Arrow Prayers...

Nee- uh- my- uh… son of Heck- uh- lie- uh.. (Nehemiah son of Hakaliah)

Profession: cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia

Well.. Cup bearing was what he did when he was not doing what God called him to do...

I have always been in awe of that one second "arrow" prayer of Nehemiah 

(also known as one of the shortest recorded moment of a silent prayers in the Bible). 

I mean - the fact that the inspired Word of God chose to record such a fleeting moment.

The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, 

“If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight,

let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Thanks to this one phrase, a millisecond remains frozen in history - with a world of meaning to it.

But as I was reading this Bible passage (Nehemiah 2:4,5) it got me thinking retrospectively..

What happened minutes before Nehemiah answered the king?

The king noticed him.. Noticed that he was sad..

(Nehemiah himself gives explanation for this in vs 1 "… I had not been sad in his presence before..")

The king cared to ask him why he was sad..

Imagine that.. The King of Persia asking his official why he was upset..

It would fluster (and maybe even flatter us - if not make us skeptical) to think that our bosses 

would care to ask why we are upset or looking sad at work one day.

These days - unless it is for a performance review or feedback - bosses rarely want to involve 

themselves in the lives of their employees.

As we chew on this for a bit, let us ask again..

What happened days before Nehemiah answered the King?

He came across some seriously bad news - the city of his ancestors were lying in ruins 

and the gates were destroyed by fire. 

It would stir our hearts and move us into action if our hometown where we grew up and 

lived a major part of our childhood were to face destruction and despair.

Nehemiah mourned and fasted and prayed for days…. Before he spoke to the King.

Well of course, he had no clue at that point in his life as to how he would dare to do such a thing…

But there it is mentioned in Nehemiah chapter 1 - an elaborate prayer - 

probably a summary of all things he repeatedly asked the God of heaven:

                           I pray, Lord God of heaven,O great and awesome God,

You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open,

that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now,

 day and night,

 for the children of Israel Your servants,

and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You.

Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

We have acted very corruptly against You,

 and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances

which You commanded Your servant Moses.

Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying,

 ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;

but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them,

though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens,

yet I will gather them from there,

and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’

Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed

by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.

O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant,

 and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name;

and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray,

and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” 

Notice how Nehemiah asked what he needed the most at the very end?

Imagine the number of hours of prayer behind the "single second arrow prayer" 

before he answered the King?

Now that we understand the "how" Nehemiah answered the King, 

we also need to look into an earlier question that came to us - 

Why did the King care about Nehemiah?

What happened months before Nehemiah answered the King?

Well I guess it must be obvious by now that 

Nehemiah did his work well enough for the King to care about him.

Nehemiah did his work well enough for the King to care about him and ask him about it.

And provide him with everything he asked…

Notice how Nehemiah did not take credit for the request granted by the King -

 "…and because the gracious hand of God was upon me, 

the king granted my requests." Nehemiah 2:8

The request that was granted in full with travel insurance (2:7) and building allowance (2:8). 

How "well" are we doing our work today in the secular world?

How "well" are we preparing for those "single second arrow prayer" moments 

that are crucial for our life decisions?

How many hours have we invested into those silent fleeting prayers that can 

grant requests well ahead of time, in ways we could never imagine?

Nehemiah did not devise his plans behind the King's and his authorities' backs.

He did not resign his job and in one radical move, walk out from the King's presence 

like a rebel to help his people or fulfill his calling.

He spent hours mourning, fasting, praying… 

the Preparation for the Ministry, became greater than the Ministry itself.

I will leave you with these thoughts for now.. 

#Martha