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Intercession
Process—Nehemiah |
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In the book of Nehemiah, cupbearer to King
Artaxerxes in Shushan, we find a Biblical
example of the process of intercession: the
different stages involved in effecting God’s
will “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew
6:10). |
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Though the events of Nehemiah’s time occurred
long ago, we find striking similarities to these
last days in which we live, as we intercede for
the final rebuilding and restoration of
Jerusalem and Israel and for the completion of
God’s plans and purposes on earth. |
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Stage
1: |
Inquiring about the
situation |
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Nehemiah inquires about
his fellow Jews and Jerusalem. |
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Neh 1:2 |
...Hanani one of my brethren came with men
from Judah; and I asked them |
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concerning the Jews who had escaped,
who had survived the captivity, and
concerning Jerusalem. |
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Ps 122:6, 7 |
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May
they prosper who love you. |
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Peace be within your walls, prosperity within
your palaces.” |
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Stage
2: |
Learning
about the situation |
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Nehemiah learns about the
dire situation of
his
fellow Jews and Jerusalem. |
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Neh 1:3 |
And they said to me, “The survivors
who are left from the captivity in the |
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province are there in great distress and
reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is
also broken down, and its gates
are burned with fire.” |
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Stage
3: |
Interceding
concerning the situation |
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Nehemiah responds to the
report with serious intercession. |
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Neh 1:4 |
So it was, when I heard these words,
that I sat down and wept, and |
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mourned for many days; I was fasting and
praying before the God of heaven. |
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Stage
4: |
Confessing
sin and making supplication |
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Nehemiah confesses Israel’s sins and
makes supplication concerning God’s
promises, including aliyah. |
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Neh 1:5–11 |
And I said: “I pray, LORD God of
heaven, O great and awesome God, |
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You who keep Your covenant and mercy with
those who love You and observe Your
commandments, please let Your ear be attentive
and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer
of Your servant which I pray before You now, day
and night, for the children of Israel Your
servants, and confess the sins of the
children of Israel which we have sinned against
You. Both my father’s house and I have
sinned. We have acted very corruptly against
You, and have not kept the commandments, the
statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded
Your servant Moses. Remember, I pray, the word
that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying,
‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among
the nations; but if you return to Me, and
keep My commandments and do them, though some of
you were cast out to the farthest part of the
heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and
bring them to the place which I have chosen as a
dwelling for My name.’ Now these are Your
servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed
by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O
Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive
to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer
of Your servants who desire to fear Your name;
and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray,
and grant him mercy in the sight of this man
[King Artaxerxes].” |
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Stage
5: |
Getting
personally involved |
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Nehemiah demonstrates true
intercession by becoming personally
involved. |
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Neh 2:5 |
And I said to the king, “If it pleases
the king, and if your servant has |
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found favor in your sight, I ask that you
send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’
tombs, that I may rebuild it.” |
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Stage
6: |
Taking
action |
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Nehemiah’s involvement results in
action. |
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Neh 2:18 |
And I told them of the hand of my God
which had been good upon me, and |
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also
of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So
they said, “Let us rise up and build.”
Then they set their hands to this good work. |
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Stage
7: |
Facing enemy opposition |
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The enemy opposes God’s work. |
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Neh 4:1, 3 |
But it so happened, when Sanballat
heard that we were rebuilding the wall, |
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that he was furious and very
indignant, and mocked the Jews…Now
Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him,
and he said, “Whatever they build, if
even a fox goes up on it, he will break
down their stone wall.” |
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Stage
8: |
Persevering in prayer |
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Nehemiah ignores the enemy and
continues praying to God. |
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Neh 4:4, 5 |
Hear, O our God, for we are despised;
turn their reproach on their own heads, |
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and give them as plunder to a land of
captivity! Do not cover their iniquity,
and do not let their sin be blotted out
from before You; for they have provoked
You to anger before the builders. |
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Stage
9: |
Persevering in action |
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Nehemiah and the people continue
building, reaching the critical halfway
point in the midst of the enemy’s anger. |
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Neh 4:6, 7 |
So we built the wall, and the
entire wall was joined together
up to half its |
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height,for
the people had a mind to work. Now it
happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the
Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites
heard that the walls of Jerusalem were
being restored and the gaps were
beginning to be closed, that they
became very angry. |
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Stage
10: |
Fearing the enemy |
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Even Nehemiah’s own
people were influenced by the enemy. |
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Neh 4:12 |
So it was,
when the Jews who dwelt near them
came, that they told us ten ” |
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times,
“From whatever place you turn, they will
be upon us. |
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Stage
11: |
Proclaiming the truths of
God |
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Nehemiah
proclaims the power and faithfulness of
God. |
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Neh 4:14, 20 |
And I
looked, and arose and said to the
nobles, to the leaders, and to the |
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rest of the
people, “Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, great and awesome,
and fight for your brethren, your sons,
your daughters, your wives, and your
houses…Wherever you hear the sound of
the trumpet, rally to us there. Our
God will fight for us!” |
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Stage
12: |
Being vigilant |
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Nehemiah exhorts the
people to be vigilant and on guard. |
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Neh 4:22, 23 |
At the same time I also
said to the people, “Let each man and
his servant |
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stay at night in
Jerusalem, that they may be our
guard by night and a working party by
day.” So neither I, my brethren, my
servants, nor the men of the guard who
followed me took off our clothes, except
that everyone took them off for washing |
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Stage
13: |
Sanctifying
the camp |
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Nehemiah
rebukes the leadership—those in the
forefront of the work—to bring forth
sanctification before God and the enemy. |
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Neh 5:7, 9,12 |
After
serious thought, I rebuked the nobles
and rulers, and said to them, |
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“Each of you
is exacting usury from his brother.”
So I called a great assembly against
them…Then I said, “What you are doing
is not good. Should you not walk
in the fear of our God because of the
reproach of the nations, our enemies?”…So
they said, “We will restore it, and
will require nothing from them; we
will do as you say.” Then I called the
priests, and required an oath from them
that they would do according to this
promise. |
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Stage
14: |
Achieving victory |
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Nehemiah
brings the people forth to victory! |
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Neh 6: 1 |
...Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab,
and the rest of our enemies heard |
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that I had
rebuilt the wall, and that there
were no breaks left in it (though at
that time I had not hung the doors in
the gates). |
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Scriptures
taken from the NKJV |
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Elisabeth Abbenhuis |
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Designed & created by
Ebenezer − Operation Exodus Israel |
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