Sermon on Nehemiah-

Caring enough to pray

14 Sept 25 Sermon Duncan Whitty

In 2018 I was in conference centre in Harrogate, England and listening to a man called Richard Gamble. Richard was sharing about a vision he had been given by the Lord, to build a national landmark demonstrating what Jesus has done for the world. Richard shared how he felt God was calling him to build a huge wall with a million bricks in a very visible location next to a motorway somewhere in England. The idea was that the wall would be a wall of answered prayers- each brick in the wall, all 1 million of them would contain a testimony of an answer to prayer. An amazing idea, telling the nation, telling the world that God answers prayer today. The idea Richard shared was, that people could point their mobile phone at the wall and whatever brick they were looking at, they would see on their phone a testimony of an answer to prayer.

Richard had received the vision in 2004. Well he prayed about it for 10 years. And then in 2014, he moved forward towards the vision and started working to make it happen. As I say, I heard him share the vision in Harrogate in 2018, so four years after they started work and they hadn’t raised very much money yet – they had a long way to go.

But listen to where he is now, several years later. Let me just share a two minute video of the story of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer.

WATCH THE FIRST 2 MINUTES 13 SECONDS OF THE VIDEO CALLED ‘THE JOURNEY SO FAR’  

And so now they have the land just outside Birmingham, they have the money -they raised over 25 million pounds so far, they have the bricks and they are about to build the wall and it will be completed all going well in 2027. What an amazing testimony of God’s faithfulness! 

Richard Gamble is a modern day Nehemiah. Nehemiah in the Old Testament was a man called by God to build a wall. And like Richard, it seemed a difficult, a daunting task, but the testimony of the book of Nehemiah is that where God guides, he provides and He is faithful to do what seems impossible. 

Nehemiah- a book about building with God

The book of Nehemiah shows how God brings change through his people when they step out in faith and obedience to him. It’s a book for pioneers, for those who are seeking to establish something new. It’s a message for those who want to make a difference in this world, in partnership with the Lord, even when their strength is small. It’s a book which contains wisdom regarding how to pray, how to lead others, it’s a leadership manual; it’s a book that gives principles regarding how to lead others. It’s a book that helps us overcome discouragement in building and it helps us deal with opposition and to understand how to overcome opposition with the help of the Lord. It’s a book full of wisdom for those who want to build something for God.

We in this church have a call to build

I believe it’s a relevant book for us here, for I believe I am speaking to people who have an ability to plan, to organise and to build. In 2021, when folks from Hong Kong started coming to this church, I got this verse from the Bible, Isaiah 58:12, which I felt was a promise: 

‘Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.’

Hong Kongers have the ability to build- just look at how Hong Kong was built up over the last couple of generations- compare 1960s Hong Kong to Hong Kong today. It’s been built up!

Nehemiah is a book that helps us in our building projects. Most of us are busy building a new life in a new land, you are four years, three years, two years and some of you less than one year into building a new life for you and your family in this land. Some of you have specific building plans, for new businesses, for new art or musical projects, and all of us who call this church our spiritual home, are called to build this church up according to God’s building plans. Not only are this, but we are called to make a difference in our city, to rebuild some of that which is broken in our city of Edinburgh. And there is a lot that is broken in Edinburgh- drug and alcohol addiction, family breakdown, loneliness and social isolation, an abortion epidemic and I could go on. The church is called to make a difference in the society in which it exists, to build things up. 

Nehemiah- ‘The Lord comforts’

Nehemiah is a name that means ‘The Lord comforts’

And it’s a suitable name for the man and for the book. Because Nehemiah the hero of the story, is a man who God sends to bring comfort. When God wants to bring comfort, he often does it through a person. An instrument. But comfort doesn’t come without a struggle, without difficulty, without hard work. 

Background to the book of Nehemiah

The situation in the book of Nehemiah is that the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed a long time ago by the Babylonian empire and most of the Jews had been deported to Babylon. When the Babylonian Empire fell and was conquered by the Persian Empire, the emperor of the Persians, a man called Cyrus had allowed the Jews to return home to Jerusalem. Some had done so, but had found the going hard. Eventually after many years they had rebuilt a simple temple in Jerusalem and houses for themselves. But there weren’t many of them living in Jerusalem, and they were surrounded by powerful enemies and these enemies had not allowed them to rebuild the city walls, which were their defences, their protection. The city was defenceless, the walls were still lying in ruins. 

Its November or December in the year somewhere between 444BC and 425 BC and Nehemiah is in the city of Susa in modern day Iran. Its called Shushan in this map, its in red. 

SHOW MAP. 

