Summary of the Prayers in Nehemiah

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah both focus on the Jews’ return from Exile and the rebuilding of the Temple and the city. In Nehemiah, the story centers on rebuilding the city wall and a renewal of faithful practice. As such, we find the theme of “remembrance,” “identity,” “loyalty to God,” “confidence in God,” and rules for living as a person of God. All of these themes, of course, are found in the seventeen prayers passage, too.

The types of prayer contain seven of the types. While most of the prayers we have studied only include one type per prayer, in Nehemiah, seven of the passages contain two or more types.

The most common types are intercessions and praises, perhaps not a surprise from a book where people seek God’s help in restoration and He fulfills their petitions. There are nine petitions (1.5-11; 2.4; 4.4-5; 4.9; 5.12-13; 5.19; 6.9, 14; 13.14, 22; 13.25, 28-31) and seven praise-prayers (1.5-11; 9.6-11; 9.12-25; 9.26-31; 9.32-37; 12.24; 12.27, 31, 42, 46).

The rest of the prayers are two each of confessions (1.5-11; 9.6-11), curses (4.4-5, 5.12-13), vows (5.12-13, 13.25, 28-31), thanksgiving (12.24; 12.27, 31, 42, 46), and blessing (8.6; 9.3-5).

Application

It should not be surprising that, in a story of difficulty and accomplishment of God’s people, we find so much variety in prayer. Part of this is also due to the charter of Nehemiah: faithful, strong, and subservient to God.

Prayers of Praise

We studied seven praise prayers in Nehemiah, though four of those were part of one long prayer praising God for all he has done for the Jews in the past and the present (9.6-11, 12-25, 26-31, 32-37). These four give us a wonderful structure to use for our own prayers (). More importantly, perhaps, is what they teach us about praise. It is often the case that we do not know how to offer prayers of praise. We might say that we praise God for his love and goodness, for his mercy, for creation…and then might find outsells at a loss. But this long prayer shows us what a detailed and deep praise-prayer can sound like. Certainly, we praise him for being the Creator, for acting in history, and for being our savior. We can recall times in the past when God has been gracious, as well as current graciousness. The unique element in this long prayer is that it shows us the connection between confession and praise: we can praise him because he hears our confessions and forgives—that is the sort of God he is.

The other three praise prayers remind us that any type of prayer can begin with praise as an introduction (1.5-11), that creativity can be part of prayer (12.24), and that physical acts are also part of prayer (12.27, 31, 42, 46).

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving and praise are intimately connected. We might consider praise to be the broader subject that focused on God and his character, while thanksgivings focus on what He has done for us individually. In Nehemiah, both of the thanksgivings are connected with prayers of praise (12.24; 12.27, 31, 42, 46).

Petitions

There are more prayers of petition in Nehemiah than any other type. This is not surprising since the book is about facing adversity from within and without while trying to seek God’s will to rebuild Jerusalem and the faith.

All the prayers which ask God for something in Nehemiah are petitions—there are no intercessions. This may be because all the Jews were in need together. Nehemiah and others did not need to pray for others because they were all in need of the same prayers.

These prayers teach us many things about petitionary prayer:

• the connection between God’s actions and our responsibilities (2.4)
• how our “passion” for something should not override our desire for God’s will (4.9)
• how a physical act along with a petition is appropriate (5.12-13)
• petitions can address the past as well as the present (5.19)
• that petitionary prayer can be part of daily life (6.9, 14)
• From Nehemiah, we learn that a petition asking God to remember our good work is not inappropriate (13.14, 22; 13.25, 28-31).
  

Confession

It is not surprising that in a book which deals with the need to reform one’s faith also includes confession Aa part of the prayers. In Nehemiah, we learn that confession can be part of a flow of prayers from praise to petition to confession to praise (1.5-11; 9.6-11). This is a good way to place our prayers of confession in a context, instead of making them stand alone. 

Vow

As we have noted throughout this study, prayer-vows are unusual in modern prayer. Yet they are found often in the Bible. The prayers of Nehemiah give us two examples of how prayer-vows function (5.12-13; 13.25, 28-31).

Blessings and Curses

There are two blessings and two curse-prayers in Nehemiah (though the first curse-prayer is connected with a petition). The first blessing demonstrates how we should be moved to offer blessings upon God when we hear his Word (8.6). The second is part of the long prayer in chapter 9 and gives us an excellent model for how to begin any type of prayer with a blessing as an introduction (9.3-5).

As we have discussed in previous studies, curse-prayers are difficult for us. We may sometimes curse people—or want to curse them—but most of us probably feel that we should not ask God to curse them. The way of Jesus suggests that we should leave any desire for retribution of others to God (Matt 5.44; 18.21-22). This concept is also found in the Old Testament (Prov 25.21-22). Nehemiah wanted those who abused god’s people to experience abuse—but he turned it over to God (4.4-5).

There is a second kind of curse-prayer that may make more sense to us. It is a prayer that contains a condition curse: if you don’t do this, then this will happen. This is the sort of prayer we see in 5.12-13. 

Summary

The book of Nehemiah, while not a long book, contains many prayers covering every prayer type except intercession and lament. These prayers serve an excellent model for enriching our own prayers.