“The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” Nehemiah 1:3
For the next few days, we’ll be praying one of Nehemiah’s prayers. If you’d like to hear the sermon that inspired these prayers (preached by our pastor at Pinewoods, Joel Treick), click here. It will be the first one in a series called Gospel Rebuild.
Redeeming Lord,
As Nehemiah prayed for hurting people
he had never met in a place he had never visited,
we lift up hurting friends, neighbors, strangers,
and even enemies.
Many are in “great trouble” in this world,
as in the last couple of years,
it feels like we have been pounded again and again
by waves that knocked us down every time we almost stood up.
Some suffer the loss of jobs or health or even relationships to Covid,
others suffer the loss of homes and livelihoods
to devastating natural disasters
like hurricanes and earthquakes and wildfires.
Still others suffer the ache of a lifelong dream
seemingly stolen by circumstance.
If “trouble” weren’t enough,
there’s also the shame that plagues many.
Some suffer the shame
of having sinned against people they loved;
they wonder if they can ever repair
the relationships they’ve severed.
Some suffer the shame
of having rebelled against you,
thinking they knew better,
and now they wonder if you’ll even have them back.
Others suffer the shame of insecurity,
thinking they’ll never win
the spouse
or promotion
or the battle with infertility.
Lord, in the midst of “great trouble and shame,”
we cry out.
We remember your redemption and rescue
throughout biblical history,
your redemption of the Israelites at the Red Sea,
your return of the exiles to Jerusalem,
your rebuilding of the walls there.
But most of all, we remember
your redemption on the cross,
which is the very reason we can cry out
with the “assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Restore, renew, rebuild, redeem.
For that is your way.
And even as we pray for this restoration
in our world today,
we long for the day
when we will no longer cry out
about trouble and shame,
because there will be no more crying or mourning or shame
when you return.
In your hope-full name. Amen.
Read Nehemiah 1:1-11.
