Day 7
So I
prayed to the God of heaven. 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.
Nehemiah
2:4b-5
If
ever there was a moment of truth, this is it. Yesterday, we saw the king ask
Nehemiah what he was requesting of him. In other words, what do you want?
Nehemiah has a choice, he can play it safe and sort of avoid the question, or
he can take a risk and share what is truly on his heart.
As
we see, Nehemiah takes the risk. However, it is a calculated risk that shows
his dependence on God. Before he utters a word, he pauses to voice a quick
prayer. We are not told the exactly what he prayed, just that he did. I can
only guess the prayer may have been, “OK God, here goes nothing.” Or, “God,
here we go, please help me.” Either way, he expresses his dependence on God.
Once
he has prayed, Nehemiah then lays his heart out before the king. He makes the
big ask, “send me to Judah…that I may rebuild it.” Nehemiah had come to the
moment of truth, he had to decide whether to remain silent or to lay it all out
there. Clearly, Nehemiah could remain silent no longer.
Nehemiah’s
life serves as a challenge for us. What have we remained silent about that
calls for us to speak up? Is it an injustice at work? Maybe an injustice in
society? Is there a need that we would love to step up and meet, but we need
the help of others and simply have not asked? Is there a ministry to which we
have been called, but we have disqualified ourselves because we do not think we
have the background? Or, is there something out there we have not acted on
simply out of fear of failure? Follow Nehemiah’s lead and take the step of
faith.
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