"In the month of Kislev... in the month of Nisan" (Nehemiah 1:1, 2:1)

There are about four months between Kislev and Nisan. In the month of Kislev, Nehemiah prayed, "Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man [i.e. the king]" (Nehemiah 1:11). Earlier we learned from Nehemiah's prayer that he prayed "day and night" (Nehemiah 1:6). This suggests that Nehemiah sought God's favor before the king every day for four months before God gave him the favorable audience he sought before the king. Nehemiah was persistent!

One might wonder why God waited four months to answer Nehemiah's prayer. The Bible does not directly answer this question; however, we discover that when Nehemiah finally gets the king's attention, Nehemiah is ready with a detailed answer to all the king's and queen's questions. He has had four months to think through all the logistics he would require to get the job done of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. And he was certainly prayed up, so that he had the spiritual fortitude to face the fierce opposition he would receive when he arrived in Jerusalem. 

Friends, some of you may be wondering why God does not answer your prayers right away, partiularly when your prayer seems in every way to line up with God's holy purposes. I would like to suggest that perhaps He is preparing you for the very matter you are praying about. Perhaps He wants you to think more, train more, and pray more. Remember, Moses did not begin his great work until he was eighty years old. Jesus was thirty when He began His ministry. What is days, months or even years? Let God do His perfect work in you in His time. 

Therefore, let us not cease praying for the things that we believe are in keeping with God's holy purposes for us. Let us pray, think, prepare, train, and work with the eager expectation that God will answer our prayers at just the right time. 

Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it...” (Nehemiah 2:4-5).

Nehemiah had no idea whether or not the king would approve him leaving his duties to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. However, he had prepared himself for it. He had confessed the sins of the nation of Israel on account of which the city had been destroyed. He expressed trust in God's promise of restoration if His people wholeheartedly returned to Him. He was determined in his heart to take personal responsibility to bring about this restoraton. He prayed for God's blessing. Then he risked his life by bringing a sad countenance before the king. He likely did this to get the king's attention and make his request.

In the text cited above, we observe one other imporant detail. When the king asked for the details of his request, Nehemiah was prepared. He knew how long he would be gone. He knew what approvals he would need, as well as the materials he would need for the work (cf. Nehemiah 2:7-8). He was prepared.

Friends, sometimes we think and pray for God to grant us some great opportunity to serve Him, even to honor His Name; however, we make no preparations for it when such an opporunity comes. 

I have friends, who are up in years and unmarried but desire to be married. They spend time and money getting on dating sites and giving expensive gifts to women in whom they are interested. I often counsel them that rather than taking these acts of desperation, their time and resources would be better spent in preparing themselves. They can prepare themselves spiritually by developing a discipline in the Word. They can get in shape. They can improve their financial situation. Then, when God brings the opportunity, they will have prepared themselves by presenting themselves as a very desirable mate.

Do we want to serve the Lord in some mighty way? Then, let us prepare ourselves in our present situation. Let us consecrate ourselves by immersing ourselves in God's Word, prayerfully applying what we can apply from the Word to our lives. Let us prepare ourselves by developing our gifts and faithfully serving without complaint in the opportunity He has given to us. Let us show ourselves responsible and faithful in the things that God has put under our charge. Before David became a great king of the people of Israel, he was a faithful shepherd over his father's flock.

Friends, as there was very little in the way of miraculous displays of power during the reigns of David and Solomon, as well as during the divided monarchy, except for the period of Elisha and Elijah, here too in the post-exilic period, there is little evidence of the outwardly miraculous. This should be taken to heart by all those that believe that God works in the same way all the time. He does not. This should give pause to all those that insist that God is still working through faith healers today. I have yet to see any documented evidence of it.

In Nehemiah, as also in Ezra, and especially in Esther, there are no outward manifestations of the miraculous. Nevertheless, God's providence is everywhere acknowledged. Just consider these first few chapters of Nehemiah. When the king grants Nehemiah's request to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah acknowledges God:

And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me... Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king (Nehemiah 2:8,18).

Nehemiah also gives God credit for the burden of his heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem:

I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:12).

Without demanding any miraculous signs, Nehemiah expresses his trust in the LORD for success in this endeavor:

The God of heaven will help us succeed (Nehemiah 2:20).

Nehemiah did not need a miraculous sign from God, nor did he seek it. Consider what Jesus said to the Pharisees, who were seeking a sign from Him: 

Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign (Matthew 16:4).

Remember also what Jesus said to Thomas, who would not believe in Jesus unless he could see and touch the wounds from Jesus' crucifixion. 

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me" (John 20:29).

Therefore, since we are not encouraged to seek such signs and wonders from God, let us not seek them. Just because we see these miraculous manifestations from Jesus and his early disciples does not mean that they should continue to our day. Just as in the very specific times of miracles in the past, God had a specific purpose in these manifestations during the apostolic time:

This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Hebrews 2:3-4).

