A Prayer for a Nation

"How do do I pray for my nation?"

The prayer of Nehemiah, who was a cup-bearer to a foreign king and who became the leader who rebuilt Jerusalem's walls and "re-booted" Israel, is a great starting point for passionate and hungry prayers for one's nation.

Nehemiah, who is in servitude and exile, gets a report about the sad state of affairs in his nation's capital. The account of dereliction, disgrace and despondency hits him hard - he cries, he fasts, he grieves and he prays. His prayers are not a glib, "Please bless the world", but a sharp and targeted arrow that has been released with all the force the archer can muster.

This care and concern for Jerusalem is the mortar in his prayer building. Now let's look at the stones he builds with: 

• A big view of God's power and love: Nehemiah calls Him the "Awesome God of Heaven", the "loving Covenant Keeper" and the One who "hears" and "sees". Nehemiah really believes that God is able! 
• A clear understanding of our responsibility: While we can't earn God's love, we can hinder the way God's love unfolds in our lives. We do this by breaking covenant and by sinning. Someone once said: "We don't break God's law as much as we break ourselves on God's law." So Nehemiah confesses and recommits... 
• Remembering God's Promises: Nehemiah remembered God's promises and this gave him the courage to pray boldly. He's not twisting God's arm with God's promises, he's remembering that this is what God wants anyway and so he prays with renewed boldness. 
• Come up with a plan: We often read this prayer quickly and forget that this has been the culmination of a couple of days of fasting and praying. Nehemiah's had some time to think, to listen and to plan. He realizes that he has a role to play. (We should never underplay the importance of listening.) 
• Being willing to be the answer to one's prayer: Nehemiah was willing to be courageous and available to be used by God and to be part of the answered prayer.

Read the prayer as the "Prayer Building" that Nehemiah built out of his hunger and thirst for his nation.