Nehemiah – Rebuilding the Wall

Broken wall, Commondale Moor, UK, Author Mike Garratt, Source geograph.org.uk (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)

“The words of Nehemiah…

It came to pass… that…one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews…who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.  And they said to me, ‘The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach.  The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.’

So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

And I said:  ‘I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God… for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You…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…” (Nehemiah 1: 1-11).

The cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I of Persia, Nehemiah was made governor of the province of Judah following the Babylonian Captivity, and successfully rebuilt the protective wall surrounding Jerusalem.

Nehemiah assisted the priest and scribe, Ezra, in making the law of Moses again known to the people which resulted in a spiritual revival.

How many Christians today are fasting and praying for the welfare of this nation?  At a time that political corruption is rampant, environmental disasters threaten, and nuclear war could easily devastate the planet, surely we should all be on our knees.

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22: 30).

Lord God Almighty, we raise in prayer this great nation – a nation You have blessed with vast riches and vast resources, a nation for which patriots have died.  We come before you unworthy of the task.  Look not on our personal sins and failings, but pay heed to our plea.

Our nation has sinned grievously.  The souls of the millions denied life in the womb attest to that.  The millions more denied opportunity or justice join in the indictment against us.  We have banned You from the public schools, and seek even to ban the mention of Your name from the public square.

And yet we ask You to have mercy on us.  Give us time and inclination to repent.  Harden not our hearts, that those who do not know You may yet be afforded the chance, and those whose faith has grown cold may yet turn their eyes to You.

We pray for our leaders at every level of government, leaders whose decisions impact the lives of ordinary men and women.  Remind them that they are to be servants of the people.  Remind them that You are sovereign.

We pray for all those whose integrity has been unfairly attacked for political, corrupt or criminal reasons, as well as for those whose integrity has been compromised.

We have seen other nations fall.  Let our nation not succumb to pride.  Help us, like Nehemiah, to rebuild the wall of righteousness that has been broken.  Help Christians especially to stand in the gap.

We ask this in Jesus’ holy Name.

Amen

Of note, Speaker Paul Ryan fired House of Representatives chaplain, Fr. Pat Conroy this week. 

Though there was no clear reason given for the decision, Fr. Conroy was criticized last year for having prayed during the tax debate:

“May all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle.  May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.”

The Jesuit priest is the first such chaplain to be removed in the history of Congress.  He had served in that capacity for 7 years.

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