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Prophets and Kings
answered. “Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city,
the place of my fathers’ sepulchers, lieth waste, and the gates thereof
are consumed with fire?”
The recital of the condition of Jerusalem awakened the sympathy
of the monarch without arousing his prejudices. Another question gave
the opportunity for which Nehemiah had long waited: “For what dost
thou make request?” But the man of God did not venture to reply till
he had sought direction from One higher than Artaxerxes. He had a
sacred trust to fulfill, in which he required help from the king; and he
realized that much depended upon his presenting the matter in such
a way as to win his approval and enlist his aid. “I prayed,” he said,
“to the God of heaven.” In that brief prayer Nehemiah pressed into the
presence of the King of kings and won to his side a power that can
turn hearts as the rivers of waters are turned.
To pray as Nehemiah prayed in his hour of need is a resource at the
command of the Christian under circumstances when other forms of
prayer may be impossible. Toilers in the busy walks of life, crowded
and almost overwhelmed with perplexity, can send up a petition to God
for divine guidance. Travelers by sea and land, when threatened with
some great danger, can thus commit themselves to Heaven’s protection.
In times of sudden difficulty or peril the heart may send up its cry for
help to One who has pledged Himself to come to the aid of His faithful,
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believing ones whenever they call upon Him. In every circumstance,
under every condition, the soul weighed down with grief and care,
or fiercely assailed by temptation, may find assurance, support, and
succor in the unfailing love and power of a covenant-keeping God.
Nehemiah, in that brief moment of prayer to the King of kings,
gathered courage to tell Artaxerxes of his desire to be released for a
time from his duties at the court, and he asked for authority to build up
the waste places of Jerusalem and to make it once more a strong and
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defensed city. Momentous results to the Jewish nation hung upon this
request. “And,” Nehemiah declares, “the king granted me, according
to the good hand of my God upon me.”
Having secured the help he sought, Nehemiah with prudence and
forethought proceeded to make the arrangements necessary to ensure
the success of the enterprise. He neglected no precaution that would
tend to its accomplishment. Not even to his own countrymen did he
reveal his purpose. While he knew that many would rejoice in his