Saturday, November 7, 2015
Nehemiah 1:10-11 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME!
The people of Judah were not the people of God because they were so good and kept His commandments. Rather, they were God's people because He had redeemed them, bought them back from captivity, even as God has redeemed us and bought us back from the captivity of sin through Jesus Christ our Savior. Nehemiah's Redeemer is also our Redeemer. We pray through the Mediator, the Man Christ Jesus, through whom we have access to God the Father. In Him we have the forgiveness of sins, we are cleansed of our unrighteousness, and are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, so that we stand as His own children.
Nehemiah prayed that God would grant him mercy as he approached "this man," King Artaxerxes. The Lord heard and answered Nehemiah's prayer. The king sent Nehemiah back to Jerusalem with letters of protection, guaranteeing that Nehemiah would be able to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in spite of the protests of her enemies. Nehemiah was the right man in the right place, when, as a child of God, he stood at the mercy seat of God, trusting God in view of the promised Mediator.
You and I stand there as well. Every day, we are the right people in the right place at the right time. Through prayer we are in a position to make a difference in connection with God's kingdom-rule.
God has forgiven us our sins and has made us His children -- people who can make a difference. Righteous in Christ, we are assured that, "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers" (1 Peter 3:12).
