Bible Study

Expository Commentary on the Book of Nehemiah – Bible Study 3
Nehemiah’s Confessional Prayer
In the Old Testament, there are three very important prayers where individuals stood before God, identifying the sins of the people as their own and interceding:
Ezra’s Prayer – Ezra 9:5–15
A Repentance Prayer
Daniel’s Prayer – Daniel 9:3–19
A National Confessional Prayer
Nehemiah’s Prayer – Nehemiah 1:4–11
A Prayer with Intercession
A Key Truth in All Three Prayers:
Ezra 9:6
“My God, I am ashamed… our sins are higher than our heads.”
Daniel 9:5
“We have sinned and done wrong…”
Nehemiah 1:6
“I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself…”
Let us carefully observe Nehemiah’s prayer:
“I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying…” (Nehemiah 1:6)
“We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.” (Nehemiah 1:7)
Important Insight
In all these prayers, we see a remarkable attitude:
“We have sinned”
“We have disobeyed”
“Our sins…”
They took the sins of the people as their own.
Because Nehemiah carried this burden and prayed for months with a heart of confession, God entrusted him with the great responsibility of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Furthermore, the Persian king appointed him as governor over that region.
Lessons We Learn
We must first understand that we too are a reason for the broken condition of today’s church.
We must reject the attitude:
“I am right; the church is broken because of others.”
In our intercessory prayers, we should say:
“We have sinned”
“Forgive our failures”
“Have mercy on our church”
Prayers that exalt ourselves while condemning others are not acceptable in the sight of the Lord. This is the biblical perspective.
A Serious Reality
One of the major reasons why there is no revival, renewal, or spiritual reformation in churches today is this very issue.
The reason why the prayers of Nehemiah, Ezra, and Daniel were accepted is also this same attitude of identification and humility.
A Call to the Church
Churches must realize this spiritual truth.
About 95% of the church are believers
Full-time ministers are less than 5%
The emphasis here is:
When this 95% of believers begin to pray with burden—taking the sins of leaders and ministers as their own—those prayers will shake Tamil Nadu.
Final Exhortation
Do not be deceived by false leaders
Do not waste time debating whether their prayers are heard or not
Instead, every believer must pray with a global vision:
“The church is ours; the church belongs to God.”
Such prayers will bring great miracles in Tamil Nadu.
Believers are called to take responsibility for the revival of the church.
You are in a great calling.
The One who called you is our Redeemer.
So, do not come down from your great calling.

Ezekiel Shanmugavel
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