Manuscript: Praying for Change

In last week’s message, we saw a man passionate about God’s glory, compassionate toward his people, and thereby empowered to seek change. That man was Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was an Israelite born in exile. He served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia, a lonely but prestigious position. While there, he received word that Jerusalem’s people were humiliated and in disgrace. With God’s temple and the city walls destroyed, they were politically and spiritually devastated. Overcome with grief, Nehemiah openly wept because the God of Israel seemed more the object of ridicule than reverence.

However, beginning in the second half of verse 4, we see that Nehemiah was not only a man of cares, but a man of prayers.