Nehemiah: Bold in Prayer

Bold Prayer
Sometimes we are afraid to pray bold prayers. Maybe we've been disappointed. Perhaps we are not confident we can succeed in the en-devour the Lord has put before us. We cannot do it on our own. This week as we've studied Nehemiah we've seen God place a burden upon his heart, we've seen him pray day and night and fast before the Lord, We've seen him humble himself before the Lord and admit his sin, the sin of his family and the sin of his nation. He positioned himself for favor. Nehemiah's boldness involved a prayer to bring favor before the king of Persia. He was the kings cup-bearer.

Nehemiah 1:10-11

¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cup-bearer to the king.

Influence
Nehemiah was in an influential position. His job was to keep the king safe from poisoning by tasting the food first. Cup-bearers also became confidants and advisers to the king...no doubt due to the access they had and their willingness to risk their lives. However, that didn't mean that the kings heart would honor God and Nehemiah's heart's desire to help his country. Thus the bold prayer in the natural was a risk. Nehemiah bold prayer may be called presumption by some...but to me it spells faith.