Nehemiah is a man I greatly admire in scripture. He exuded great faith in God, was a man of prayer, and found favour in his role as cupbearer before king Artaxerxes. When he inquired and heard of the hardships faced by people who had returned to Jerusalem after seventy years of captivity, he grieved deeply. He sought the LORD in prayer about the correct course of action for him to take.
When the king noticed Nehemiah being out of sorts, he asked Nehemiah if he was ill. Some people would not admit the true source of their sadness, but Nehemiah was honest about he source of his despondency. He told his king he mourned over the sad state of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:4-5 reads, "Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." Chapter 1 of Nehemiah is mostly a prayer to the God of heaven, and when King Artaxerxes asked for his request he continued to pray. He was a cupbearer by trade but Nehemiah was willing to ask the king to send him to Israel to rebuild Jerusalem. That is faith and boldness in action.
Twice in chapter 2 Nehemiah prefaced his request to Artaxerxes with, "If it pleases the king..." Here was a man whose true KING was God, yet he carried himself with an attitude of humility before Artaxerxes. He did not demand; he would not force. He had orders and guidance from the Most High God, yet he made his petition before the king with grace, patience, and respect. He did find favour in the sight of the king, and the king was happy to send him for a set time so the walls and gates of the city could be rebuilt.
It struck me: how important it is for us to have such an attitude of humility before God! Because Nehemiah said "If it pleases the king..." it follows he desired his king would be pleased! Since Nehemiah showed such respect and humility before his king, isn't it critical that Christians would desire that God be pleased? Shouldn't we ask ourselves concerning our behaviour or choices, "Does this please my King?" The LORD has used this line of thinking to convict me of sin. If Jesus is my King, then pleasing Him ought to be important to me. I am reminded of Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9-12: "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." We walk worthy of our Saviour when we fully please Him for He is the One who ordains cupbearers to build walls and qualifies Christians to be fruitful in all seasons of life.
Are your requests, attitudes, and choices fully pleasing to King Jesus? If we will be fruitful and have our prayers answered, we must not only pray according to God's will but live in the way that pleases Him. Nehemiah ended up returning to Jerusalem and in less than two months the monumental task of building the walls and gates - which had been destroyed about 140 years before - was completely finished. When people from all walks of life gather as one in obedience, seeking to please the LORD in His service, God does marvelous things. Let us seek to please our King, for this pleases Him.
When the king noticed Nehemiah being out of sorts, he asked Nehemiah if he was ill. Some people would not admit the true source of their sadness, but Nehemiah was honest about he source of his despondency. He told his king he mourned over the sad state of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:4-5 reads, "Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." Chapter 1 of Nehemiah is mostly a prayer to the God of heaven, and when King Artaxerxes asked for his request he continued to pray. He was a cupbearer by trade but Nehemiah was willing to ask the king to send him to Israel to rebuild Jerusalem. That is faith and boldness in action.
Twice in chapter 2 Nehemiah prefaced his request to Artaxerxes with, "If it pleases the king..." Here was a man whose true KING was God, yet he carried himself with an attitude of humility before Artaxerxes. He did not demand; he would not force. He had orders and guidance from the Most High God, yet he made his petition before the king with grace, patience, and respect. He did find favour in the sight of the king, and the king was happy to send him for a set time so the walls and gates of the city could be rebuilt.
It struck me: how important it is for us to have such an attitude of humility before God! Because Nehemiah said "If it pleases the king..." it follows he desired his king would be pleased! Since Nehemiah showed such respect and humility before his king, isn't it critical that Christians would desire that God be pleased? Shouldn't we ask ourselves concerning our behaviour or choices, "Does this please my King?" The LORD has used this line of thinking to convict me of sin. If Jesus is my King, then pleasing Him ought to be important to me. I am reminded of Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9-12: "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." We walk worthy of our Saviour when we fully please Him for He is the One who ordains cupbearers to build walls and qualifies Christians to be fruitful in all seasons of life.
Are your requests, attitudes, and choices fully pleasing to King Jesus? If we will be fruitful and have our prayers answered, we must not only pray according to God's will but live in the way that pleases Him. Nehemiah ended up returning to Jerusalem and in less than two months the monumental task of building the walls and gates - which had been destroyed about 140 years before - was completely finished. When people from all walks of life gather as one in obedience, seeking to please the LORD in His service, God does marvelous things. Let us seek to please our King, for this pleases Him.
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