Be Still And Know

Nehemiah 1:11 “ O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honouring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favourable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” Nehemiah was on the verge of taking the boldest step of his life. He was going to ask King Artaxerxes, the mighty ruler of Persia, a question that could land him in a lot of trouble. In light of this, he brought his majestic and humble prayer to an end by making the bold request that God should grant him success. I think we often feel rather coy about asking God for success, but we needn’t feel that way because he loves to hear our prayers. He wants us to be completely honest as we address him and, in a situation like Nehemiah’s, it was absolutely right to make such a bold request. This wasn’t a selfish prayer. He was asking for success so that he could bless his Jewish brothers and sisters by restoring Jerusalem. If the king granted his request it was going to give him a great deal of