Nehemiah 13:14,
"Remember me,O my God,concerning this,and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God,and for the offices thereof".
Nehemiah was the son of Hacaliah,also the stepson of Queen Esther. He was born in Babylon during the captivity. He sustained the office of cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes Longimanus.
He asked for the permission of the king of Persia to go to Jerusalem and aid in rebuilding the city again. He directed his attention mainly to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He stayed in Judea for thirteen years as governor,carrying out many reforms,notwithstanding much opposition that he encountered(Nehemiah 13:11).
There are many characters Nehemiah possess,which are;
He was a man of prayer
He was brave and takes action immediately
He was a patriotic man
He was constant and persistent in everythings he does.
He had great faith in God
He was ready and has ability to do whatever he was asked to do.
In Nehemiah 1:4:11,we saw him interceding for the children of Israel who sinned against God,he cried to God to have mercy and show compassion on them. He is a man that whatever he wants to do,he prayed to God to help him.
Nehemiah 2:4-5,
4Then the king said unto me,For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5And I said unto the king,If it please the king,and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight,that thou wouldest send me unto Judah,unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres,that I may build it.
In the verse,we saw how Nehemiah's request was granted. Why? It was because he has already gone to meet the God of heaven and asked for His mercy which he received. Probably,he may have been going to the king to take permission before but this time around,he found favour in the king's sight by granting him the permission to go and build the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:6)
As Christians,we need to imitate the life Nehemiah lived before he died (about B.C. 413). Whenever we are entangled or confused in things,we should consult the God of heaven for a way,when we do that,He will surely make us find favour in people.
Pray to God before any action. A person who has already to plan his life without praying to God,will only waste his time roaming about. But when you bring him to every phase of your life before taking any action,He will help you figure the right thing out and make sure He guides you in the right path.
HE WHO FAILS TO PLAN,PLAN TO FAIL
Nehemiah achieved so many things while he was still living.
1 He went to the city of Jerusalem where the city wall was broken down,and with a single minded(undoubtful) purpose persevered until the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt.(Neh 6:15)
2 After the completion of the wall,he and Ezra called the people to prayer and the public reading of the law.(Neh 8:1-3)
3 He was one of the first to sign his name to a covenant agreement among the people regarding walking in God's law.(Neh 9:38)
4 He also wrote the book of Nehemiah(430-431BC)
SOME LESSONS TO LEARN FROM NEHEMIAH'S LIFE
Prayer should always precede any endeavour.
God is always willing to help. If only you call on Him.
Persistence combined with faith can accomplish great things.
Be single minded in all that you do for God,and in all that you desire from God. Do not doubt what God will do for you. Only have faith.
God remembers and rewards good work.
In conclusion, Nehemiah had an unrelenting zeal to rebuild the broken wall of Jerusalem. Inspite of the opposition from Sanballat and others,he achieved his goal. What is your opposition in the work of God? What passion do you have for the things of God?.
Ponder on it as you read through.