Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Colossians 4:2-6 KJV
So we’re going to study the prayer of Nehemiah in chapter 1 verses 4 through 11, and we’ll start first by taking a look at the verses in their entirety & then break it down and look at separate verses by themselves:
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, and said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.
Nehemiah 1:4-11 KJV
An absolutely beautiful prayer indeed, and it is one that we can learn a lot from and put into practice, to not only become much closer to God, but also like our prayers to him much more effective and useful, not just for us but for others as well.
1) So the first two verses, 4 & 5, you’ll see there is praise for God, starting basically with just a short review of some of the good things of God:
…prayed before the God of heaven, and said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments…
Nehemiah 1:4-5 KJV
2) Next, we will look at verses 6, where you will see he makes specific requests on behalf of someone else, not just him…
…let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants…
Nehemiah 1:6 KJV
3) next we’ll look at the latter part of verse 6, as well as verse 7, where you will see confession of sins, acknowledgment of sins, and a short review, as well as remorse for those sins, which is all very important as you well know:
…let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear…which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
Nehemiah 1:6-7 KJV
4) next up we will see in verses 8 through 10, a sort of reviewing and reclaiming for ourselves those of God’s promises and blessings, basically a confirmation for ourselves and loved ones that we pray for:
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
Nehemiah 1:8-10 KJV
5) And last but not least, verse 11, where we find a request for personal help protection and mercy difficult situations:
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.
Nehemiah 1:11 KJV
Review: Praise and remember the good the things of God, Pray for others instead of only for yourself, confess your sins while showing remorse, claiming for yourself God’s promises and blessings (“You said you would do this, and I’m claiming it!”😁), and lastly, seeking protection in Mercy and personal help for the difficult situations that we find ourselves in on a daily basis in this wicked wicked world!
What a beautiful prayer it is, and one I have no doubt that if you put into practice, will bring you much fruit, good tidings, and blessings and all the good stuff that comes with God! How glorious He is! Remember, Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge!
I hope that you found this article useful and that it brings you many blessings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God Bless You! Amen!
Unite Against Evil 