(Continued from yesterday)

Nehemiah spoke first. “Daniel looked at those warnings and promises from Moses and Solomon. He read Jeremiah’s comment about a seventy-year exile and looked at the calendar. He did the math from his own trip into exile in 604 and realized that the seventy years could be completed in four or five years. He wanted to be sure that our people could go home as soon as possible. So Daniel was intent on letting God know that he, Daniel, knew how serious the sin had been. It was a very powerful time of confession. You know that feeling.”

I nodded.

“It’s important to understand, too, that Daniel had watched the sins of the kings and princes and ancestors. Daniel had been in Jerusalem; he had seen how awful the disobedience was. Daniel was praying as an old man who had spent a lifetime understanding the consequences of sinning against God.”

I nodded. “I love Daniel’s closing: ‘We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.’”Daniel 9:18.

Nehemiah smiled. “And that’s what gave me such hope one hundred years later. God’s mercy had ended the exile. God’s mercy had allowed people to rebuild the temple.”

I interrupted. “But there was still the promise that Moses made, the other half of his message.”

“Exactly,” Nehemiah said. “That’s my focus. Moses said that if we turned back to God, he would bring us back from the distant nations. What could be more distant than Susa? So I was reminding God that I was praying and we were praying and it was time to go home.”

I leaned forward. “That’s what you meant by looking at the same story from two places. Moses and Solomon looked at the future and gave warnings and promises. Jeremiah wrote from the middle of the story and reminded the people that God was working out a plan. Daniel looked at the warnings and was convicted. You looked at the promises and were hopeful.”

Nehemiah nodded. “But all of us were looking at God. His words were the same for all of us. Our situations highlighted them differently and gave them greater dimension.” He set his mug down. “So are you still worried about whether the words of my prayer were original? Or is it enough that I was faithful to a long thread of consistent conversation with God?”

I looked down. “Faithful is good.”  I looked up. He was gone.

So I tried it myself.

Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. Nehemiah 1:5-6.

“And me,” I said. “Please listen to me.”

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Reflecting on Nehemiah 1. Taken from A Great Work: A Conversation with Nehemiah for People (Who Want to Be) Doing Great Works.