Nehemiah 2:4-5

Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

Nehemiah 2:4-5 

Nehemiah had a heart for the people of Israel and longed for his people to go back to their land. This deep desire leads him to show his emotions, his sadness before the king. Nehemiah explains to the king why he is sad, to which the king responds with verse 4. But in this interaction between Nehemiah and the king, we see something that we know but often forget. And that is that we have access to go before the Lord, to make our needs known and to seek His guidance in prayer at all times. Nehemiah didn’t close his eyes or bow down in between the king’s question and his response. Nehemiah sought the Lord as he was in that moment.

We tend to think that in order to pray we need to be set apart from everyone; we need absolute quietness, which aren’t bad things. But because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have access to go before the Father at all times, no regulations, no steps that need to be completed; we can go before the Lord as we are in any moment.  God always has His ear towards His people, willing to help and listen at all times. May we remember that regardless of the moments we find ourselves in. 

For His Kingdom, 

Alex Alfaro