Prayer & Fasting Guide

An assembly of humble repentance

the children of Israel were assembled… After the wall was completed, after the wall was functioning, after the people had heard and obeyed God’s word, after the Holy Spirit had already done a significant work in the lives of people—now there is a scene of dramatic, humble repentance.

assembled with fasting… Fasting showed their lowly, humble state. They considered themselves so poor before God that they took no food. They also wanted to say, “we are so troubled by our sin that food seems unimportant.”

in sackcloth… This was wearing rough fabric, like a burlap bag. Again, this was to show their complete poverty of spirit before God. They also wanted to say, “we are so troubled by our sin that the normal comforts of life are unimportant.”

with dust on their heads… This meant they took little handfuls of dirt and cast them on their heads. This was also to show their lowly state before God, and to say, “we are so troubled by our sin that the normal comforts of life are unimportant.”

All of this reflects a humble attitude of heart—humble not only toward God, but also humble toward man. They did this publicly, and others would see them in this public state.

Would you ask God to humble your heart today?

Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners… Those who were of the pure line of Israel came to confess the sin of their nation; they confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

confessed their sins… This was important. They had to realize and admit that they had missed God’s mark.

The English word sin comes from the idea “to miss the mark.” In an archery tournament, if one did not hit the target in the right place, they would say they “sinned.” A sin might miss the target by an inch, or it might miss it by ten feet—but it was still a sin either way. We sin when we do what God has told us not to do (telling us either in his word, in our conscience, or through legitimate authority), or when we do not do what God has told us to do (telling us in word, conscience, or authority). Not all sin is the same, but all sin is sin.

and the iniquities of their fathers… This was also important because they had to admit that not only were they sinners, but that they came from sinful ancestors. This was especially important in Israel, where there was a tradition of glorifying their forefathers.

This does not mean there was some type of “generational curse” that had to be broken. God does not punish the children for their father’s sin, and it is evil to say he does (Ezekiel 18). We do recognize that those raised in an environment of sin may very well repeat those same sins, but not because they must—but because their environment made it an easy choice to make.

they stood and confessed… It should not seem strange that after such great victories, in both the physical restoration of the wall and the spiritual restoration of the people, there was such humble repentance. This shows that repentance isn’t something we finish after coming to Jesus. It is something that grows as we grow closer to Jesus.

“Repentance grows as faith grows. Do not make any mistake about it; repentance is not a thing of days and weeks, a temporary penance to be got over as fast as possible! No it is the grace of a lifetime, like faith itself. Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith.” (Spurgeon)

Would you confess your sin today?

Those Leading the Congregation

Then Jeshua, Bani… This mentions those Levites and leaders gathered to lead the people in their humble confession. It shouldn’t surprise us, or make us feel like failures, if we must be led into confession and repentance.

stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice… Obviously, all eight of these men did not pray the following prayer at the same time. Perhaps it was written out and they took turns, perhaps it was spontaneously prayed in succession, or perhaps (and according to tradition), Ezra prayed this prayer.

Nehemiah 9:4–38 is thought to be the longest prayer in the Bible—and yet it takes only six and one-half minutes to say. Prayer does not need to be long to be glorious and effective.

An Assembly to Hear God’s Word and to Worship Him

(9:3) And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.

they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law… The humble repentance and confession of sin would have been an incomplete work if it were not for hearing the word and worship. God does not show us our sin just so that we will humbly confess it, but so that we can walk on in what is right before him.

they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God… This brokenness of heart has led them to humbly come before God and hear his word. A sure first step of revival is this brokenness of heart.

Read Nehemiah 9:5b–6 — Praise to the God of all creation.

You have made heaven… After the encouragement to praise, Ezra gave a reason to praise—because this is the great God who made it all. Looking at the glory of God’s creation gives us a reason to praise him, to humble ourselves before him, and to trust him.

The host of heaven worships You… God wants us to praise him, to humble ourselves before him, and to trust him—but he gives us good reason to. We sometimes want our own reasons, but God gives us plenty of his own reasons.

Read Nehemiah 9:7–8 — Praise to the God who chose Abraham and made a covenant with him and his descendants.

You have performed Your words… This says to God, “LORD, You promised this land to Abraham and his descendants, and now here we are. Your promise is indeed true.”

Read Nehemiah 9:9–15 — Praise to the God who delivered Israel from Egypt and provided for them in the wilderness.

