A Broken Spirit / Nehemiah 1:5-11
A Season of Launch and Growth
Welcome! Go ahead and grab a seat. We are so glad you’re here with us at The Well. This is a big week for us—this is launch week. Over the years, we’ve had launch Sundays, we’ve had March Madness where we did six services at one campus, we’ve launched multisites, and we’ve brought multisites back home. But this week is special.
This week marks the launch of both our midweek campus and our strategic partnership with Hume Lake. To the folks at Hume Lake joining us for the first time: welcome to The Well. We are glad you’re hanging out with us. We are also seeing the launch of our Fig Garden campus moving to a morning service, which is a exciting new step for us. What makes this most fun for me, honestly, is that we have the privilege of reaching more audiences and more crowds to proclaim the gospel and teach God’s Word.
If you’re new to The Well, you need to know we have a very strong bias: we are for God’s Word. We love the Bible. We try to spend time in it every week. Some weeks end up being an overview—a little more historical than exegetical—but hopefully, you find yourself deepening in the knowledge of the Word of God, not just in breadth, but in depth. If you don’t have a Bible, we’d love to get one into your hands. If you do have one, turn to Nehemiah chapter one.
The Second Prerequisite: A Broken Spirit
We’ve been cruising through Nehemiah relatively slowly, talking about this issue of “holy discontent.” It’s been so fun watching folks wrestle with this. Mike mentioned last week at the North Campus that he posted a question on Unifier, our online communication tool: “What is your holy discontent?” People have been swinging away online, posting their answers. It’s been incredible to see.
A holy discontent is more than just an idea or a vision God has laid on your heart. It’s more profound than that. It’s not just what could be, but what should be. It’s when an issue moves from being an option to becoming a moral imperative. It’s the sense that if you don’t contribute to the fixing or the movement of this issue, God will not give you rest.
Last week, we said the first prerequisite to a holy discontent is a “dislocated heart”—the idea that when God gets a hold of you, you reject comfort and preference as priorities and embrace a higher calling. The gospel supersedes your own opinions. It’s reminiscent of the words of Jesus when He spoke about the cost of discipleship.
Luke 14:26 (NASB)
’If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
The word “hate” there isn’t about despising people; it’s about preference. Unless Christ is the number one priority in your life, you aren’t truly a disciple. Holy discontent moves us from apathy to saying, “God, You are my priority.”
But there is a second prerequisite, and that’s what we’re covering today: a broken spirit. In Nehemiah 1:1-4, Nehemiah heard the report of the destruction in Jerusalem. He heard the people were in disgrace, the city was vulnerable, and the walls were broken. His response was to sit down, weep, mourn, fast, and pray.
You can tell a lot about someone by their prayer life. One of my heroes at seminary was Professor Howard Hendricks. We just called him “Professor.” He would often say, “If you see a person who prays much in public, that’s probably someone who’s making up for lost time, having prayed far too little in private.” When someone gets into a prayer meeting and starts “scraping the Milky Way,” confessing all their known theology, they might be trying to make up for what they don’t have alone with God.
If we evaluated your life based on your prayer life, what would we find? I know, it’s convicting. Lock the doors; don’t let anybody leave! Very few people feel exceedingly comfortable with their prayer life, yet we learn so much from how Nehemiah prays here in verses five through eleven.
Nehemiah 1:5-11 (NASB)
I said, ’I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. ’We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. ’Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but [if] you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ ’They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. ‘O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.’ Now I was the cupbearer to the king.
A Proper View of Self: Rejecting Pride
Nehemiah’s prayer demonstrates a very accurate view of self, and it starts with continued practice. In verse four, he didn’t just pray once and walk away. He continued to pray. His life was about prayer. In fact, by the time we get to chapter two, we realize he’s been praying about this for four months.
Verse six says he prays “day and night.” Now, he still kept his job. He didn’t quit, move into a closet, and wait for ravens to feed him. This is hyperbolic language meaning his life, in both waking and sleeping, was focused on God. It’s the idea of “praying without ceasing.” It means “God-warding” your thoughts as often as possible.
This practice creates a proper view of yourself because it puts you in check. Nehemiah isn’t praying to himself; he’s praying to the Lord God of Heaven. This act rejects pride. When you pray, it flies in the face of any pride creeping up in you.
James 4:6 (NASB)
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore [it] says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.’
God is opposed to the proud—those who think they can do life without Him. Peter puts it this way: humble yourself under God’s hand, and He will exalt you at the proper time.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NASB)
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Humility is never easy, especially in a culture like ours that says to go hard, get ahead, climb the ladder, and fight. But God’s economy is upside down. A prayerless life is a prideful life because the assumption is that you can do what you need on your own. That goes okay until a crisis comes. When someone reaches the end of their rope and their own initiative fails, even an atheist starts to pray. Nehemiah shows us that prayer is about bowing the heart, relinquishing the will, and resting in the hands of a loving God.
The Practice of Honest Confession
Prayer also develops a proper view of self through the confession of sins. It doesn’t take long to read the Bible and realize we have major moral issues between us and God. You might be fine compared to the person sitting next to you, but compared to a holy God? We have a problem.