Nehemiah was cupbearer to the King of Persia

Susa is the capital of the Persian Empire. Nehemiah is a Jew and he must have been a very gifted and capable man, because we are told in verse 11 of chapter 1 that he is cupbearer to the king of the Persians. That means he had to taste the king’s wine before the king did, just in case it was poisoned, so in some ways, not an enjoyable job. But a cupbearer was also a position of great responsibility and privilege, because he was in close contact with the king. A man who stood that close to the king was chosen because he was handsome, cultured, knowledgeable in court procedure and able to speak engagingly with the king and advise him if asked. 

God moves his people into the right positions for his plan

But behind the scenes God had positioned his man, to accomplish his plan. God put Nehemiah in Susa just as He had put Joseph in Egypt, right next to Pharaoh and Daniel in Babylon, close the emperor. When God wants to accomplish a work, He always prepares His workers and puts them in the right places at the right time. 

Nehemiah was living a successful life. He was secure and no doubt living a very comfortable life. He was right at the top of the tree, holding the kings ear. And yet his is the story of a man who was willing to sacrifice his comfort for a bigger purpose.

Nehemiah learns that Jerusalem is in trouble

That winter, Nehemiah receives a visit from his brother Hanani and some others. Hanani has just made the long journey from Jerusalem. Nehemiah asks him how things are going in Judah, in Jerusalem, he asks about the remnant of Jews living there. And the news is not good. They said to him, ‘those living in the city are in great trouble and disgrace, the wall of the city has been broken down and the gates have been burned with fire.’ 

Things are looking bad for God’s people, for God’s city and it touches Nehemiah.

Nehemiah cared about the situation in the city

When he heard these words, he immediately responded emotionally. He sat down and wept. He mourned and fasted and prayed before the Lord.

Nehemiah was someone who cared. That’s why he asked about Jerusalem, because he cared. And that’s why he responded so emotionally, it hurt him to think of its situation. Nehemiah wasn’t a person who just cared about himself and his family, he cared for the people of God, he cared for God’s reputation, he cared. He had a big heart. 

God calls us to care for the things He cares about

Actually his emotion and his care had God behind them. We see in chapter 2 verse 12 that God was putting a burden on Nehemiah’s heart for Jerusalem. And God does that. God stirs our emotions, he gives us passions, he gives us desires. In fact he shares his passions with us. You know you might have a great desire to do something or a great concern about some situation, and that burden might not just be from you, but from the Lord putting it in you. 

God calls us to care for the things that he cares about. Be emotional about the things he is emotional about. You knows Jesus wept over the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He mourned over Jerusalem when he visited it the last time, knowing the suffering it would endure. ‘Blessed are those who mourn’ Jesus said, ‘for they shall be comforted.’ Hopefully we mourn over the evil and suffering we see in our world. It’s easy to watch the TV and be hardened to the suffering in the world of those who are hungry or killed in war. But really God calls us to keep our hearts soft towards the suffering of others.

https://youtu.be/AM0WR4X3_I8?si=DcwWGNR9ef4J7WMx

Before Nehemiah worked, he prayed, so must we

Now we see later on that Nehemiah is a practical man and a man who could get things done. But here we see that before he acted, he did something that was even more important. He prayed. His emotions drove him to pray. He prayed and fasted for several days. He didn’t begin by forming a committee and organising and planning. He began by praying. 

As I was saying last week, fellowship with God, although it might not be seen by others, is indispensable to having success. If our work for the Lord is going to be effective, we must have it covered in prayer, otherwise it won’t happen. Many problems will come, many obstacles will appear if you don’t pray. Victory comes when prayer is mixed with action. Everything for the Lord must be birthed in prayer. 

Notice how Richard Gamble, after he got the vision for building a wall, didn’t do anything but pray for 10 years. These 10 years of prayer were I believe an important part of getting that eternal wall of answered prayer built. 

What prayer does

Prayer does three things.

It shows we are depending on God. The reason we don’t pray more is often simply because we don’t think we need to. We think we can handle it ourselves. When you have a problem, the human reaction, the natural reaction for us is to think, "Now what am I going to do about this?" instead of stopping and saying, "God, what do You want to do about this?"

Prayer also lightens our load. When we pray we get a peace about a problem Philippians 4:6-7 says; 

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ‘

Most importantly, Prayer releases God’s power. The wall of answered prayer will have a million stories of God’s power released in answer to prayer.

Richard’s testimony of God answering just in time

Let me share this testimony of the power of prayer. It’s a moment when Richard Gamble didn’t have the money to pay the staff. 

Watch this

PLAY ‘IN HIS TIMING VIDEO’ FROM 1 MINUTE 14 SECONDS TO 4 MINUTES 46 SECONDS

https://youtu.be/MPBzjHzCAcI?si=I2TZ8bJ8VP_5_AwL

For those who didn’t follow it all. Richard had no money to pay the staff. The deadline was Monday morning. But one random Christian in England, who knew nothing about it, felt the Holy Spirit tell him to make a £7000 donation on Monday morning to the Wall of Answered Prayer. He was obedient, and his Monday morning gift covered the wage bill, just in time! 

