"And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me." (Nehemiah 2:7-8, ESV)
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Nehemiah did not stop at requesting a leave of absence. He pressed for more concessions: letters granting him what he needed to complete the job. First, he would need safe passage from Susa to Jerusalem, a trek of nearly 1000 miles through the desert. An edict from the emperor would keep him from being apprehended by provincial governors who wondered what a Jew was doing travelling in small caravan. In fact, they might even have served as a sort of police escort to Nehemiah, protecting him from bandits who raided such caravans. Second, he would need the physical material to complete the construction of the gates, the wall, and even a house for himself.
Were these requests a spur of the moment decision on Nehemiah's part? I don't think so. Notice the detail of the requests. Nehemiah knew that it would require official sanction for him to pass freely through the provinces that lay between Susa and Jerusalem. He was aware of the dangers that existed along the route and knew what would be required to avoid them. He knew the name of the man who was the keeper of the king's forest. He knew that he would need material to construct gates and wall. He foresaw the need for a dwelling for himself. Verse 6 tells us that he set a specific time frame to complete the expedition. If Nehemiah had not been prepared for this encounter with Artaxerxes, chances are he would not have been prepared to make these kinds of requests. Which of us would not have rushed into the opportunity only to think later about what we should have asked?
It seems to me that Nehemiah had given a lot of thought to what he would need if he should have the opportunity to do something about Jerusalem. When, then, did he take the time to investigate and plan what was needed? It must have been during those four months of fasting and prayer. Here, then, is another lesson that we can learn from Nehemiah.
Nehemiah dared to dream. There were plenty of reasons for him to doubt his ability to do anything about Jerusalem. After all, he was a cupbearer, not an architect or engineer. But Nehemiah had a promise from God and he allowed himself to think about the possibilities. He prayed, he investigated, he planned, and he dared to believe that God could use him to accomplish something great.
This needs to be our attitude, too. God has given us some "precious and very great promises" (2 Peter 1:4), promises that appear to be outlandish and impossible. Too often, we limit the possibilities because we think that God will not use someone as insignificant as we are to accomplish such great things. We are afraid to take God at his word, so we qualify our prayers with the phrase "if it be your will." Of course, our requests should be according to God's will, but we ought not use that as a copout because we are scared that God will not give us what we ask.
Consider some of the promises that God has given us about prayer. Jesus said, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7) and "In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you" (John 16:23). Think about what Paul said in Ephesians 3:20-21: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
If you have a promise from God, you are given liberty to be creative about what you ask from God, as long as the requests are in agreement with the promise. You can dare to dream. There is nothing that you can ask, nothing that you can imagine, that is beyond God's ability to accomplish. No, God's ability to do is for more abundant than your ability to dream. Learn from Nehemiah. Refuse to allow your experience to be the measure of your expectation. Dream big, pray big, and plan big. Or as William Carey once wrote, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."
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