In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah began his book by declaring, “The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachallah, and it came to pass in the month of Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire”, and in chapter one and verse four of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared what happened, “when I heard these words”,where we read,
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept,
and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
The verse reads, “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, ...”. Nehemiah began with the words, “and it came to pass” or “and the following happened and occurred”, “when I heard these words” which means “at the time and moment I, Nehemiah, was given the faculty for hearing, perceiving and understanding the declarations and utterances of Hanani and the men with him”, “that I sat down and wept” or “that I, Nehemiah, was set in place and seated and began to bewail, shed tears and weep in grief”. Nehemiah shared when he discerned the utterances of Hanani and his men that he was seated and began to weep convulsively.
The verse continues, “and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,” Nehemiah added the words, “and mourned certain days” or “and bewailed and lamented a particular number of sunrises to sunsets”, “and fasted” which means “and abstained from eating and drinking”, “and prayed before the God of heaven” or “and intervened, interposed, mediated and interceded in front and in the presence of the Supreme Deity of the visible skies, atmosphere and the sidereal heavens where God dwells and other spiritual beings”. Nehemiah shared how he lamented for a number of “days”, did not eat or drink and made interceding orations to the Supreme Deity on behalf of his situation.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how Nehemiah responded when he heard the bad news concerning the people of Israel, Jerusalem and the broken down wall and gates surrounding it. Nehemiah was seated, mourned, bewailed, cried, fasted and prayed to the Lord God of Heaven on behalf of his people. This is a great example for us when we hear bad news. God loves when we humble ourselves before Him and seek His face in our time of need. He loves us, and He proved His love toward us when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross and to be raised from the dead three days later for the sins of all mankind. When we turn to Him and put our faith and trust in Jesus, through the power of the resurrection, He will forgive our sins grant us everlasting life and come to our aid in difficulties by His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth every day of our lives. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:8)
Next time Nehemiah prays, “I beseech you, O LORD God of heaven” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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