Before the Foxhole Prayers
“The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 - and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:4, 5).
Nehemiah heard that though Jews had returned to their land from captivity, the wall of Jerusalem was in ruins. No wall no safe place to worship the one true God. Nehemiah wept. But as the King’s cup-bearer sadness displayed before the king was forbidden. Nehemiah was “deathly afraid” when the king asked him, “Why the long face?” But Nehemiah boldly replied honestly. To Nehemiah’s amazement the king asked him, “How can I help you?”
A split second pause took place. In that split second Nehemiah tells us, “Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and answered the king…” (Nehemiah 2:4, 5). Nehemiah then asked for the moon! The cup-bearer requested months of absence, official letters of safe conduct, and supplies for rebuilding. Quite an audacious mouthful for a Jewish slave. The king granted his requests!
Faith filled fox-hole prayers work, my friend. Do you pray them in a flash when you’re suddenly taking fire? Fox-hole prayers are also part of what James meant when he said, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b). In the pressure cooker pray your desperate prayer. And, oh yeah, ask for the moon. After all, in the words of John Newton, “Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring, for his grace and power are such none can ever ask too much.”
But here’s to “Before the Foxhole Prayers” as well. I want to suggest to you that the presence of God was so vivid to Nehemiah that perhaps prayer was going on in his head most of the time. Crisis prayers come more natural when they flow out of a habit of talking to God regularly. Long before Nehemiah offered his fox hole prayer “For some days he mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). Are you finding a patterned time to petition and praise our Gracious God in prayer? Be about “Before the Foxhole Prayers” and you watch the foxhole prayers more instinctively flow from your heart.
“Then I prayed to the God of heaven, …” (Nehemiah 2:4). If this foxhole prayer could come first how often would our conversations be different? “Then I prayed to the God of heaven,” and said to my boss? “Then I prayed to the God of heaven,” and said to my spouse.” See how often you can use this foxhole prayer in life and let it flow out of “Before the Foxhole Prayers.”
