Nehemiah’s Prayer
Overview
- Testament: Old
- Book: Nehemiah
- Chapters: Nehemiah 1
- Summary: Upon hearing that Jerusalem’s walls were broken and its gates burned, Nehemiah fasted, mourned, and prayed for days; he confessed Israel’s sins, claimed the covenant promises, and asked God to grant him favor with King Artaxerxes.
Details
In the month Chislev in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I (444 BC), Nehemiah was serving as cupbearer to the king in Susa when his brother Hanani arrived with news from Judah. The report was bleak: the survivors in the province were in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates burned with fire. Nehemiah sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
His prayer (Nehemiah 1:5-11) is structured in the classic pattern of Hebrew intercession: address to the great and awesome God, acknowledgment of divine faithfulness to those who keep his commands, confession of corporate sin (Nehemiah identifies himself with the people’s sins — “We have sinned against thee”), appeal to the covenant promise that God would regather the scattered if they returned to him (Deuteronomy 30:1-4), reminder that these are God’s servants redeemed by his great power, and a specific request for success when he spoke to the king. The prayer closes: “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Key People Involved
- Nehemiah — The cupbearer to the king; author of the prayer
- Hanani — Nehemiah’s brother who brought news from Jerusalem
- Artaxerxes I — The king before whom Nehemiah would need favor
Key Places
- Susa — The Persian capital where Nehemiah served
- Jerusalem — The city whose condition prompted the prayer
Important Verses
“O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant.” — Nehemiah 1:5-6
Cross-References
- Followed by: Wall Inspection, Wall Rebuilding
- Related: Fall of Jerusalem — The event whose consequences Nehemiah addressed
- Related: Ezra’s Arrival — The parallel ministry of reform
- Related books: Nehemiah, Deuteronomy 30
Notes
Nehemiah’s prayer is a model of biblical intercession: it begins with God’s character (not the request), moves through honest confession, grounds itself in covenant promises, and ends with a specific, humble petition. The citation of Deuteronomy 30 is notable — Nehemiah knew the Torah and applied it directly. His service as a royal cupbearer (a position of high trust involving tasting the king’s food) gave him privileged access to the king that would make the conversation of Nehemiah 2 possible.