Nehemiah

Nehemiah 1: Nehemiah weeps and prays

Begin in prayer

Before we read how Nehemiah prays over a broken city, let us stop and come to the God who keeps His covenant. Ask Him to quiet our hearts, to meet with our family now, and to help us see Christ in every verse.

Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don’t know.

Jeremiah 33:3

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You keep Your covenant and hear the prayers of sinners, and help us to pray as Nehemiah did. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Nehemiah is cupbearer to the Persian king, and he is in the palace at Shushan when his brother Hanani and some men from Judah arrive. He asks about the Jews who came back from captivity, and about Jerusalem. They tell him the people are in great trouble and shame, the wall is broken down, and the gates are burned. Nehemiah sits down and weeps, and for several days he mourns, fasts and prays to the God of heaven. He begins with who God is, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love Him. Then he confesses sin, his own, his father's house and all Israel's, and asks God to remember the word He gave Moses. He ends by asking for mercy in the sight of the king.

As you read Nehemiah 1, look for the answers:

• Who brings Nehemiah the news, and what does he hear about Jerusalem? (verses 2 and 3)
• What does Nehemiah do when he hears it? (verse 4)
• How does Nehemiah describe God, and what does he confess? (verses 5 and 6)

Reflect together

Key truth

God keeps His covenant and loving kindness, so His people can bring even their sin to Him in prayer.

Nehemiah is the king's cupbearer, so he serves the king's wine in the palace at Shushan, far from Jerusalem. A city with a broken wall and burned gates cannot keep out thieves or enemies, and its people were mocked (verse 3). His first work is prayer, and he prays day and night (verse 6). He begins with God Himself, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love Him (verse 5). A covenant is a promise God binds Himself to keep. Then he confesses sin, and he includes himself, saying, “Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned” (verse 6). He prays from God's own word to Moses, that those who return to Him will be gathered from the farthest places (verse 9). That promise of mercy is kept in Christ, who made the new covenant in His blood (Luke 22 verse 20).

How does Nehemiah 1 show us that God keeps His covenant and loving kindness, so His people can bring even their sin to Him in prayer?

Nehemiah hears about the broken wall and prays to God.

A broken wall and burned gates left the city open to enemies and shame (verse 3). Nehemiah weeps, fasts and prays to the God of heaven (verse 4). The plans come later, in chapter 2.

He prays by God's name and God's promise.

Nehemiah calls Him the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and loving kindness (verse 5). He reminds God of the word given to Moses, that those who return will be gathered (verses 8 and 9). A promise God has made is the strongest ground for prayer. Every promise of God finds its Yes in Christ (2 Corinthians 1 verse 20).

He confesses sin, his own and his people's.

He says, “I and my father’s house have sinned.” He names the sin as breaking the commands given to Moses (verses 6 and 7). Nehemiah has no sinless record to bring, and neither does anyone else. Only Jesus lived without sin, and He bore the sin of His people on the cross.

He asks the LORD for mercy in front of the king.

He asks God to hear the prayer of His servants who delight to fear His name (verse 11). He asks for mercy “in the sight of this man,” the king. Nehemiah is the king's cupbearer, and the king can say yes or no. The next chapter shows how God answers.

Memorise

I beg you, Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments

Nehemiah 1:5

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what sin must I stop hiding and bring to God in prayer?

Nehemiah wept and prayed, “Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned.” He did not rest his prayer on any goodness of his own. He leaned on the God who “keeps covenant and loving kindness,” and on the word God gave to Moses to gather those who return to Him.

That promise stands on Jesus Christ. Our sin is real, and we cannot cover it ourselves. God's Son took on flesh and lived without sin. At the cross He carried the sin of His people and paid for it with His own life. He rose from the grave, and His one offering is enough. At His table He called the cup the new covenant in His blood (Luke 22 verse 20).

So come to Him, as Nehemiah came to God. Tell Him your sin, and turn from it. Put your trust in Jesus. Everyone who trusts Him will find a God who keeps His covenant, and the Lord will forgive and receive that person.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God keeps His promises, and that Jesus died and rose to bring sinners to Him. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He keeps His covenant and loving kindness, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

It will happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24

Great and awesome God, thank You that You keep Your covenant and Your loving kindness. Please help us to turn from our sin and trust Jesus. Teach our family to bring everything to You in prayer this week. Amen.