Bible Soap

Scripture

Nehemiah 2:1-5

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” 
      I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” The king said to me, “What is it you want?” 
      Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Observation

The main thing that stood out to me was how Nehemiah approached the challenge before him. In chapter 1, he gets righteously upset about the fate of Jerusalem, when he hears the state it’s in, and spends some time in prayer about going to the King to ask permission to return home. Then, when the time comes to say what he wants to the King he serves, he begins by praying a quick prayer inwardly, and asks the King what he wants. I don’t know if this is the only example of an ‘arrow prayer’ being prayed in the Bible, but it’s a great one.

Application

The result of all this prayer is quick and clear – Nehemiah gets permission, and goes off to do what God has called him to do, namely re-build the walls of Jerusalem, with the help of the remnant families who are there. God honours his prayerful requests, and though this is not rocket science to most Christians, shows that prayer works! Personal testimony to this – my wife passed her driving test first time two weeks ago, and in every lesson with her instructor that week had been told that she didn’t really have a chance of passing if she carried on driving how she was. I had been praying most days since she started in August, and asked friends to pray specifically on the day of her test, and God totally honoured those prayers too.

Prayer

Father God, help me to remember that prayer actually works, and to take my concerns to you on a regular basis. Holy Spirit, please inspire me to pray ‘arrow prayers’ regularly too, especially when something particularly challenging needs praying about.