That’s how God works. When people pray, God acts in power. 

By the way, maybe you have a testimony of answered prayer, you are very welcome to share the testimony at church. We love testimonies here -they build faith in those who listen to it. 

Lessons from Nehemiah on how to pray

Well lets turn again to the testimony of Nehemiah. Nehemiah wants to see change in Jerusalem, so he prays.

And there are lessons we can get from his prayer that will help us in our prayers. 

He begins his prayer with praise 

First of all he declares how big and good God is. He begins by saying,

‘O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands.’ 

In other words, he begins with praise to God and exalts God for his power and his love and the fact that He is a God who blesses those who love him. 

Just as the Lord ’s Prayer beings with words exalting God- ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’. It’s good to begin with praise and telling God and reminding yourself of who you are actually addressing in your prayers. 

We are addressing the God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his promise of love to us who follow him. If we can get a clear picture of how great and awesome God really is and how good he is, our faith for him to answer our prayers will really grow. 

He prayed day and night for a while

And then he says, ‘hear my prayer, I’m praying night and day for your people, your servants the people of Israel. ‘

Have you ever tried praying night and day? When you are desperate you are willing to do that. And it moves God. He sees you are serious and he responds. 

He confessed the sins of his people

Then Nehemiah moves on to confession of sin. That’s an important part of prayer. It was sin that caused Jerusalem to fall in the first place. God sent destruction upon Jerusalem because of the people’s sin. 

God is a God who punishes and blesses, depending on whether we obey or rebel. He did it in the Old Testament and he does it today. He will withhold blessing or judge churches and Christians if we rebel. 

Notice that Nehemiah is confessing not just his own sins but the sins of his ancestors, the sins of past generations of his nation. It wasn’t his own sins that caused Jerusalem to be attacked and destroyed -God sent destruction because of the sins of the nation in the past. But Nehemiah isn’t praying forgive their sins, he is praying forgive our sins. 

He is praying on behalf of the people for God to forgive and show mercy.

We can confess the sins of the Christians in our country

You know there is a reason that our churches in this country are few and small when once they were many and flourishing. It is because of sin in the church. The Christians of this country have rebelled against God and been lukewarm and for generations many Christians in the UK haven’t taken the Bible seriously enough. Liberalism and a watering down of the clear commands of scripture has been going on for a long time. And it is these sins which have brought a decline in the church for many decades now.

You know churches in this country, many of them now are holding gay weddings, men marrying men and women marrying women in church. That’s totally against God’s design and against his word. It’s a sin which God holds against the church in this country. Now we don’t have this sin going on in our congregation, but we are part of the wider church in the nation. So we can confess the sin on behalf of the wider church. 

And like Nehemiah we can say, ‘Lord we, the church in this country have sinned against you. We haven’t believed and obeyed your word, we have resisted your Holy Spirit.’ If we are serious and our hearts are in this, then our prayer of confession on behalf of the wider church will touch God. It will make a difference.

Nehemiah gave God a reason to answer his prayer

And then Nehemiah reminds God of a promise God has made. God had said to Moses that if the Israelites were unfaithful to him, he would scatter them among the nations, but if they return and turn back and obey God again, then God will gather back to their home, to Jerusalem.

What is Nehemiah doing?

He is giving God a reason to answer his prayer.

Why should God answer your prayer? Give him a reason to. 

If mum or dad promise their children to take them somewhere special during the school holidays. Let’s say to the zoo. When the holidays come you can guarantee the children would say, ‘mum, dad lets go to the zoo, you promised’! Children hold their parents to their promises. And parents, if they are good parents, keep them. God is the perfect parent. He keeps his promises, you can hold him to his promises. 

You know there are 7000 promises in the Bible. If you are praying for something, base your prayer on a promise. Find a promise that God has made in the Bible, which matches what you need.

That’s what Nehemiah did. He based his prayer on a promise. He said ‘Lord you promised to restore your people when we repent.’

You need healing. Find a promise in the Bible about healing.

You need food on the table, you need to pay your rent. Find a promise about God’s provision.

You need guidance, find a promise about guidance. 

You need protection, find a promise about protection. 

And then pray God’s promises back to him. Your faith will rise and you will be giving God a reason to answer. 

But bring in praise and confession into your prayers.

There is a time to pray, and then to act

There is a time to pray and then there is a time to act. You will know the time, God will show you as you pray. And as you pray you will get guidance regarding what to do also. 

But don’t act before you get enough prayer in. Nehemiah prayed for four months. Between the months of Kislev and Nisan, before he started moving on building his wall. 

Richard Gamble prayed for 10 years, before he started working towards building that wall.

If God has given you a project to build. Pray it through first, but then be prepared to build. But because you prayed, God will build with you and the wall will be built, no matter how hard it looks. 

Amen.