Nehemiah 6:9
For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
Their enemies tried to stop the rebuilding of the wall by threats, false charges and scheming meant to frighten the builders, weaken their hands and break their resolve so the work would cease. Nehemiah saw through the plot, answered the charges, refused to abandon his post, and would not let fear draw him from duty or into wrongdoing, but pressed the work forward. In that crisis he turned to God as the source of strength and asked Him to strengthen his hands to go on with the work. The same prayer belongs to all who labor for God when opposition seeks to weaken and discourage them, that they may receive strength to continue with courage and advance the cause of truth. It also forbids discouraging fellow workers and weakening their purpose to do what God requires, since envy, accusation and misrepresentation wound others and hinder good work.
The Plot and Prayer
Sanballat, Tobiah and the other opponents set themselves to frighten the builders with false accusations, threats and schemes, aiming to weaken their hands and their resolve so that the wall would not be completed and the work would stop. Their words and actions were calculated intimidation, meant to discourage, distress and hinder the workers until effort failed and the building ceased. The plan was not merely to alarm but to frustrate the work itself, to keep it from being done by breaking the courage to continue.
Nehemiah saw through the threats as a deliberate scheme to frustrate the work, and he met the false charges with a direct answer instead of yielding to them. He refused to leave his post, refused to let fear turn him from his work, and refused to be led by fear into sin, keeping the work moving forward despite every effort to stop it. Steadfastness at duty, not retreat or compromise, was his response to intimidation.
He answered above all with prayer to God as the source of strength, asking, O God, strengthen my hands, that he might continue the work. When opponents used threats and discouragement to weaken the workers and stop the work, his recourse was to seek divine strengthening to go on with courage. The prayer was brief and practical, for power in the hands to hold to the task.
Their hostility and treachery stand in sharp contrast to his devotion and self-sacrifice. The two courses remain as examples from which people may choose how to act, whether to hinder God's work by opposition or to serve it with unselfish fidelity.
Strength for God's Workers
The prayer is for all who do God's work when opponents use threats and discouragement to weaken them and stop the work, to ask God to strengthen their hands to continue. It applies to advancing the cause of truth despite opposition and discouragement. It applies to carrying on God's work with courage despite opposition, especially when schemes are used to keep spiritual light from people.
Weakened hands means being discouraged, distressed, hindered and weakened in work by an adversary's words and actions, and God can be asked to strengthen such hands. That weakening includes betrayal and vexation hindering a person in carrying out the work. It stands against conduct that tears down fellow workers instead of building them up, warning against discouraging them and weakening their resolve to do what God desires. Envy, accusations, rumors and misrepresentation can wound a brother or sister and make good work imperfect.
Its language describes Fannie's vexing influence, which weakened and distressed the speaker as she tried to bring out work she believed people needed.