2…So I became dreadfully afraid,
3 and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’tombs lie waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
4 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”
So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favour in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?”So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
[Nehemiah 2:2-6]
The simple lesson here for us is that God answers prayers.
There are long prayers and also short ones. We need to pray both. Jesus did. He prayed and fasted 40 days before starting His ministry (Matthew 4). Furthermore, He prayed all night before selecting his disciples (Luke 6:12&13). At other times he prayed short prayers e.g. at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11).
Nehemiah also fasted and prayed long prayers when he heard that the City of Jerusalem was burnt with fire and the walls broken down (Nehemiah Chapter 1). We can however deduce from today’s passage that he also prayed short prayers. When you’re standing before the king and he’s asking you to make a request, that’s not the time to make long prayers. That’s the time your prayer is in very few words such as “Lord help me”, or“Lord have mercy”. Sometimes, all you can say is “Jesus”. But God understands and answers you speedily from His holy heavens. .
In sum, let’s cultivate the habit of praying long prayers. Keep praying even when you don’t see results. No prayer escapes the attention of our Father. At the set time, you’ll receive mind blowing results that leaves you standing in awe and speechless.
Pray without ceasing. Amen.