DAY 5 OF 40 - Better Together Through Prayer And The Word

DAY 5 OF 40 - Better Together Through Prayer And The Word

Nehemiah 2:1-8

1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" 4 Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it." 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And 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 let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, 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 good hand of my God was upon me.

DAY 5 – FINDING FAVOR WITH GOD AND MAN

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 2:1 In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence. 2 The king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.”

Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why shouldn’t my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?”

4 Then the king said to me, “For what do you make request?”

So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may build it.”

6 The king said to me (the queen was also sitting by him), “For how long shall your journey be? And when will you return?”

So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7 Moreover I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah; 8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.”

The king granted my requests, because of the good hand of my God on me.

I love this story! God has a plan already worked out for Nehemiah to be able to speak to King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah walks into the presence of the king performing his duty as cupbearer but… When we are pleading and interceding for someone or a situation, it may affect our countenance. In this case, for Nehemiah it did. The king asked, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” God opens the door for Nehemiah to share his heart!

Notice how Nehemiah responds to the king. I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever!” …Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it please the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight…” “I also said to him, “If it please the king,…” (Nehemiah 2:2b-3; 4b-5, 7) Nehemiah was in no way disrespectful to the king and queen.

God had opened the door for communication. Nehemiah has responded in an appropriate and respectful way, and now Nehemiah is able to lay out his plan to the king that will help Jerusalem and the children of Israel living there. Because of Nehemiah’s position with the king, he is able to ask for some needed letters to provide safe travel and timber to make beams needed for building. Nehemiah ends this passage, “And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.”

LIFE APPLICATION: And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). Jesus showed us what it is to have the right vertical relationship with God, which will produce the right horizontal relationship with those we come in contact. How are your horizontal relationships? How is your vertical relationship?

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