).

Nehemiah was a Jew working as the cupbearer of the King of Persia. After he heard of the destruction of Jerusalem, he was very sad, and the king took notice of it. In those days, being sad in the king’s presence as a cupbearer might cost your life. Nehemiah was afraid, but the king, by God’s hand, asked Nehemiah what he wanted. The scripture above says Nehemiah said, “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” This prayer might be the shortest prayer recorded in scripture. It might have lasted less than 10 seconds, because there was no hesitancy before those kings.

Nehemiah has shown us that you can pray in the midst of your daily routines at work or at home. You can pray anywhere. Nehemiah prayed in his heart, and certainly God heard him and granted his request. The Psalmist said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer” (Ps. 19:14 NKJ). You can commune with God in your heart without saying a single word aloud. This makes it possible to pray as situations arise right in the middle of action. Nehemiah was faced with a lifetime opportunity and he prayed. Learn to pray without ceasing.

MEDITATE

What do you think Nehemiah asked about in the verse above?

APPLY THE WORD

The Nehemiah prayer teaches us that you can pray in the midst of any circumstance. But that is not meant to be your only prayer time. Nevertheless, use it when needed. Take fellowship with the Father on your way to work or school today, even on a busy bus!