Nehemiah's Prayer for Restoration

Nehemiah was greatly distressed by the perilous condition of the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem. In his distress he went into a time of desperate and prolonged intercession. In his prayer he begins by extolling God's greatness, faithfulness, and attentiveness to his people's prayers. He confesses the sins of his people, including himself among the grossly guilty ones. Then he reminds God of not only the way he delivered his people in the past from Egyptian slavery but how he had promised to restore his exiled people to their land if they turned back to him. When the Persian King Artaxerxes gave him the opportunity to tell why he was so sad, Nehemiah quickly prayed, answered the king, and saw God profusely answer his prayers. From this incident we learn valuable lessons in how to properly relate to God and how to pray to him.