Never Forget

Have you ever been so grateful for someone that you can't find enough words in our language to express it? I've often thought with tears about the things I would say to my mother now. Things I never made the effort to say. The more I reminisce, the more I'm reminded of her goodness - and the more I regret not telling her so.

Nehemiah had been Cupbearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes, and now had been Governor of Judah for twelve years. Overwhelmed with gratitude to God for bringing His people back from captivity, he poured his heart out in prayer. 

God allowed them to rebuild their beloved city of Jerusalem, which had been utterly destroyed by the Babylonians seventy years prior. In an amazing 52 days, they had completely rebuilt the city wall. Nehemiah gathered all of the people and for three hours they read about the sins of their fathers and for three more hours, confessed that they had partaken of similar deeds "crying with a loud voice to the Lord their God" (Neh 9:4). Then, they turned their hearts to worship. Nehemiah led the prayer by magnifying the Lord and recounting His faithfulness to them. 

Among God's attributes mentioned in that prayer, His actions were recounted: 

You give...
You are...
You found...
You have....
You saw...
You performed...
You knew...
You divided...
You led...
You came...
You gave...
You delivered...
You made...
You provided...
You brought...
You told...
You subdued...
You rescued...
You admonished...

Several of these are repeated throughout the prayer. In this tremendous outpouring, Nehemiah added "but You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness; and You did not forsake them." 

Whenever you begin to pray and don't know what to say - stop and read chapter 9 of Nehemiah. Soon, you too will be overwhelmed by God's faithfulness in your life and the words will follow. Remembering all that He has done for you will renew your mind, lift your heart to worship, and is a sure cure for sadness.

Comments

  1. John M PadillaJuly 29, 2023 at 1:26 PM

    My dad spent 8 days in a VA hospice. On day one, when I went to visit him, chess board in tow, we sat across from each other. His first words to me on that day were, “Right here, right now, and for how many day I have remaining, we leave nothing left unsaid!”

    That day and the following 7 days were filled with conversations of what we held against each other, the things about each other we were grateful for, the disappointments we held onto, the praises we had for each other.

    A lot of laughter, a lot of tears, a lot of chess.

    In the end, after my dad passed away, I was left with the lightest of burdens, a clean slate. Peace with regard to our relationship. We were given the gift of forgiveness and forgiving. Having nothing left unsaid served a the key to a cell door. I treasure the gift my dad gave me when he demanded that there be nothing left unsaid between us. I pray, as he breathed his last, that he felt the same freedom.

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