Nehemiah 2:4-Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. NASB
Most of us won’t meet royalty during our lifetime, but we all know people who are in places of prominence. Better yet, some of us are people of prominence with great influence over others. The question for us today is, how are we using that influence to benefit the kingdom of God?
Nehemiah was a person with a level of influence, wealth, and comfort because of his position with the king. As the king’s cupbearer, he had direct communication with the king, sat at the king’s table, and knew others with greater influence than he had.
In chapter 2, we find Nehemiah serving the king his wine, as was his custom, when the king notices that something is wrong with him.
“Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
Nehemiah 2:2 NASB
In the previous verse, Nehemiah tells us that he had never been sad in the king’s presence before, and now he is with the king and he can’t hide his feelings, nor can he fake a cheerful heart. The king asks him, what’s wrong? It’s obvious Nehemiah isn’t sick. I’m pretty sure that if Nehemiah was sick he wouldn’t have been allowed to serve the king. After all, his job was to prevent the king from being harmed, and serving him with a sad countenance could have indicated a problem with his wine. So the king quickly assesses the situation realizing that Nehemiah can only be sad because something has happened to cause him sadness. Now Nehemiah is afraid.
The scriptures don’t tell us how long Nehemiah was sad in the presence of the king. We assume it was this one time, but it could have been several times that he was sad and the king decided to finally say something about it. We do know that Nehemiah had been fasting and praying over the situation in Jerusalem. We know this troubled his heart and brought him to tears. But we don’t know how many days he carried this sadness into the presence of the king, although scholars suggest that four months passed between when he got the news and this encounter with the king.
What was Nehemiah afraid of? Was he afraid that the king would get angry because he was sad and have him killed? Was he afraid that if he told the king what was wrong the king would become angry and it would be the end of his time with the king? We don’t know! But we do have examples in the scriptures that lead us to believe that Nehemiah was certainly taking a risk by being sad in the king’s presence.
“May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the site of my fathers’ tombs, is desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
Nehemiah 2:3 NASB
Dr. Tony Evans, in his CSB study bible, wrote something I felt was noteworthy:
Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins? He did not identify Jerusalem specifically because he was being shrewd. (In Ezra 4 King Artaxerxes had thought that if Jerusalem were rebuilt its people might stop paying taxes.) Nehemiah avoided the political issue by appealing to the king on a personal level.
Dr. Tony Evans, CSB Study Bible
The king knew that Nehemiah was Jewish. He may not have been aware of what particular city Nehemiah was from, but he was very much aware of his heritage. Whether he was being shrewd, or whether God told him how to answer the king, Nehemiah was concerned about Jerusalem.
Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 2:4 NASB
The king then asks Nehemiah what did he want? Here’s where Nehemiah was given an opportunity by God and the king to see how he would use the influence that he had with the king. For most of us, this would be the time that we ask for something that would benefit us: money, a job, or a connection to someone else. Few of us would think, how can I bless the kingdom of God? Even when we are praying about the kingdom, and involved in service to the kingdom, we can become people who take advantage of our place of influence. Not so with Nehemiah!
Once the king opens the dialogue for Nehemiah to share what was on his heart, Nehemiah starts praying again. He had probably not stopped praying, but he made a point to mention that he prayed. Nehemiah didn’t begin to pray out loud to demonstrate his spirituality before the king. He prayed within himself. Some in the church believe that if you don’t open your mouth and pray, you are not praying. That’s not my experience with God. I have prayed many silent prayers that have been answered. But I also believe in opening my mouth and praying. It depends on the situation, as Nehemiah is demonstrating. This was not the time for open intercession!
Dr. Eric Mason described prayer in this manner,
Prayer is a tool that God has given us to unlock things He wants to do on Earth!
Dr. Eric Mason
This is certainly the thing that happened in Nehemiah’s case. God wanted to do something on Earth, in Jerusalem, and as Nehemiah prayed, God disclosed the plan to him.
Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, I request that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
Nehemiah 2:5 NASB
This was no simple request. For Nehemiah to return to Israel to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, he was going to have to take some risks. He was risking being rejected by the king, or even offending the king, but he knew he had to ask. So he did! When the king responded, he wanted to know how long would Nehemiah need to accomplish this task he wanted to go and do. Nehemiah had an answer and a plan. He had to have impressed the king when he told him exactly what he needed and why, demonstrating that he had given much thought to his request.
People in places of influence typically don’t like their time to be wasted. Nehemiah understood this. He couldn’t ask the king if he could get back to him, he had to answer him immediately. Nehemiah understood what was needed and how to fix it. His time before the Lord had obviously been very fruitful because he had a direction and a plan to share with the king.
There are times in our lives when God places us in situations, positions, or even places where He wants to use us for His glory. A lot of times we think we landed the perfect promotion, were introduced to the upper crust of society, or made the right connection for our personal benefit when it was a setup by God to see if we would remember the kingdom! That doesn’t mean that we get to ask people of influence and wealth to fund our projects in the church. Nehemiah had prayed about this situation and God led him to speak with the king. No one wants to be around people who are always asking them for things. Be careful how you use your access to others.
Nehemiah demonstrated courage when he went before the king with his burden radiating in his face. He showed that he had character when he was able to tell the king when he planned to return. Nehemiah gave the king a sense of comfort when he was able to explain how he was going to accomplish the task. And lastly, he demonstrated commitment to his homeland when he laid everything on the line before the king, including his life.
Every time I hear someone preach from the book of Esther, they sing her praises. They tell how she was willing to go before the king even at the risk of her own life. But in reality, Esther was not the heroine of that story. She had no initial desire to get involved. Her cousin Mordecai had to help her understand that she would perish along with every other Jew in the nation. So she fasted and prayed, then she went. I applaud her for everything she did after she fasted and prayed. Things happen when we fast and pray that won’t happen any other way. But she was not willing to use her influence until Mordecai spoke with her! We are more like Esther before she fasted and prayed than we would care to admit!
As I am going through the book of Nehemiah again, I am impressed with his commitment to prayer. As much time as I spend praying, I know that I can spend more time praying. When I go to the King in prayer, I have influence. I want to make sure that I am not always asking for things to heap on myself. I want to be found using that influence (and I say this with reverence) on behalf of the kingdom of God and not for personal gain. But also know people of influence. They have become dear to me and I want to remember that divine connections happen for the glory of God. But I also want to respect them and not have them believe that I just want something from them. If you are a believer, you are a person of influence. The time you spend with the King of kings gives you access to all that He possesses. How are you using that influence for the kingdom of God? Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 