A Big Dream

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 2:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "The king said to me, 'What is it you want?' Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, 'If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.' ... And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my request." Nehemiah 2:4&8

“Jerusalem is a mess,” Hanani said. “Its walls are broken down and the gates are just charred rubbish.”

Nehemiah was shocked and sad to hear this news from his brother Hanani. Though Nehemiah had lived in Persia all his life, his heart was with his people in Jerusalem. He wished there was something he could do.

He thought of going to Jerusalem and getting to work on that wall. But that could never happen because King Artaxerxes had said that Jerusalem should not be rebuilt. And Artaxerxes was his boss. He would never let him leave his job for such a reason.

Yet over the next four months, Nehemiah couldn’t forget his dream of returning to Jerusalem. Every day he imagined working on that Jerusalem wall. He talked to God about it and often fasted when he prayed.

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Tags: promises prayer Nehemiah memory verse Judah God’s help