Prayer in Nehemiah:
Nehemiah’s major strength of a leader was that he strove not to simply be a man of prayer, but to be a continual prayer for God. It is the focus that each believer needs to bring into their spiritual walk, because regardless of where we find ourselves serving, or at whatever level, because we are called out of the world when we are in the world-we will be leaders because of our difference.
This is what Nehemiah found as in the early parts of the book he went to prayer to first beg forgiveness then be presented with his call, and how to best work it out with his current employer. Why was his calling so easily acknowledged by the king? Because of being a living prayer, Nehemiah, had a reputation for excellence, integrity and honesty that had been established.
As I worked through some of my spiritual formation materials from the Third Order of St. Francis prayer not only was just a recurring theme, but was the undercurrent put forth for a Gospel Life lived out. Foley et al use the simple question of what is prayer (p.90) of their formation book.
This is a good point to start on a prayer reflection because there are many ideas out there about what prayer is. For the minimalist prayer is simply reciting the Lord’s Prayer sans doxology as Jesus gave it to us. For others they would view something like the Lord’s Prayer as a structure to plug their own words into.
It can go beyond that simplicity as well, within my tradition there is something called the Daily Office, that the religious use at the morning and evening, structured liturgical prayers, hymns, scriptures and personal intercessions…as one Friar I discoursed with on the subject, he said simply that the Office is there to provide structure for an honouring prayer life to God and deepen a relationship. The written prayers are there for those days when all we want to do is tell God to bugger off, yet the words we are pledged to say daily bring us back into that relationship regardless where our humanity has taken us.
This is the structure seen with Nehemiah as his early prayers are those of repentance, then thanksgiving is seen and finally guidance. It makes one ponder how much of Nehemiah’s prayer life was on going, and the snippets we get throughout the book are simply those times when Nehemiah paused to speak outwardly, as the text does tend to lend itself to someone who is just picking up a conversation and continuing on with it rather than stumbling to find the words in an unfamiliar relationship done just for show.
I think that is something that goes to answer the simple question prefaced, what is prayer? It is the bedrock of any relationship: communication. That is the key that we have put prayer in a box. It is something, as the assignment said, to be done at the beginning, middle or end of a project where that statement in itself is a fallacy.
That is not what is seen throughout the Bible, what is seen is individuals who are in deep communion and relationship with God. That relationship does not happen with some fancy public prayers that we see on the page, rather it is the kind of intimacy that comes from daily walking with God, and never truly turning the conversation off.
Within this continual conversation a person will notice a transformation, for it is not only our sin that keeps us away from being in continual conversation with God, but rather the shame our actions make us think us unworthy (Bodo p.15). For in conquering this sense of unworthiness a whole new life with God will be opened up.
Unfortunately, it is like that broken record add of the 1980’s “I can’t get a job without any experience, I cannot get experience without a job.” This one would play more like, I can’t get past my shame without talking to God, I can’t talk to God because of my shame. So it does take courage, and the first step of courage is becoming a person of prayer.
A person of prayer is someone who is quite verbal with God, and it is where all Christians start, dump your day on God, and move on. Some stall there, some move beyond. The trick is that moving beyond God being just your emotional dumping ground and open yourself up to listening to God which can lead to big changes in your life that you may not like. For Nehemiah it meant leaving a fairly easy life of being the cup bearer to the King to go back to a decimate land and not only physically rebuilding the area, but spiritually rebuilding the people.
I think if Nehemiah was not walking in a joint relationship with God, this is a call he could have easily ignored or even ran away from. But that is what happens when you open yourself up through continual prayer to the experience of God in your life.
John Michael Talbot used the metaphor of marriage to describe the relationship that one builds through prayer, as it becomes a mystical union between you and God (p.226), two become one, and the only way to know and live the love of God is to be a living prayer (Talbot p. 226).
So what does this idea of a living prayer mean?
The example my readings provided was St. Francis of Assisi, someone who did not take many times of long contemplation with God, but was rather out in the world living the Gospel, in his actions was his evangelism, in his actions were his prayers.
How many of us when someone cuts us off during rush hour or get bumped on the c-train, can say that out actions there are a prayerful response? Writing a paper for a class or even a letter to a friend? Are these actions prayers?
If your relationship with God has been brought to this level as demonstrated in Nehemiah, and the life of the poor man of Assisi, it is like a Biblical marriage where two become one and all your actions become prayer.
So the question of whether or not your endeavours are seen as needing prayer at the beginning, middle or end becomes irrelevant and the new question emerges as a leader of God’s people when do they need your prayers to be vocalized to reinvigorate them if they are not yet at this point in their journey.
With that question, it goes to the idea of disciple making as a leader needs to help each follower learn to grow closer with God in authentic relationship of prayer that will make them each a living prayer of God.
It is also important to realize what kind of prayers you bring forward publicly; there is an idea that public prayers still need to be positive. Yet in the midst of God’s work what could be needed for the people is not an uplifting prayer or a prayer petitioning God to bless, but it could be a time when you need to turn to God with the community and go, “Dad we admit it, we screwed up, we are sorry.”
The prayer life the leader models with their public prayers needs to be one of balance where all styles of prayer are used so people can begin to understand that God is not someone you turn to just with the junk of life, the pain, but also with the joy and the celebrations of life.
Yes God knows all this stuff, but the relationship is still built upon communication and where communication is lacking there is no relationship but two entities co-existing in the world. Prayer life is not about co-existing with God, a living prayer is about God’s love filling you and you walking day by day in that love.
-Hoody in AB
