Redemptive Prayers - Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon Text

Nehemiah Prays for His People

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.

It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

5 And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, 6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ 10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

For I was the king’s cupbearer.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ne 1:1–11.

• The ruined walls and distressed remnant force Nehemiah to hear the bad news honestly rather than trust self-sufficiency or minimize the need for rescue.
• Nehemiah responds by sitting, weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying, taking his grief to the God of heaven as the only true source of comfort and redemption.
• His prayer begins with God's name, greatness, covenant, and mercy, making the prayer God-centered before it turns to the community's need.
• Nehemiah confesses both Israel's sins and his own household's sin; redemptive prayer refuses self-righteous distance from the people whose failure it laments.
• He pleads God's covenant promises from Moses, showing that Scripture knowledge supplies the content and confidence of faithful prayer.
• Nehemiah asks humbly for God to hear him and relies on the coming intercession and redemption fulfilled in Jesus Christ rather than any righteousness of his own.
• His request for favor before Artaxerxes trusts the King of kings to govern earthly power and advance his kingdom.

• How did Nehemiah respond differently from the self-reliant attitude illustrated at the sermon’s opening?
• What did Jerusalem's broken walls reveal about the people's distress and need for redemption?
• Why does Nehemiah begin with God's name and covenant character rather than with his request?
• What is significant about Nehemiah confessing his own and his father's house's sins along with Israel's?
• How does Deuteronomy's promise of scattering and gathering shape Nehemiah's confidence?
• Why does Scripture knowledge matter for praying God's promises rather than merely personal wishes?
• On what basis may believers ask the Father to hear their prayers?
• What present need should you bring humbly to the sovereign King rather than attempting to control it yourself?

Redemptive prayer

Humble, Scripture-shaped prayer that asks God to save, confesses sin, and depends on his covenant mercy.

Covenant mercy

God's faithful loving-kindness by which he remembers and keeps his promises to his people.

Confession

Agreeing with God's judgment of sin personally and corporately instead of shifting blame to others.

Pleading the promises

Praying from what God has revealed and promised in Scripture, asking him to accomplish his own word.

Intercession

Prayer offered on behalf of others; the sermon finally grounds God's hearing of believers in Christ's priestly work.

King of kings

God's supreme rule over every human authority, including the Persian ruler before whom Nehemiah seeks favor.