SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI (MEMORIAL)

I prayed to the God of heaven. 

Nehemiah was probably quite comfortable. Although he was a Jew living in Persia, he held a prominent position at the table of King Artaxerxes. He likely lived well and enjoyed the privilege of having the king’s ear (Nehemiah 2:2-3).

Nehemiah may have been comfortable, but he wasn’t content. A faithful Jew, he was descended from those who had been exiled to Babylon at the fall of Jerusalem, but he still lived as a stranger in a strange land. He still longed for the day when he could return to the home of his ancestors.

Then came the news that the Jews who had been left behind in Jerusalem were struggling. The city had been reduced to rubble, the Temple was in ruins, and enemy tribes were sowing trouble. Hearing all this, Nehemiah fell to his knees and wept. He spent days in fasting and prayer, seeking God’s mercy and the courage to ask the king for help (Nehemiah 1:3-4). When the opportunity arose, he breathed another silent prayer and asked for permission to return home as governor to help the people rebuild (2:4-8).

Nehemiah willingly put aside his comfortable life and moved to a city that wasn’t his home to govern a people he had never met. And he did it eagerly! Love for the Lord and faith nurtured in prayer compelled him to pour himself out in service to God’s people.

We all have times when we are confronted with an urgent need as Nehemiah was. Part of us wants to help, but another part would rather stay safe and out of the way. We sense that God wants us involved, but we hold back, whether out of fear or selfishness.

That’s why prayer is so important. It’s in prayer that God can compel us to rise above our own self-interests. In prayer he can give us the courage to step out and minister to someone who is suffering. Overwhelming situations seem to shrink down to size when we come into God’s presence, and problems that once seemed unsolvable become more manageable. Our fears diminish, and we feel freer to try something new. And when we do, we may just discover the joy that comes as we become Jesus’ hands and feet in the world.

“Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”

Nehemiah 2:1-8
Psalm 137:1-6
Luke 9:57-62