In verses six and seven, Nehemiah confesses. He identifies so closely with the people that he uses “we” statements. It’s easy to pray “them” statements: “God, pray for them, because they are a mess.” Not Nehemiah. He doesn’t look at the injustice and ask, “If God is good, why did He allow this?” Nehemiah knows who the culprit is. He knows the people are in shame not because of God, but because of their own decisions. They pursued life without God and got exactly what they asked for.
He doesn’t blame the Persians, the circumstances, or God. He says, “We have sinned.”
Nehemiah 1:6 (NASB)
let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.
This confession is communal. In Western Christianity, we often live as strangers in crowded places. But the Hebrew mind was communal. It was about seeking the Shalom of the city together. They raised kids, traveled, celebrated, and sabbathed together. Our culture isolates us with private rooms, private cars, and private lives. But you are not an individual; you are part of a body. In the book of Acts, we see this “one-anotherness.”
Proverbs 28:13 (NASB)
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes [them] will find compassion.
When I first came to faith, I hadn’t walked with God for a long time. The first verse I memorized was 1 Corinthians 10:13, because I thought my temptations were unique.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB)
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
To hear that I wasn’t alone was powerful. The second verse I memorized was even better: First John 1:9.
1 John 1:9 (NASB)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That is what Nehemiah does. He does the holiest thing he can do: he is honest with God about who he isn’t. We spend so much time putting on a Christian facade while keeping a closet full of sins. But when you confess—when you say, “God, I snapped at my wife,” or “God, I’m looking at things I shouldn’t”—God takes that weight and lifts it off you.
A Proper View of God: The Covenant Keeper
Nehemiah’s prayer also reveals a right view of God. In verse five, he calls Him the “Lord God of heaven.” The Persians had a god of heaven (Ahura Mazda), but Nehemiah uses the formal name, Yahweh. He’s saying, “I’m talking about the real Guy.”
He calls God “great and awesome.” In the original language, “awesome” means terrifying. God is wonderfully terrifying. He is not “safe.” He is “wholly other.” When Isaiah saw God, he didn’t say, “It’s good to be here”; he said, “Woe is me, I am a dead man!” When Peter realized who Jesus was on the boat, he said, “Lord, get away from me, for I am a sinful man.”
Nehemiah knows God is not his “homeboy” or his “chummy buddy.” He is the exalted Creator. Prayer begins with hallowing His name. It’s like a tuning fork. You don’t tune life to yourself; you tune it to Him.
Nehemiah also knows God is a covenant-keeper. He knows God’s chesed—His loving-kindness or unfailing covenantal hope. This is the basis of Nehemiah’s hope. It’s the same hope David had in the Psalms when he was being crushed by his enemies.
Psalms 13:5 (NASB)
But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
David says, “I have trusted in your steadfast love.” He knows that regardless of how he feels or what the circumstances look like, God’s love is unfailing. Nehemiah’s hope isn’t based on a feeling; it’s based on the God of the Bible.
Praying for Opportunity, Not Just Miracles
Finally, Nehemiah was a biblically measured man. In verse eight, he says, “Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses.” He reminds God of His own Word! If you’re going to quote an authority, you might as well quote God.
He quotes the “if-then” covenant from Deuteronomy and Leviticus: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you… but if you return, I will gather you.” He calls God to His Word.
But notice verse eleven. Nehemiah prays for an opportunity, not just a miracle. This is a crucial distinction. He doesn’t just say, “God, this is awful, You should do something.” He says, “God, if You grant me the opportunity, I will do something.”
That is the difference between a vision and a holy discontent. A holy discontent says, “Here I am, Lord, send me.” He prays for success “in the sight of this man” (the king). He had likely been praying this every day for four months. Sometimes God makes us wait, and the waiting is excruciating. But in the waiting, God clarifies the discontent. He “slow-cooks” your passions until you are absolutely compelled to act.
A Pattern for Your Prayer Life
Nehemiah’s broken spirit shows us a pattern. It starts with Adoration: give yourself a right view of God. Acknowledge His holiness. Then move to Confession: be honest about your sin. If you don’t know what your sins are, ask your spouse—they know! Finally, move to Petition: lay out your requests.
If you find your prayers are too focused on yourself, start praying for the health of the global church. Pray for the progress of the gospel. Pray for the kingdom to be established in our city. My wife keeps every Christmas card we receive and our kids pray for those families every night. It’s a great exercise to get outside of yourself.
Can you imagine what would happen if God began to break your heart like He broke Nehemiah’s? It starts with a holy discontent—a moral imperative. It requires a dislocated heart that rejects comfort, and a broken spirit that seeks God in prayer.
If people defined your faith right now by how you prayed, what words would they use? The good news is that there is hope, because God isn’t going anywhere. You can go home today and do exactly what Nehemiah did: Adore Christ, confess your sins, and lay out your requests.
Let’s pray together.
Father in heaven, we are grateful for the picture of a man who paved the way for us, whose holy discontent was captured on these pages so we could learn. We see You doing tremendous things in Your kingdom, and we are pleased to be a part of it. For this season, right here and right now, You’ve given us the privilege to partner with You.
Father, we pray that we would be like Nehemiah. Help us to have a right view of You, a proper view of ourselves, and the courage to confess our sins. We pray that as we lay out our requests, Your peace would guard our hearts. We ask for the unthinkable because we know that if You are for us, no one can be against us. Light our holy discontent aflame. In Christ’s name, Amen.