March 22 Daily Discovery
March 22 Daily Discovery - Read Nehemiah Chapter 2
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
[2] Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
[3] And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
[4] Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
[5] And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
[6] And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
[7] Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
[8] And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
[9] Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
[10] When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
[11] So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
[12] And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
[13] And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
[14] Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
[15] Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
[16] And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
[17] Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
[18] Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
[19] But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
[20] Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
All We Can Do is Pray!
I remember a conversation that I had with a dear friend that is a evangelist. He had pastor to church for many years. We were talking about prayer together one day and he relayed a an experience he had with one of his members. I don't recall all of the details but this man came to see him and tell him about the trouble that he was experiencing. In the process of the conversation with my friend, he remarked, "Well, all we can do is pray".
My friend told me his response to this remark, he said, "Oh no!, has it come to that?" He said this as a gentle tease to his church member, and then he said, "Well, that is the very first thing we should do! Let's pray together right now."
Nehemiah was serving the king and his court as a cup-bearer, this meant he would have to taste the wine to drink some of it first before he tried to give it to the king. That way if the wine were poisoned it would cause him to become sick or die instead of the king.
The king obviously loved Nehemiah and noticed something was wrong with him. Nehemiah's countenance was fallen and the king knew he wasn't sick, so he asked Nehemiah what was going on.
To be in the presence of the king was a extremely high honor, and it was expected that it would make you happy. This would have been a normal response. Nehemiah became afraid because he allowed the king to see the sadness in his expression and demeanor. The king asked him what he would like for him to do after Nehemiah had told him the reason he was sad.
We were told in the text that Nehemiah prayed right then. I'm sure that he did not fall on his knees to offer this prayer or face the east toward Jerusalem and lift his hands. He prayed in his heart to his God that is always ready to hear His children's cries to Him.
This is an incredible example for us to emulate.
Pray Without Ceasing
Developing specific times of prayer and places for prayer is indeed a godly habit. Jesus, the Son of God had such a habit Himself, when He would go to prayer to God the Father. Jesus taught us to pray in private. There's a place for public prayer, but the foundation of our walk with God should be a regular place of private prayer.
Do you have such a place? If you do that is wonderful! However you are not limited to having to be in a specific place or time of day or night in order for God to hear your prayers. Our hearts should always remain open to God and we should walk in a continuous state of fellowship with God. We do this by keeping our sins confessed and seeking forgiveness so there's no separation in our fellowship between us and God. In this condition, we are ready to pray anytime and anywhere. We can pray with within our own minds and hearts and God will hear.
Mark 1:35
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Matt. 6:1-6
[1] Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
[2] Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
[3] But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
[4] That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
[5] And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
[6] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Luke 18:1-7
[1] And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
[2] Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
[3] And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
[4] And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
[5] Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
[6] And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
[7] And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
1 Thess. 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
1 John 1:6-10
[6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
[7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
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