- O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah 1:11 – There was a Matthew West song awhile back called “Do Something” and this chapter is a prime example of that song. See the song talks about seeing the brokenness in the world and someone crying out to God to do something about it. God replies, “I did, I created you.” See Nehemiah here sees the brokenness of God’s people. Rather than asking God to do something about it, He asked God for success in his efforts because he clued into the truth that God put him there to do something about the brokenness in front of him. We too are seeing brokenness all around us today. Of course bring it to God, as for His help and guidance, but realize that God has placed you in this world to be a tool of His to carry His healing power into the brokenness. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1283
- As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:4 – Word had come to Nehemiah that the city of Jerusalem and the people of God were in great trouble because the surrounding city walls and gates had been destroyed. The response we see from Nehemiah is a common response that we see in scripture when news is shared about the troubles another group of followers of God are having. Nehemiah wept and was saddened for days, even fasted and prayed that God would respond to their need. While this group at this time had no real impact on the daily life of Nehemiah, hearing about their condition broke Nehemiah’s heart and drove him to his knees in prayer. I want this to be my heart when I hear about the turmoil and struggle of other believers, even those that are far beyond my daily interaction. If I hear a church in my area struggling, I hope it drives me to prayer for them. If I hear about persecution of the gospel in another country, I don’t want to just dismiss that as “Not my problem, can’t do anything about it.” If someone shares about their distant relative that doesn’t know Jesus, I want to desire that person knowing Jesus as if they were my dear friend. What we see in Nehemiah is a heart for something bigger than him and his world. He had a heart for what God has a heart for. Let our prayer today be for God to move our hearts as they ought to be moved and to break our hearts for what breaks His. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2504
Daily DEVO 