The Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2

 

The Book of Nehemiah

 Chapter

 2 

 

1. In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was served him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2. So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the heart."

 

(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verses 1 to 2)

  

Oh God, my Father You know me inside out. You know the real me, both when I am happy or overjoyed and even when I am sad. Even though at times I try to give a different impression in the presence of others You know the real me. Others making part of my inner circles may also observe that something is not right or as usual. This is reflected by our non-verbal behaviour, meaning those gestures such as a happy or sad face that we show by means of our gestures such as a frown or a smile or giggle as in the following link:- 

Non-verbal communication 

 

 3. They replied, "The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire."

 

(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 3)

 

Oh God my Father when we seek our own salvation instead of letting You save us, we end up in trouble, for Your ways are not our ways, and our ways not as reliable as Yours. You have the perfect timing for our salvation, therefore we are to place our trust in You, and when the time is right You will prepare us for our salvation Amen. It could be that it is not yet for you to be healed of, cancer or condition that you have. Even though you go to many doctors and undergo chemotherapy, if the time of your deliverance has not yet arrived according to the will of God all is a waste of time and resources. It is best to wait on God my Father, and he will show us when to make the right decisions. Amen. God loves you and me and does not wish us to experience unnecessary pain Amen. 

 

4. Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5. Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves, so that I may rebuild it."

(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verses 4 to 5)

Oh God, my Father, I pray that even as the Roman Catholic Church we go back to our origins. May You command Your Shepherds to insist that in all churches the reality of Heaven and Hell be mentioned in the homely again. We are being made aware of Your mercy since this year has been dedicated to Your mercy, however, I fear that we are abusing this mercy and are taking both You and Your mercy for granted. I pray that You raise Your Spirit in the Pope and stimulate him to make us go back to the basics so that as a Church we can be rebuilt again. Amen.



6. The king said to me (the queen also was sitting beside him). "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a date.



(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 6)




Oh God my Father when I look on the world and listen to all the news od war, terrorist attacks, lack of faith, secularism,  I also ask the same question. How much more do we have to wait until Your second coming to earth? The world is already in a terrible state of strife and division, The gap between the haves and the almost have not is never ending, but what hurts me most is the lack of faith in those who proclaim themselves as being believers! At times  I am ashamed of my own hypocrisy in certain situations. I pray for an urgent renewal of faith in the Spirit Amen.   

7. Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may grant me passage until I arrive in Judah; 8. and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me.

(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 7 to 8)

Oh God my Father when You are in control of a situation or crisis all will be made possible for a situation to be remedied. As in the case, of Nehemiah, You broke down all the existing barriers and granted him access to needed resources and all the necessary permissions because what Nehemiah had planned was totally according to Your will. Therefore when we make our plans we offer them to You my God and Father for the final inspection and approval and if it is according to Your will all may be done.  



9. Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent officers of the army and cavalry with me. 10. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. 



(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verses 9 to 10)



Oh God my Father, when it is Your will that something takes place, especially something that will bring a positive change in our lives, all the barriers start dissolving or disappearing one by one as if they were never there. Barriers will become moments of opportunity and one by one You will make good use of them. Instead of sending us with cavalry and swordsmen, You have given us the power of the Holy Spirit and the forces of the multitude of angels and archangels that are all the time acting according to Your orders Amen.



11. So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12. Then I got up during the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the animal I rode. 13. I went out by night by the Valley Gate past the Dragon's Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 




(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verses 11 to 13)



Oh God my Father, there comes a time when even our spiritual walls or barricades are broken to the extent that the enemy meaning the evil spirit finds a way into our being and breaks down our defences. We may end up going back to our old ways and bad habits compulsions or addictions. Therefore I pray that You have mercy on us for we are not always on guard. I also pray for Your protection oh God my Father for when putting me, to the test I am still found weak and failed the test again and again. Mercy oh Jesus Amen.



14. Then I went on to the fountain Gate and to the King's pool; but there was no place for the animal I was riding to continue. 


(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 14)




Oh God, my Father water is an important source for us humans, however, if our water becomes contaminated it becomes a source of death instead of a source of life. I pray oh God that as a container of Your presence I will not be a contaminated one. With Your help, my God and Father Your will preserve my soul and help me to live according to Your ways Amen.  



15. So I went up by way of the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.


(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 15)



Oh God my Father as in the case of Nehemiah we are to make constant inspections on the walls of ourselves from many perspectives in order to check whether our enemy, the evil one has managed to breach our walls and wrecked damage to our souls. Amen.




16. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work.



(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 16)



Oh God, my Father Nehemiah worked in the background without anybody being aware of the assessment that he was carrying out, in order to identify the weakest points in their line of defence and help to improve them. Likewise, You are all the time assessing and testing us so that we become aware of our weaknesses and hurts and then lead us to our healing, restoration and redemption Amen. I thank You, my God, for my being works in progress, for I will remain in a humble position depending on You as the Potter who will keep on forming me, so that I continue to be able to fulfil the plan that You fashioned for me Amen.



17. Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace."



