I Wept, Mourned, Fasted, and Prayed

Nehemiah 1:3-4, “And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God.”

How sad this must have been for Nehemiah. He had received word that his home city of Jerusalem had been destroyed. The gates were burned, and the walls were broken. The Bible says that when Nehemiah heard of it, he wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed.

It is amazing how similar Jerusalem’s situation then is to the United States of America now. I understand that America is not in physical captivity, but our nation is being held captive by sin. What else is amazing is how different many Christians’ reactions are than what Nehemiah’s reaction was. Christians today just think, “As long as I’m ok, everything will be fine.” That should not be our attitude. Like Nehemiah, we ought to weep and pray for our nation. Psalm 126:6 says, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” We must pray for our nation, for it badly needs it.

In the book of Genesis, Abraham went to God on the behalf of Lot and begged Him to spare the city. Abraham was the only thing standing between Lot and destruction, and maybe Christians are the only thing standing between our nation and destruction. We must weep and pray for our nation and ask God to do a mighty work.