“Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant
and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name.
Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
I was cupbearer to the king. 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, 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…
Nehemiah 1:11-2:2
It is a risk to show our emotions to others, especially if we are sad or discouraged. We don’t know if others will treat us with kindness or not.
It was even more of a risk for Nehemiah to let his sadness show before the king. The king had enough pressure. He was to be insulated from other people’s problems. If someone upset the king he could have them killed. (See Esther 4:11)
Still, Nehemiah could no longer keep what was breaking his heart to himself. It had been about 3 months since Nehemiah first heard about the condition of those in Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 1:1 mentions the month of Kislev and Nehemiah 2:1 mentions the month of Nisan. These are 3 months apart.) He had held in his grief as long as he could.
Is there something weighing on your heart? Have you been praying about it? Is it time to take a risk and share it with others?
As you pray about heartbreaking issues, please also pray for the youth in our community – and ask God to give the leaders at Crossroads wisdom as we seek to address the needs of the youth in our community!
Posted in Reaching Beyond 40 Days of Prayer
