NEHEMIAH 1:1-4 – The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

THEME OF THE DAY. WHAT ARE WE PRAYING FOR? So . . . the theme of the day – What are we praying for? It’s a good question in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. I believe, in some measure, our prayer lives have shifted emphasis. We likely, and rightly, are praying for people who have lost their jobs; praying for wisdom to be given to drug researchers and doctors to create a vaccine; praying for federal, state, and local authorities to be discerning and make appropriate decisions; and praying for protection among our friends, families, and brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is right and should be practiced, but what about spiritual petitions to the Lord during this time? What are we praying for along the lines of eternal and spiritual ends to be met through this crisis?

In today’s scripture, Nehemiah shows us a principle when it comes to praying in a national crisis. Here is the setting. Nehemiah is meeting some Jews returning from Judah. He inquires about the condition of the people and the state of the city of God –Jerusalem. Remember, Nehemiah is about 1,000 miles away from his beloved people and city. He cares very much for both. And the news is very bad. How does Nehemiah respond? Prayer. With fasting. Nehemiah is burdened for the condition of God’s people and city. Behind this burden was an earnestness for God’s honor, His glory, and the restoration of His city. Read all of the book of Nehemiah. We will discover a godly man who was far more concerned about God’s name and honor than he was for himself or the welfare of God’s people. And here are the principles we may take from his example. During times of crisis, to include this pandemic upon us today, our prayers are to be chiefly directed two ways.

First, the restoration of God’s people to Himself by spiritual revival. All through Old Testament history and church history, we find God bringing about crises to His people moving them to repentance and a turning back to Him. Let’s be spiritually sensitive during this pandemic. God may be orchestrating this for His people to abandon their worldliness and come back to fellowship with Him.

Another direction our prayers are to go during this pandemic is for God’s glory through the salvation of lost sinners. Friends, people are afraid. They are anxious. Death is all around and the near future doesn’t look good. People want hope. The church of Jesus Christ has a great opportunity to point these unbelieving people to Christ, the only answer to their fear. Are we praying for Gospel proclamation and wide-spread conversion of sinners through this pandemic? I hope so. This is not a time for Christians to be afraid and see this as an obstacle to overcome. No, we are in the midst of an opportunity to seize; an opportunity for the Gospel to reach a people who are hopeless and dependent upon flawed human wisdom and government to rescue them.

So, what are we praying for during the pandemic? Yes, pray for temporal things, but not at the expense of spiritual and eternal things. God may have sent it for those purposes.

PRAYER: “Father, help me pray for eternal and spiritual things, and not just temporal and physical things.”

QUOTE: “If our praying is mostly about ourselves and family, we are out of spiritual balance.”