A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.
1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”
Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”
With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.
7 I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. 8 And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.
9 When I came to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king’s letters to them. The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and horsemen to protect me. Nehemiah 2:1-9 (NLT)
How long had it been since Nehemiah started asking God for help?
When the king asked him what he could do to help him, what was the first thing Nehemiah did?
The king asked Nehemiah for his plan. Did Nehemiah have one?
For the four months that he was praying, he was also planning. Nehemiah was waiting on God’s timing but also preparing for what would happen when God moved. When we pray for a seemingly impossible prayer, do we move forward to get ready for God’s answer or do we do nothing, not really believing that God will deliver?