They were given to confirm the inaugural presentation of the Gospel. What is more, in Jesus' day and in the times of the apostles, we should note that the Scriptures often explain that the miracles done were well-documented, so that no one could contest their validity, not even the enemies of Christ. What is more the quality of healing was different. Today, there are what medical professionals would call "functional" maladies (e.g. back pain, migraines, ulcers, flat-foot, leg length irregularities, as well as all kinds of psychosomatic maladies) and "organic" maladies (broken limbs, blindness, deafness, etc.). Contemporary healings involve healing of functional maladies, while the biblical healings are entirely of the organic sort. This one fact should cause us to call into question every claim to faith healing today. 

Today, there are also some claims to healing of the "organic" sort, but they are never documented. And of those that faith healers grudgingly permit follow-up, all of them have proven false. What is worse, many of those that thought they were healed died prematurely because they did not get the medical treatment that could really have made them well.

Many ministers claim this and that miracle based only on hearsay. I recently read in the best-selling work, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, a miraculous account of a certain man who survived without water for sixty days in prison. There seems to be medical agreement that a person cannot survive without water beyond three to five days. Therefore, sixty days without water would certainly be considered a miracle. The only problem here is that there is no other documentation beyond this one person's own testimony. There is no verification of this, and based on what I know from similar claims that have been examined, I am led to believe that this person is making it up or self-deceived. For what motive? Perhaps to promote his cause. Many people justify deception for the sake of a desired outcome. I have observed world leaders, businessmen, and even preachers guilty of this. Those that repeat such stories without verification must be at least partially responsible for the deception.

Since Jesus gives a blessing for those that believe without seeing, why are we so concerned with pursuing the visibly miraculous. Instead, let us follow the emphasis of Christ, who places all emphasis on the Word, for even as Paul wrote, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (or as some translations have it, "the word of Christ.").

Let us acknowledge that God is certainly everywhere and in everything we do, let us not go beyond what we are permitted to do and say by making unverifiable claims of miraculous healing. The same could be said for so-called contemporary "apostles" and "prophets," who invoke God's name on this or that and make predictions that never come true or make claims of "a word of knowledge" about a person's past that are more based on keen human observation, good guesses, generalities or manipulative questioning. Some people long for a sign so much, everything is a sign to them. And there are more than enough false prophets and charlatans to satiate these people's desires. 

Because we live in such a world today, where Christianity has been hijacked by a counterfeit "signs and wonders" movement, capturing the imagination of millions throughout the world, we must be careful that we ourselves are not deceived but hold fast to the Word of God. I know of no better way than to encourage everyone to daily and diligently read and meditate on the Word of God. And we can pray for the others, that God will help them to come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who holds them captive to do his will. 

Nehemiah might be considered by current day job descriptions as a brilliant planner, manager and motivator.  Not only was he was calculated, patient and passionate but devoted to God in prayer.  Nehemiah is a role model for those in the workplace today as he was in his time.  Seemingly impossible tasks can be done with this attitude of prayerful obedience.

The story begins with Nehemiah talking with fellow Jews who reported that the walls and gates in Jerusalem were in need of repair.  He broke down and cried when he heard about it because it left Jerusalem open to attack.  Nehemiah was in a unique position to speak to the king about going to Jerusalem.  He was a trusted cupbearer who ensured the safety and quality of the king's food and drink.   He was frightened when the king noticed his sad appearance.  It was dangerous to show sadness before the king, who could execute anyone who displeased him.  Nehemiah was not ashamed to admit his fear but he wasn't going to let it keep him from doing what God wanted him to do.  When we let our fears rule our lives, we make them more powerful than God.   God is greater than a our fears!  Fear was one of the problems I struggled with for years.  I have learned to pray immediately when I have a fear and that God is always in charge, always present, and hears and answers every prayer!  

I noticed a couple things from today's reading. The exiles who were involved in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem had many different vocations: goldsmiths, perfume-makers, rulers, and priests. Even though they all had different vocational backgrounds, they came with one mind: to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. This historic event tells us to do the same thing, not exactly going to Israel and rebuild the wall that have been destroyed by Romans, but building God's Kingdom among peoples in this world. We gather together as a HC not only because of the fellowship that God wants us to have but also to have one mind in the same purpose - to establish His Kingdom. Another thing that caught my attention was Nehemiah 3:20. This man, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired whatever the section of the wall he was supposed to repair. I am sure that other people were delightful in their work but it is interesting to see God added an adverb to Baruch's work. I hope and pray that God will say the same thing for what I do on earth. Let's ask fervently God to give us incessant zeal for His work!

 God is sovereign over all things and doesn't need us to accomplish His will but the wonder and mystery of it all is that He wants our involvement, he wants our prayers, he wants our actions.

Amen!! Unmi, I miss your sharing. May the Lord enable you to share again.

Nehemiah 2:2 & 3 -  Nehemiah was scared when the King noticed his sad appearance.  I like the way he wasn't ashamed to admit his fear, but refused to allow it to stop him from doing what God had called him to do.  When we allow our fears to rule our lives, we make them more powerful than God.  God is greater than all our fears!