Nehemiah 1 -- God's Call to Nehemiah

Nehemiah learns of the plight of the chldren of God - the REMNANT that escaped captivity and went back to Jerusalem. They found the city in ruins and were in great distress. Nehemiah heard this and went into a time of depression/mourning and he began to cry out to God. I was during this time that Nehemiah began to fast and pray. During the time of fasting he became convicted of his sin and confessed before the Lord. He reminded God of God's promise to Moses -- unfaithfulness will bring distress and separation, but repentance will bring blessings. The blessing of "coming home" is a great blessing. RETURN TO ME - stands out to me. (v. 9)

Nehemiah now prays a key prayer. He asks God to grant the King compassion before Nehemiah. Nehemiah was the curpbearer to the king. Now he was about to ask for some time off -- too be relieved of his duties so he could go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city.

• Return to ME! (v. 9) -- it is always a good thing to confess our sins before the Lord. He has already forgiven them but it is for our benefit that we confess because the acts of sin have led us "away" from the blessing of God. God told Nehemiah - if we RETURN to God - we will walk in His blessings!



• Nehemiah's "mercy prayer." (v. 11) -- This verse has proven to be so helpful in my ministry as a pastor. Nehemiah approached the king with caution because any talk of leaving the service of the king could signal disloyalty and could be punished by death. Nehemiah could be sentenced to death just for asking time away to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. However, Nehemiah prayed that the king would be compassionat toward him. Chapter 2 is the account of what hapened afte Nehemiah prayed this prayer. It is amazing to see how God worked in this!!