How to do this
Read the scripture(s) provided
Answer the questions on your own or in your group
Scripture
Nehemiah 2:1-9
1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. 9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
Questions
1. Nehemiah was clearly afraid in this account of the request that he brings: “I was very much afraid…”. How different the story would have been if the text read…”and so I said nothing.” Instead, Nehemiah is prepared to overcome his fears to proceed towards decisive action. Courage is not the absence of fear but the means through which we overcome our fears. When have you had to overcome fear to bring about an important change in your circumstances? Or is there a situation you are facing now that requires courage to pursue change?
2. “Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered…” Nehemiah practised the habit of combining prayer and action (see also Nehemiah 4:9). Someone once said that we should pray as if it is all up to us and act as if it is all up to us. Have you seen the fruits of an intentional combination of prayer and action?
3. Nehemiah has clearly thought about key resources that he would need to make progress including letters of recommendation and building materials. Do we have examples of thinking ahead well to prepare the resources we will need for projects we have tackled? And do we have examples when we have failed to think ahead properly? What did we learn from this?
4. Nehemiah receives extra resources that he had not asked for (v9b). When have you received extra resources you were not expecting because of God’s favour at work in your life?
End in prayer
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