Getting to Know the ProphetsSample

Nehemiah

The book of Nehemiah, written in the fifth century BC, is believed to have been authored by Nehemiah himself. A man of high integrity, Nehemiah was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I of Persia when he inquired of Hanani (his brother) about the status of the Jewish exiles and the state of Jerusalem. In this question-and-answer session, Nehemiah became keenly aware of Jerusalem’s state of disgrace. Their walls were in disrepair. This report devastated Nehemiah and drove him to his knees. His immediate response included prayer, fasting, petition, confession, accepting responsibility, and asking for God’s favor and success.

Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls with the resources he would need in tow. In Nehemiah 2, Nehemiah, surveying the ruins in Jerusalem, says, “I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” He was reviewing the situation. He was building strategy. He rekindled hope within the Jewish people, strategically reunited them, and within 52 days, completed the wall’s reconstruction. What was previously ruined was restored.

1. What is your immediate response to bad news? Is it similar to Nehemiah’s?

2. Are you privately pondering something that might honor God and help others? Review the situation(s) around you and ask God what He would have you do.

Pray: God, may my heart and prayers be like those of Nehemiah. May I be ready to meet the needs of those around me!