THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE
“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, ‘I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.” They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man,’” (Nehemiah 1:4-11, NASB).
Before a single stone was laid to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, Nehemiah began to humble himself before God. After fasting and mourning over his people’s vulnerability, He offered up a three-part prayer – confessing Israel’s sin, proclaiming the Lord’s promises, and requesting success for his plans.
Like Nehemiah, we should be committed to protecting our people. His response to Israel’s situation is a good template for us to follow. Perhaps we’ve never considered fasting over a local or national crisis or interceding for our community’s disobedience to God. But taking action to protect and serve others is a believer’s responsibility.
There are those who doubt that one person’s prayers or actions can make a dent in a nation’s future, but Nehemiah proved otherwise. God used him to gather supplies and organize the Jewish people to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls in just 52 days.
The impact of our intercession may not look like Nehemiah’s, or it may be unknown until we reach heaven. But if we’re to build communities where the vulnerable are protected and justice prevails, we must commit to small steps of change every day. And we should begin as Nehemiah did – with prayer.
Jeff