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A Prayer For Restoration

 

Sunday, August 12

Pastor Oliver R. Blosser, M.Div., Ph.D.

Faith Community Church

Pipestone, MN

Nehemiah 1:5-11  And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

       In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra-Nehemiah is considered one book. It contains a continuous narrative dealing with the re-establishment of the Jewish community in southern Palestine.

       Nehemiah is the principle personality in this book which bears his name. The format is that of a personal diary. The timeframe of the book took place during the rule of the Persian King Artaxerxes I Longimanus, 465 B.C. - 425 B.C.

I.     Nehemiah Learns Of The Conditions In Jerusalem

       The Prayer Need Identified

       In the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, December, 445 B.C., Nehemiah was at the palace in Shushan when he learned of the conditions in Jerusalem through his brother, Hanani.

       Hanani and some other Jews who had recently returned from Jerusalem were present. Nehemiah asked them about conditions in the Holy City. Their response was disheartening. The Jewish people of Jerusalem were in great affliction and reproach. Hanani gives the cause of the reproach;the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. In fact, they had remained in a state of destruction since the days of King Nebuchadnezzar, 588 B.C., II Kings 25:10.

      

II.  Nehemiah’s Prayer For The Restoration of Jerusalem

       The Prayer Offered

       This report brought great sorrow to Nehemiah’s heart. His response was that he wept, and mourned, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven. Nehemiah sensed his own helplessness and the helplessness of the Jewish people. That is why he turns to the Lord for help through prayer. His reaction of remorse is similar to that of Ezra when he became aware of the spiritual condition of the remnant of Jewish people living in Jerusalem, cf., Ezra 9:3, 5; 10:1.

       Nehemiah’s prayer of restoration is addressed to the Lord God of Heaven. This great God is awe-inspiring because;

       - He does not forsake His people.

       - He keeps His covenant and promises.

       - He is faithful to those who love Him and observe His commands.

Deuteronomy 7:9, 21; Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; ... Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

       Now Nehemiah asks that the Lord would hear the prayer, which he continually prays for the children of Israel. Nehemiah’s prayer for restoration contains four basic principles;

1.  The principle of confession, Nehemiah 1:6-7

       Nehemiah does not only recognize that others have sinned, but he first recognizes his own sins.

2.  The principle of repentance and restoration, Nehemiah 1:8-9

       After confessing his sin, Nehemiah quotes God’s promise that if the Jewish people repent that they will be restored to their land. Because of their sins, God has judged them. They had been scattered through God’s judgment by King Nebuchadnezzar. At this point, Nehemiah is appealing to God’s promise;But if ye turn unto me, then the Lord promises to regather the Jews to their homeland and restore them.

3.  The principle of the Lord’s redemption, Nehemiah 1:10

       Nehemiah is appealing to the Lord on the same basis that Moses appealed to God. When the Lord wanted to destroy the Jews, Moses interceded and reminded the Lord that He had redeemed the Jews;through the deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Therefore, how could the Lord now destroy them, Deuteronomy 7:8; 9:26, 29? Nehemiah appeals to the Lord’s redemption of the people from the Babylonian captivity;through the deliverance of Cyrus’ Edict of religious freedom. Therefore, how could the Lord now let the wall and gates of Jerusalem lie in ruins?

4.  The principle of the Lord’s faithfulness, Nehemiah 1:11

       Nehemiah now appeals to the Lord’s character and the attribute of His faithfulness. Because Nehemiah and others Jews fear God, the Lord must restore them and prosper them. Nehemiah wants the Lord to move the heart of King Artaxerxes so he will become favorable to the request of Nehemiah. In praying this prayer of restoration, Nehemiah hopes to become a part of the answer to his restoration prayer by going to Jerusalem to help to restore her wall and gates.

       The concern and sorrow of Nehemiah produced an attitude of continual prayer for Jerusalem and the Jewish people. Nehemiah claimed the promises of the Jewish return and the restoration of Jerusalem;

Isaiah 35:10 ;And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 62:6-7   I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence. And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Psalm 87:1-3   His foundation is in the holy mountains. The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

       Claiming these beautiful promises, Nehemiah prayed this great prayer for restoration of his people and his home city and his home land.

Life Application

       In His grace, the Lord has returned a remnant of the Jewish people back to the land of Israel. This has happened in our life time, and they are now rebuilding their nation. As Christians, we can pray for the restoration of the Jewish people, the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, and especially the restoration of the Jewish people to their Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. As in Nehemiah’s day, the Jews of today face tremendous enemies and obstacles, and they need the prayers of Christians to overcome their spiritual blindness and the other problems they face as a people.

       This prayer for restoration can also be prayed for every backslider from the Christian faith. If you know someone who has strayed from the family of God, pray for their restoration. And if you fall into sin, as any Christian can, you can pray for your own restoration, based on the promises of God.

       Such a prayer of restoration can also be prayed for our community, state and country. In spite of the moral slide we see all around us, the Lord still wants to restore America. He wants to see people saved and brought into a right relationship with Himself.

       In your prayer to the Lord, follow the principles of Nehemiah’s restoration prayer;

       1.  The principle of confession.

       2.  The principle of repentance and restoration.

       3.  The principle of the Lord’s redemption.

       4.  The principle of the Lord’s faithfulness.

These basic principles are what create the prayer of restoration. They represent the state of mind which preceded every great spiritual enterprise. Pray for the restoration of God’s people!