(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 17)





Oh God here and now, You ask me if I am aware of my situation. I am open bait to my enemy, who without warning may strike and destroy my defences, however, even though I appear to be weak and lonely I am not alone. You have promised to never abandon or forsake me. Therefore when I feel lonely or abandoned in faith I know that I am not alone. Thank You, God, my Father.

18. I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, "Let us start building!" So they committed themselves to the common good.

(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 18)

Oh God, my Father, it is the golden truth, that when we turn our focus on You and not on ourselves,  our concerns, our needs and created needs and start thinking of others and their needs, only then we can start building. One of the issues of society is that it has become so individualistic, where my needs are always of a priority over those of others, that instead of building each other we are demolishing each other. I pray that we listen and obey Your word and start building while there is still something left to build, for we are gradually finding, ways of killing each other either, in a so-called 'merciful way' as in the abortion of children, use of chemical weapons, euthanasia, and many foreign elements in our sources of life that is, gradually harming our physical and geographical systems that are imperative to enable life on earth.



19. But when Sanballat the Heronite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us, saying, "What is this that you are doing?" Are you rebelling against the king?" 20. Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start building, but you have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem."




(The Book of Nehemiah Chapter 2 verses 19 to 20)




Oh God my Father when we are moved by You to accomplish Your will the whole world of evil spirits turns against us. People in whom we had once placed our trust will turn against us, in order to discourage us from doing what is according to Your will. I pray for the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we will continue building and loving until it hurts, so that we may all be saved and meet again in heaven and become united as one big family. I pray for Your protection oh God my Father against the seeds of discouragement, and depression that weigh us down and block us from accomplishing Your will Amen. May we have our feet firmly planted on the earth so that we will always be objective and realistic but may our eyes be focused on heaven, so that we may never lose contact or sight of You, my God and Father.


Oh God my Father blessed be Your name,  I would like to end this second chapter of the book of Nehemiah with the following prayer:-

Oh God my Father as You know as humans we are surrounded from all sides by the forces of evil, however, we are not alone, for You are always with us. I pray that we make time to evaluate our lives and repent from our sinful ways so that we fortify our souls and be protected. Amen.

The Book of Nehemiah Chapter 1

The Book of Nehemiah

 Chapter 1

1. The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, 2. one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived. those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 1 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father, how nice it is of us to be interested in other Roman Catholics and Christians throughout the world. How nice it is to be interested and sensitive to the issues and needs of others so much as to feel motivated to help everyone according to our own resources such as prayer time or any other form of contribution Amen. This is a great sign of care  and love Amen.


3. They replied, "The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire."


(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 1 verse 3)


Oh God my Fire, during our times the gates of the Roman Catholic Church have been damaged internally and the evil spirits have managed to find a dwelling place beyond its walls. We have experienced many cases of priests leaving their vocations, others who have being involved in issues of child molestation. We are all sinners therefore our sins can be added to those of the latter for our sins are not excused or given a less priority when compared to the sins of such people. Oh God my Father we need a new revival. Oh Holy spirit of the Living God I pray that You cleanse and protect your Church Amen.


4. When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.


(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 1 verse 4)


Oh God my Father what a holy attitude had Nehemiah! If we all had such a positive attitude when facing such a crisis, life would be so easier. I pray oh God that during such moments of crisis, I refer to You for consolation and not to my own devices such as anger or depression Amen.  


5. I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; 6. let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. 7. We have offended you deeply failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9. but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.' 10. They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. 11. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man! At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.


(Book of Nehemiah Chapter 1 verses 5 to 11)


Oh God my Father verses 5 to 11 teach us a very important lesson in prayer, which can be referred to by means of the following points:


1. When praying to God, always show respect love and care by being respectful in how to address God the Father. Since God is our Father address Him as being your and my Father.


2. Always start prayer by giving praise and worship to You my God.


3. Remain focused on your prayer and relationship with God and if possible do not let yourself be distracted by other things or issues. Prayer time is precious and special, it is a relationship of love therefore there is no room for third parties Amen.


4. When praying be humble and honest to God. Even though He is aware of everything that has happened to us or that we have done be it either positive or negative, God would like to hear it directly from us. Therefore we are to admit and acknowledge our sins. 


5. Admit that you are not your own but a son or daughter of God and that we depend on his love and mercy. 


6. Refer to those moments when You my God had already been of help and support to us, even though God does not need to be reminded, however when we do so we are reminding ourselves of how faithful He has always been to us!


7. Pray for God's mercy and thank Him in advance, in good faith that he has heard our prayer and that as before He is going to answer out prayers.  



Oh God my Father I would like to end this chapter of the Book of Nehemiah with the following prayer:


Oh God my Father hallowed be Your Holy Name forever and ever! I greatly thank You for the good works and tests that You have permitted me to experience throughout the course of my life. I would like to place before You a friend of mine who has recently experienced the passing away of both her husband, her pet and now her father. I pray for mercy oh God my Father, I am aware that You do not permit us to experience more than we can cope with, therefore I thank You for being so merciful and kind even toward my friend to whom You will give a period of relaxation and consolation as according to Your will Amen. I thank You God almighty for listening to my prayer.