Lent Devotions

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March 20: Nehemiah’s Prayer of Confession

Posted: 19 Mar 2014 07:11 AM PDT

Read: Nehemiah 1

We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. (v. 7 NRSV)

There are at least six prayers of Nehemiah in the book that carries his name. Nehemiah knew how to pray. When some of the Jews were allowed to escape captivity and return home following Persia’s conquest of Babylon, Nehemiah remained in service to the Persian emperor. He anxiously asked a friend who had visited Jerusalem about the fate of the community there. The news was bad, and so Nehemiah turned to God in a heartfelt prayer of confession. He was sure that his people were still suffering because of their collective unfaithfulness. “Both I and my family have sinned,” he confessed.

When bad things happen to us, it is not necessarily a direct consequence of our own sin. We learn that decisively from the book of Job. But it is wise for us to reflect on our own lives, behavior, and attitudes. When Nehemiah did this, he discovered much that was wrong about himself as well as his people. The problems in his nation weren’t just “out there.” Nehemiah’s prayer of confession is an honest acknowledgment of this, and a plea that God will not forget faithful promises. –Leanne Van Dyk

Prayer: When we suffer, help us to turn to you, O God. Hear and restore us when we confess our sins to you. Amen.

Words of Hope is an international media ministry, founded and owned by classes of the RCA, dedicated to building the church in the hard places. The Words of Hope devotional encourages readers to grow spiritually through daily Bible readings and prayer. To subscribe, please visit: woh.org/word/devotionals/.