Tapping into the Source (Nehemiah 1:4 Part 2)

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

THE STUDY:

          Today we are looking at the second half of verse 4. Yesterday we talked about how Nehemiah wept and mourned. Today we are going to look at the aspect of fasting and praying. We know that, in scripture, these two spiritual acts go hand and hand. Nehemiah knew this as well.

          Nehemiah fasted and prayed; not in public (he had no opportunity of doing that), but before the God of heaven, who sees in secret, and will reward openly. By his fasting and praying three things happened:

(1.) He consecrated his sorrows, and directed his tears toward God.

(2.) He eased his sorrows, and unburdened his spirit, by pouring out his

     complaint before God and leaving it with him.

(3.) He took the right method of determining the relief for his people and

     direction for himself in what way to serve them.

Let those who are in the public eye (in politics) take God along with them and utter all their projects before him; this is the way to prosper in them.^[1] This is made evident in the life and leadership of Nehemiah.

             

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning knowing not just the power but significance of praying and fasting. It brings direction, relief, and a higher success rate for the future.

APPLICATION:

          One of the things we will come to understand in this devotional study from the book of Nehemiah is how God’s people had forgotten Him (the Word of God) and how Ezra, along with Nehemiah, was bringing His word back to the forefront.

This passage reveals the fact; Nehemiah knew where his source was, GOD! He tapped into that source through prayer and fasting. Today, remember where your source comes from and tap into it by praying and fasting. Don’t do this because you want some worldly thing but pray and fast because you want a more intimate encounter with Christ. You want to be so close that when pain and sorrow come you can’t feel it because of the power, glory, and love of Christ all around you.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ne 1:1–4). Peabody: Hendrickson.

Weeping and Mourning Produces Action (Nehemiah 1:4)

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

THE STUDY:

          Today we are still looking at the first section of Nehemiah which is found in Chapters 1-3. We have moved on to verse 4 and we see how emotional Nehemiah is in regard to the news of his countrymen and city. He states he sat down which, in the Hebrew is defined as (to dwell). This gives the imagery of a length of time which is clearly stated later in this verse “for days.”  

He defines what he did for this period of time, wept and mourned. The Hebrew word for wept is defined as: to well-up tears in the eyes and have mild convulsions or spasms of the diaphragm, and often make vocal sounds of soft groaning or loud wailing, as a sign of sorrow and mourning.^[1] The Hebrew word for mourning is defined as: lament or grieve. This gives us the picture of a man of God who is reacting to news concerning something so special and dear to him. Not for a minute, an hour, or a day but for multiple days Nehemiah is found emotionally distraught to the point of almost vomiting with such sorrow originating at the pit of his heart. This causes him to not be able to express himself with words.

             

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• What we can walk away with is the understanding of this deep emotional sorrow Nehemiah experienced and how he reacted to it. This reaction was caused due to something so dear and precious to Nehemiah. Through this verse we see how Nehemiah is a great example that contradicts the old adage, “Real men don’t cry!” Nehemiah was a godly man whose heart was pierced and his emotions disturbed and he was not afraid to let that be known. How else was the King going to see the reasoning for releasing Nehemiah to go rebuild the wall?

APPLICATION:

Many of us, in this difficult world we live in, have experienced the point of deep sorrow. Even to the degree of not being able to use words just an undefinable moaning. This is exactly what Romans 8:26 is talking about: For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Nehemiah was emotionally affected by the news. We will be emotionally affected by news one day. Nehemiah wept and mourned, we should do the same thing. But after that, we need not stay in this emotional state. Let that heart felt experience be the fuel for the vehicle but let the Hole Spirit be the pilot that drives the vehicle.

Today, we may experience such sorrow in our hearts. Allow the appropriate time of grieving to take its course. In the midst of it allow the tears to flow and the touch of Christ to start the process of healing. He will turn this sorrow into the driving force that will be able to accomplish His will through you.   

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.