Sunday sermon: "The First Response"

In Nehemiah 1:11, Nehemiah almost casually mentions that he was the "cupbearer to the king." Often our picture of a cupbearer is one of a lowly servant, forced into a job that could cost him his life, probably someone who was expendable to the court. A Persian cupbearer was anything but that. Nehemiah had to be an accomplished, talented, and highly trusted man to be made the cupbearer. In addition to literally having the king's life in his hands, he would also have been an advisor, part of the king's council. From a human standpoint, Nehemiah was everything our society admires: powerful, skilled, well-placed, and (as the rest of the book implies) wealthy.

Yet when faced with the shocking news from Judah that the walls were fallen and in disrepair, Nehemiah's first response was not to see what he could do about it. The news, which probably reflected a relatively recent event, struck Nehemiah deeply. He broke down and mourned for at least three months. During that time, he took what he felt was the most important step he could: he went to God in prayer.

This is the opposite of what we often do when faced with a problem. We do everything we can do, use all of our talent and skill, then, if we can't solve it, turn to prayer. Nehemiah realized that anything he could do would be meaningless if it was not first of all God's will.

Nehemiah's prayer is instructive in another way. As he faces a serious problem, we expect that his first cry would be for help from the Lord. Instead, he begins by exalting God. This is a significant emphasis; if Nehemiah is going to ask the Lord for His help, he recognizes that he needs to be asking a God who is capable of helping, one more powerful than Nehemiah, King Artaxerxes, or the opposition back in Palestine. God is greater than all, "awe-inspiring," and thus a worthy God to be petitioned.

Even then, Nehemiah doesn't jump right into his request. He laments and confesses the sin of himself and his people before God. Again this is a recognition of who God is by Nehemiah that leads toward his request. The reason that Judah is in crisis is their own sin. Nehemiah, though living in Persia and not of the generation that went into exile, includes himself in this confession of failure to keep God's covenant. He understands who he is in light of the greatness of God, and will not request God's help until he is sure that his relationship with the Lord is unhindered.

Finally Nehemiah prays for favor from God. Even now he does not ask for a great miracle to be done, but for favor in the eyes of the king. Nehemiah reaches the place where he can, after months of prayer, offer himself as part of the solution to the problem, under God's providential care. 

As we face the challenges and problems of our lives, what is our first response? If we have not yet learned that it is prayer, then we need to learn from what Nehemiah teaches us. I confess to often failing in this regard, and I know that I need to glorify God, confess my sin, build my relationship with Jesus, and then seek the Lord's will and His power to overcome the issues of life. If we all learn to do this, how much more can we accomplish for the kingdom of God by the grace of God?