The Prayer in the Pause
Nehemiah 2:4-5; Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything.” If ever there were words that fit the phrase easier said than done, these might be it.
My daughter has anxiety, and I often pray with her when she is overwhelmed. One day she said to me, “You have anxiety too.” As you would guess, I immediately responded, “What? No, I don’t!”
Then I had to do a little self-examining, and of course, she was right. I may not have called it anxiety, but I certainly worry about things. Thankfully, God knows His creation, and He gives us all the answers we need right in His Word. Philippians tells us that instead of holding onto our worries, we can bring everything to Him in prayer. And when we do, He promises us His peace.
Again, easier said than done—but what a gift that God asks us to bring our worries, fears, and uncertainties to Him. Unfortunately, our first reaction to these stressors isn’t always to take them to God. Maybe some of us eat (I’m guilty), maybe some of us shop (I’m guilty), or maybe some of us wring our hands with worry (I’m guilty). Nehemiah gives us a beautiful example of a different response—he takes it to God first.
As we have been looking at Nehemiah, we see that as soon as he received the devastating news about the condition of Jerusalem and his people, he sat down, wept, fasted, and went to God in prayer.
I love what happens in today’s passage. When the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted, Scripture says, “So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king…”
It would have been easy for Nehemiah to rush ahead. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for! The king had opened the door for Nehemiah to make his request. Yet even then, before Nehemiah answered, he paused to pray.
It may have only been a moment. Maybe his prayer was as simple as, God, help me. Give me the right words. But before Nehemiah answered, he turned to God.
Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, listening to someone speak while at the same time praying that God would give you the right response? I imagine that is what Nehemiah was doing.
And the same God Nehemiah cried out to is the same God we cry out to today.
Philippians 4 tells us that we can bring everything to God—our worries, our questions, our fears, everything—and He will give us peace.
Have you ever experienced that “peace that passes understanding”? I have clearly experienced it once in my life, and there is nothing like it.
My third son was born at only 26 weeks gestation, and his prognosis was grim. As I prayed for his life, God gave me a peace I could not explain. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to be okay. There was nothing about our circumstances at that moment that should have given me that confidence. It truly was a peace that passed understanding.
That son is about to turn 33 years old, and he was—and is—just fine.
God is good. He knows the little things and the big things that make us anxious. He knows the worries we carry. He also knows how quickly we can rush ahead, trying to figure things out or fix things on our own. Nehemiah’s example was to pause and pray to God before we move—even if that pause is only long enough to whisper, God, help me.
Sometimes God may change our circumstances. Sometimes He may change our plans. And sometimes He simply gives us the peace to trust Him while we wait.
Question to Consider
When you feel anxious, uncertain, or eager to move forward, what might change if you paused and brought it to God first?
Prayer Prompt
Ask God to reveal what is causing you worry and bring it before Him. Then ask Him to give you peace.
