p. 3 | A Lesson in Prayer by Ellen G. White

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · May 13, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 19.

A Lesson in Prayer

By Ellen G. White

By Mrs. E. G. White

Nehemiah, the Hebrew exile, occupied a position of influence and honor in the Persian court. As cup-bearer of the king, he was familiarly admitted to the royal presence, and by virtue of this intimacy, and his own high abilities and tried fidelity, he became the monarch’s counselor. Yet in that heathen land, surrounded by royal pomp and splendor, he did not forget the God of his fathers or the people who had been entrusted with the holy oracles. With deepest interest, his heart turned toward Jerusalem, and his hopes and joys were bound up with her prosperity.

Days of peculiar trial and affliction had come to the chosen city. Messengers from Judah described to Nehemiah its condition. The second temple had been reared, and portions of the city rebuilt; but its prosperity was impeded, the temple services disturbed, and the people kept in constant alarm, by the fact that its walls were still in ruins, and its gates burned with fire. The capital of Judah was fast becoming a desolate place, and the few inhabitants remaining were daily embittered by the taunts of their idolatrous assailants. “Where is your God?” The soul of the Hebrew patriot was overwhelmed by these evil tidings. So great was his sorrow, that he could not eat or drink; he “wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted.” But when the first outburst of his grief was over, he turned in his affliction to the sure Helper. “I prayed,” says he, “before the God of heaven.” He knew that all this ruin had come because of the transgressions of Israel; and in deep humiliation he came before God for pardon of sin and a renewal of the divine favor. He addressed his petitions to the God of heaven, “the great and terrible God;” for such the Lord had shown Himself to be in the fearful judgments brought upon Israel. But with a gleam of hope, Nehemiah continues, “that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments.” For repentant and believing Israel there was still mercy.

Faithfully the man of God makes confession of his sins and the sins of his people: “Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee; both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses.”

Holding Fast the Divine Promise

And now, taking fast hold, by faith, of the divine promise, Nehemiah lays down at the footstool of heavenly mercy his petition that God would maintain the cause of His now penitent people, restore their strength, and build up their waste places. God had been faithful to His threatenings when His people separated from Him; He had scattered them abroad among the nations, according to His word. And Nehemiah finds in this very fact an assurance that He will be equally faithful to fulfil His promises. His people had now returned in penitence and faith to keep His commandments; and God Himself had said that if they would do this, even tho they were cast out into the uttermost part of the earth, He would gather them thence, and would cause the light of His countenance again to shine upon them. This promise had been given more than a thousand years before; but it stood unchanged through all the centuries. God’s word can not fail.

Nehemiah’s faith and courage strengthen as he grasps the promise. His mouth is filled with holy arguments. He points to the dishonor that would be cast upon God, were His people, now that they have returned to Him, to be left in their state of weakness and oppression.

Nehemiah had often poured out his soul thus before God in behalf of His people. Day and night had he offered this prayer. And as he prayed, a holy purpose had been forming in his mind, that if he could obtain the consent of the king, and the necessary aid in procuring implements and material, he would himself undertake the arduous task of rebuilding the ruined walls of Jerusalem, and seeking to restore the national strength. And now in closing his prayer he entreats the Lord to grant him favor in the sight of the king, that this cherished plan may be carried out.

His Persistence in Prayer

Four months he was compelled to wait for a favorable opportunity to present his request to the king. During this period, while his

heart was oppressed with grief he constantly endeavored to carry a cheerful and happy countenance. In his seasons of retirement, many were the prayers, the penitential confessions, and the tears of anguish, witnessed by God and angels; but all this was concealed from human sight. The regulations of Eastern courts forbade any manifestation of sorrow within them. All must appear gay and happy in those halls of luxury and splendor. The distress without was not to cast its shadow in the presence of royalty.

An Audience with the King at Last

But at last the sorrow that burdened Nehemiah’s heart could no longer be concealed. Sleepless nights devoted to earnest prayer, care-filled days, dark with the shadow of hope deferred, leave their trace upon his countenance. The keen eye of the monarch, jealous to guard his own safety, is accustomed to read countenances and to penetrate disguises. Seeing that some secret trouble is preying upon his servant, he suddenly inquires, “Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart.”

This question fills the listener with apprehension. Will not the king be angry to hear that while outwardly engaged in his service, the courtier’s thoughts have been far away with his afflicted people? Will not the offender’s life be forfeited? And his cherished plan for restoring the strength of Jerusalem—is it not about to be overthrown? “Then,” he says, “I was very sore afraid.” With trembling lips and tearful eyes he reveals the cause of his sorrow,— the city, which is the place of his father’s sepulcher, lying waste, and its gates consumed with fire. The touching recital awakens the sympathy of the monarch without arousing his idolatrous prejudices; another question gives the opportunity which Nehemiah has long sought: “For what dost thou make request?” But the man of God does not reply until he has first asked the support of One higher than Artaxerxes. “I prayed,” he says, “to the God of heaven.”

The Precious Lesson of Prayer

A precious lesson is this for all Christians. Whenever we are brought into positions of difficulty or danger, even when surrounded by those who love and fear not God, the heart may send up its cry for help, and there is One who has promised that He will come to our aid. This is the kind of prayer that Christ meant when He said, “Pray without ceasing.” We are not to make ejaculatory prayer a substitute for public or family worship, or for secret devotion; but it is a blessed resource, at our command under circumstances when other forms of prayer may be impossible. Toilers in the busy marts of trade, crowded and almost overwhelmed with financial perplexities, travelers by sea and land, when threatened by some great danger, can thus commit themselves to divine guidance and protection. And in every circumstance and condition of life, the soul weighed down with grief or care, or assailed by temptation, may thus find comfort, support, and succor in the unfailing love and power of a covenant-keeping God.