Nehemiah 1:8
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
Nehemiah prayed this in the Persian court while grieving over Jerusalem lying in ruins, during a four-month wait for an opportunity to speak to the king that was filled with private prayers, penitential confessions, and tears of anguish concealed from those around him. He pleaded, remember, the covenant word commanded to Moses that if Israel transgressed and disobeyed, God would scatter them abroad among the nations. That scattering, with powerlessness, confusion, and control by heathen nations, came because the people turned from God, corrupted their ways, and refused to serve Him with singleness of purpose. Those sins separated them from God, so He permitted the captivity for that cause and would not serve with their sins, and the scattering fulfilled the warning.
His confession of his people's sins acknowledged that warning as relevant to their condition, and the true condition of the people is stated in Nehemiah 1. That fulfilled judgment assured him that God would also keep His promise to gather His people even from the farthest places and bring them to the place He chose for His name if they turned to Him in penitence and faith and kept and obeyed His commandments. The promise remains unchanged through the centuries because God's word cannot fail. God did not work through those who corrupted their ways but heard Nehemiah's prayer for help and worked through him as a man registered in heaven who honored God, was true to principle, put down false principles, and restored heaven-born principles. He stood humbled before God and giving Him the glory due to His name, as Daniel also did in Babylon.
The prayer teaches humility before God without erasing the line of separation between God's commandment-keeping people and those who have no respect for His law. God heard and answered the prayer and the many prayers ascending for needed help by moving upon heathen kings to come to Nehemiah's help and carry out His purpose, even while enemies worked zealously against him. His weeping and praying over the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls shows that prayer in faith does not finish duty, but petitions must be united with holy endeavor, earnest prayerful effort for the success of the enterprise, wise forethought and resolute action, diligent and provident care, prudence and painstaking effort, careful consideration and well-matured plans. Such forethought and effort are as essential to carrying forward sacred enterprises today as then, since treating prudence and effort as having little to do with religion brings difficulties and hinders the working of Providence.
Those who advocate the cause of religious liberty, including those whose zeal and conscientiousness about paying taxes on institutional property is not wise or correct, are to read this prayer with humble hearts touched by the Holy Spirit, so false ideas are modified, correct principles are seen, and the present order of things is changed.