You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt… A second sure sign of revival (following brokenness of heart) is reflection on the goodness of God. When our pride is cast down, and our hearts humble before God, we can begin to see him for who he is—and when we see that, we see how good God is.

Read Nehemiah 9:16–17a — The response of man to God’s goodness.

but they and our fathers… This was a terrible response to the great and good works of God on behalf of Israel. God had been so good to Israel, but they and our fathers acted proudly. Our sin is bad enough, but to consider we sin against a God who has only treated us well is far, far, worse.

hardened their necks…refused to obey…were not mindful… This is a third sure sign of revival—recognition of our own sinfulness. When we humbly seek God, and see his goodness, we can’t help but to next notice our own sinfulness—the blackness of our sin stands out against the brightness of God’s purity and goodness.

Read Nehemiah 9:17b–21 — God’s gracious reply to rebellious Israel.

But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them… God’s gracious answer to the rebellion of Israel was glorious. Ready to pardon is especially wonderful, indicating that there is nothing keeping God from pardoning us except our refusal to come to him through Jesus. He is ready to pardon, if we are ready to receive it.

Even when they made a molded calf for themselves… This was God’s gracious response to Israel—even after they made the golden calf and worshiped it, he still did not forsake them. He still provided the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, he still guided them by his Spirit, he still fed them and gave them water. Together it all shows not how special Israel was, but how special God is.

You sustained them in the wilderness… We are often impressed at how patient God is with the sinner; how he somehow holds back his terrible judgment against those people who deserve it so badly. Yet it seems that his patience toward us is even greater; those who have received so much more from him, but still act like Israel did.

“God’s mercy with a sinner is only equaled and perhaps outmatched by his patience with the saints, with you and me.” (Redpath)

Read Nehemiah 9:22–31 — The cycle of Israel’s relationship with God.

So they ate and were filled and grew fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness… The cycle began with God showing his goodness to his people (You gave them kingdoms and nations) and with God’s people being blessed.

Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You… Then, in the time of comfort and abundance, God’s people turn from him.

Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies… Then, God brings correction—a “wake-up call” to his people.

And in the time of their trouble…they cried out to You, You heard from heaven…You gave them deliverers… As a result, God’s people then turn back to him.

But after they had rest, they again did evil before You… Then, blessed and satisfied, God’s people again turn from him, and the cycle continues.

Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful… As the cycle continues, the motions of each cycle get deeper and deeper—but God doesn’t change.

We sometimes feel as if God has become tired of us; that we can’t ask him to forgive us for something he has forgiven us for so many times before. But God never gets tired of us, and never turns away the repentant heart.

Read Nehemiah 9:32–37 — A plea to God for intervention.

The great, the mighty, and awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy… Because of who God is, and because of who they were (rebellious and wicked), they needed God to do the work of saving them from their enemies.

In Nehemiah’s day, Israel was not an independent nation—they were a province of the Persian Empire and were under heavy taxes and obligations. Therefore, they asked God to honor his covenant and to show his mercy, and to deliver them once again from this oppression.

You are just in all that has befallen us… This gives a good description of what real confession is all about. It recognizes that God is right, and we are wrong (but we have done wickedly). Confession is agreeing with God about both things.

“It is a tremendous moment in a Christian’s life when he can honestly look up into the face of God and say, ‘Yes, Lord, You are right and I am wrong,’ when he stops arguing with God, and drops his controversy. He says, ‘Lord, yes. I’ve got what I deserved in this situation. You are right; I am wrong.’ That is the thing for which God has been working in your life and mine from the very moment of our conversion.” (Redpath)

Reminder: Come to the Good Friday Service, 7pm @ North Metro Church

Read Nehemiah 9:38 — Conclusion: a point of decision.

We make a sure covenant… Israel needed to come to this place, where knowing who God is, and knowing who they are, they come and make a covenant with God—even writing it down—to commit themselves to his ways.

We make a sure covenant and write it… The fourth sure sign of revival—after brokenness of heart, after reflection on God’s goodness, after recognition of our sinfulness, is a renewal of our obedience. We come to a place of decision, so this work of God is not just a wonderful experience, but something that shapes our future.

God’s work in us often must come to a place of decision—where he wants us to make a stand for him, and against some other things. If you need to reach a point of decision, Alan Redpath gave these self-examination questions, to give an idea how: