At Night, Nehemiah Inspects the Rubble in Jerusalem, James J. Tissot (1896-1903)
Need Favor?
If you need favor, let Nehemiah encourage you. When you pray for favor, you are asking God to give a powerful person sympathy or judgment supportive of your needs or for help to turn a bad situation around. After Nehemiah prayed, God gave him favor with the king, and the king gave him everything he asked for. Join us today to discover how to trust God more and ask for favor when approaching challenges.
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From Susa to Jerusalem
It’s about two to five months after Nehemiah left the king’s presence, due to the time it took him to make the 500-mile journey from Susa to Jerusalem. King Artaxerxes of Persia granted his request to return to Judah and rebuild his city. Nehemiah said, [T]he king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me [also translated as “the favor of my God was upon me.” Today we cover these points:
Governors Displeased (Nehemiah 2: 8-16)
- The land surrounding Judah was controlled by enemies of the Jewish people.
- Sanballat the Horonite was governor of the province of Samaria and a native of Horonaim, a city of Moab.
- Tobiah the Ammonite was the governor of the province of Ammon in Transjordan. Both were positions under Persian rule.
God Gave Him Favor (Nehemiah 1: 11, 2: 12)
- God put the desire in Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2: 12).
- God gave him wisdom and discernment as he went into the midst of opposition.
- He prayed: Give success to your servant today and grant him mercy in the sight of this man! (Nehemiah 1:11). This man was the KING, and God gave him mercy and favor with the king.
- Psalm 84: 11-12 encourages us to pray for favor: For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Encouragement (Nehemiah 2: 17-20)
- Nehemiah first had to encourage his discouraged people and inspire them to rebuild.
- The joy was infectious, and the people said, “Let us start building!” So they committed themselves to the common good.
- Sharing what God had done in his own life motivates others to trust Him too. Calling others to come alongside you in partnership inspires them to work together and do God’s work.
- The people had lost their identity as a people of God. We must remember our identity as children of God.
Obstacles & Opposition (Nehemiah 2: 17-20)
- Sanballat, Tobiah, and later Geshem opposed a restored Jewish province, for it threatened their trade and authority.
- The enemies confronted the people with lies, but Nehemiah refused to answer the lies. He stood his ground.
- We too must stand our ground. We must seek the Lord first, pray, and do his work. God is with us. Romans 8: 31 says: If God is for us, who is against us?
Personal Reflection
Be inspired to ask God for these requests that Nehemiah has demonstrated. Write the answers in your prayer journal.
- Ask God to put His desires into your heart as he did for Nehemiah.
- Ask God for favor this week for a needed solution to your needs. God gave Nehemiah favor with the king and the king gave him more than he could imagine.
- Ask God whom you can inspire with hope and joy this week. Nehemiah shared his testimony of how God was with Him, helped Him, and called him and his people to this work.
- Use the ACTS acronym to aid in the elements for personal intercessions as Nehemiah displays.
Cup of JOY Women
Consider hosting a weekly one-hour Cup of Joy Women’s small group study on Nehemiah. It accompanies this podcast and you can begin anytime.
- Pray about accepting this wonderful opportunity to engage others and evangelize by hosting a small group of friends over coffee or tea.You can choose from among my four podcasts (The Joy Series, Advent JOY, Esther & Turn-around JOY or Nehemiah: Rebuilding Hope and JOY).
- For information or to contact me, go to Cup of Joy Women.
Links
- Download Bookmarks from this podcast series at my website: WRAPYourselfinJOY.com
- Read more on hosting a Cup of Joy Women’s small group.
- Check out more podcasts here!
- Click HERE to find the book: Nehemiah: Rebuilding Hope and Joy in Your Life.
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