“So I prayed to the God of heaven.”
Nehemiah 2:4
When Nehemiah prayed this prayer, it was as he stood before the king of Persia. It is doubtful that he had time to step aside and head to his inner room for a lengthy petition with the Almighty. This prayer would have been short, silent, and spoken straight from his heart to heaven’s throne.
Which is a good reminder that length of a prayer doesn’t increase its effectiveness. As Jesus says in Matthew 6:7, more words don’t mean greater piety. Instead let us “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), so that in the moments where we must make a quick decision like Nehemiah, we will instinctively pray one last time as we stand at the crossroads of decision. A lifestyle steeped in pray is ready at all times.
After all, the rest of the story is that Nehemiah received what he asked of the king for “the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.” (Nehemiah 2:8)
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites