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Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 1:1-11 (day four)

One of the best ways to know that your prayers line up with the Lord’s will is to pray Scripture. That’s what Nehemiah is doing here – he is remembering the covenant God made with Moses, and believing in faith that what God had said long ago still holds true for him and his people. Nehemiah remembered that God made a promise for scattered people: if they return to the Lord, he will gather them up again into his presence.

But what does it mean to “return to the Lord”? We often convince ourselves that returning to the Lord means a long, hard journey, or that it would be like returning to a disappointed parent, ready to scold us. When this is what we imagine lying ahead of us, it feels too daunting to take a step towards the Lord. But Scripture paints a different picture. Returning to the Lord means doing just as Nehemiah did here – bowing before him in prayer, and standing on his promises. It only takes a moment to return, and in that moment, you won’t be greeted by a disappointed parent, but a good Father rejoicing over his child.