“What are you requesting?” his boss asked. Heart-pounding, he chose his next words carefully. This is it, he thought. His job, his future, and the futures of those he cared most about were all riding on this response. I might not get another opportunity like this. In fact, I know I won’t if this doesn’t go well. Suddenly thrust into such a stressful situation, how could he make sure he got this right?
“So I prayed to the God of heaven” (Neh. 2:4). Nehemiah was a Jewish exile serving as the cupbearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes over 400 years before the birth of Jesus. His service – and by extension, his life – was entirely dependent on pleasing the king, but it also afforded him the unique opportunity to earn trust and influence. He was going to need those if he had any hope of changing a deeply troubling situation.
It could not have been a long prayer, perhaps just the time needed to take a deep breath. That was enough. Nehemiah had already spent a lot of time in fasting and prayer – ever since he had learned a few months earlier of the sorry state of Jerusalem and the desperate situation of the Jews who had returned there. He had prayed then, “O Lord, let your ear be attentive…and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man” (Neh. 1:11).
Nehemiah was already in-tune with God’s will, longing to help accomplish it. With that final short prayer made, Nehemiah asked the king for permission to go to Jerusalem and for the supplies needed to rebuild it. It was a big ask. There were so many ways it could go wrong. “And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me” (Neh. 2:8).
Do we pray at work, in the hours leading up to a big presentation or in preparation for a performance evaluation? Do we treat our professional lives as separate from our spirituality, viewing their concerns as beneath God’s attention and failing to recognize their role in doing His will? Do we think of prayer only as something conspicuous and inappropriate for a professional setting, instead of doable on a moment’s notice without anyone but God knowing?
You should pray at work. As Nehemiah lived completely devoted to God’s will, it made a huge difference for him. Don’t you wonder what it could do for you?
Ready to work with God everyday? Check out our sermon series “Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Glorifying God from 9 to 5”!