Nehemiah

As noted in verse 4, upon hearing the report concerning Jerusalem Nehemiah assumed a posture of sitting where he wept for days and fasted. Verse 4 likewise indicates that Nehemiah did not merely pray, but continued praying for an unspecified length of time. Each of these actions reveal the nature of Nehemiah’s sentiment toward the crisis that he and his people were facing. But as he enters into the the space of prayer, Nehemiah is not merely interested in expressing emotion, but in making bold petitions in metaphorical language, namely, let “your ear be attentive” and “your eyes open” (v. 6). But the eyes that see and the ears that hear are certainly aware of the sins that the people have committed. Therefore, a confession is in order. Grabbe …show more content…
Specifically he addresses “the God of heaven” (ἐνώπιον θεοῦ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ) who not only hears and sees his people’s sin, but also hears his people’s prayers when they repent and turn from sin. Thus, Nehemiah says that God is a great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love (v. 5). It is on the basis of these divine and covenantal assumptions that Nehemiah is able to approach the relational space of prayer to petition God to listen and respond to his request. Further, in verses 8-9 he reminds God of the promise he made to his people, namely: if his people disobey they will be scattered. If they return to God and keep his commandments, he will gather them once again. Verse 9 says additionally, “From there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.” Williamson (1985:173) notes, “Implicit in the promise is restoration; a return ‘to the place which [God had] chosen as a dwelling place for [his] name’ implies the Divine Presence dwelling with the restored community.” As such, it may be argued that, following Neyrey’s (2007a:9) definition of prayer, Nehemiah addresses God for the purpose of the “maintenance of relationships,” that is, the restoration of his people and the city of …show more content…
11) for the purpose of achieving a specific “result” (Neyrey, 2007a:9): “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” This request provides the context for the petition that follows in 2:5 as Nehemiah stands before King Artaxerxes. The remainder of the book illustrates that God responded to the prayers of Nehemiah by enabling him to complete the task of rebuilding