Where You Are Placed

• Where are you currently called to serve?
• Who do you have access to that others might not?
• What is the thing that angers or grieves your heart the most in your world?
• Outside your immediate circle of family and friends, what do you pray about most?
• Have you ever felt led to fast and pray for a specific thing or person? If yes, who or what?

“The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev (the 9th month of the Jewish calendar), in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king.”

“And it came about in the month Nisan (the 1st month of the Jewish calendar), in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time. And I said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.” Nehemiah‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭‬‬and ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭‬‬

Nehemiah was not in Jerusalem, he was serving as a cupbearer to the king of Persian empire. Nehemiah was communicating about the remnant in Israel who were distressed, disgraced and unprotected because the wall was broken and the gates burned down to the city. Nehemiah in his sadness for the city wept, mourned, and fasted. He stood in the gap repenting. He reminded God of former promises. This was not a one and done kind of intercession, there is about four months between Nehemiah 1 and Nehemiah 2.

The king took notice of Nehemiah’s sadness. There are times that even though we try to hide our sadness, those who see us regularly may notice. The king asked Nehemiah what was wrong, why he was sad. Although Nehemiah was afraid, he presented the problem to the king. He asked permission to rebuild the wall as well as favor for provision of the supplies. The king granted Nehemiah’s request.

Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra, a Jewish scribe and priests. Some scholars believe that the book of Nehemiah could have been written by Ezra. Nehemiah had close proximity to the king and was given favor by God, like Esther, “for such a time as this”. Although safe in the kings palace, Nehemiah was filled with compassion knowing that the city was at risk, even though some Jews had been allowed to return and had rebuilt the temple.

“In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭5‬

From Nehemiah, we can see the importance of always serving with excellence, not just in the church but in every where God places us. Nehemiah’s call might have felt small as a cupbearer but God placed Nehemiah where he‭‬‬ was and gave him favor with the king. Nehemiah not only had a position where the king noticed him, but the king also gave his request ear. The king sent Nehemiah with favor knowing he could trust Nehemiah to return when he said he would. There was a divine purpose to it all.

It is also important to pay attention to what grieves your heart. I remember a message from TD Jakes many years ago that what angers or grieves our hearts is what the Lord has called us to change. Nehemiah was grieved to know that the city of Jerusalem was distressed, disgraced and unprotected. He didn’t complain about it, he sought the Lord, and then acted on it.

Nehemiah was moved to fast, pray and mourn for Jerusalem. As he thought about the distress, reproach and danger that the people in Jerusalem still faced, he felt led to intercede for them. Nehemiah shows the importance of prayer and fasting on one’s calling. He also shows the importance of knowing the word of God. Nehemiah prayed out two different passages as he stood in the gap for his people. Nehemiah knew both the curse and the blessings contained in the Torah.

“I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭33‬ ‭‬‬

““Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.”‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭‬‬

We too need to combine our prayers with the word of God. Knowing what the Word of God promises, helps us to line our prayers up with God’s will. His word is always in line with His will. And His Word will not return void.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

Nehemiah also shows the importance of praying for nation. He was far removed from what was occurring in Jerusalem, yet he stood humbly in the gap for those that were there.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  1 Timothy 2:1-2

Nehemiah also shows that God can open doors that no one else can close. The rest of the book of Nehemiah tells of many who tried to stop his efforts. He prayed each step of the process. He was confident making a bold request when the opportunity arose. He took his prayers, his passion and he turned it into action for God’s glory.

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Revelation 3:8

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

It is important to take a look at where we have been called to serve, and how God might be using it to further His kingdom. Service does not just take place in the church, but in our every day lives, in our jobs, our careers, our family and our community. It is good to know that people are watching us, even when we don’t think they are so it is important to always serve with excellence. We never know where or how God might use those to help further His kingdom. We need to pay close attention to the things that our hearts grieve over and not overlook or discount the contacts that we have because of the positions that we hold. We also need to be steadfast in praying for needs in our church, our community and our nations. We need to couple our prayers with the Word of God and boldly take the requests to the Lord knowing that He has placed this on our heart to stand in the gap and make a difference for His kingdom. We also need to listen to the promptings of Holy Spirit when we are called to fast and pray, for Jesus reminds us:

So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:29

Lord, I know I may never sit before kings or have influence on people in authority, but I have recognized where you’ve placed me. I know there are people you have allowed me to have contact with for Your kingdom purpose. Help me, Lord to allow You to place purpose, and passion in my heart. Help me to press in with prayer and fasting and then to take action. I’m sorry for the times I have fallen short help me to get where I need to be in terms of past callings.