Nehemiah 2:1-5: a reflection

When the king suddenly asks Nehemiah what he wants, in a moment that could decide everything, Nehemiah pauses for a split-second prayer to God before he answers. The king said to me, what is your request? So I prayed to the God of heaven, Nehemiah recounts; and then he made his request to the king. In that crucial moment, with no time for a long prayer, Nehemiah turned instantly to God in a brief, silent prayer before speaking, committing the moment and his words to God even as he answered the king. This shows the practice of turning to God in a quick, in-the-moment prayer, even in the midst of a decisive moment. Turn to God in a quick prayer, even in the moment of decision. Nehemiah prayed instantly to God before he answered the king. A brief, in-the-moment prayer commits the moment to God. Even in a split second, we can turn to God in prayer.

Notice how naturally and instantly Nehemiah turned to God in prayer. The king's question came suddenly, and much depended on Nehemiah's answer; there was no time to withdraw for a long season of prayer. But in that very moment, before he spoke, Nehemiah prayed, a brief, silent, instant prayer to the God of heaven, committing the moment and his words to God even as he answered the king. This reveals a habit of prayer woven into the fabric of his life, so that even in a split-second, decisive moment, his instinct was to turn to God. This is a practice we do well to learn. We often face moments that come suddenly, decisions to make, words to speak, situations that arise without warning, when there is no time to withdraw and pray at length. In such moments, we can do what Nehemiah did: turn to God instantly, in a brief, silent, in-the-moment prayer, committing the moment and our words and actions to him even as we act. Prayer need not always be long or set apart; it can be a quick, instant turning to God in the midst of the moment. We do well to weave such in-the-moment prayer into our lives, turning to God instantly even in decisive moments. Turn to God in quick, in-the-moment prayers, not only long ones. Even in a split second, commit the moment to God in prayer. Weave instant prayer into the fabric of your life. In sudden, decisive moments, turn instantly to God.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can turn to God in a quick, in-the-moment prayer, even in the midst of a sudden, decisive moment, as Nehemiah prayed instantly before answering the king. We can think prayer must always be long or set apart, and neglect God in the sudden, pressing moments when there is no time to withdraw; but Nehemiah, in a crucial moment, turned instantly to God in a brief prayer before speaking. Prayer can be quick and in-the-moment. When a sudden, decisive moment comes, do not neglect God; turn to him instantly, in a brief prayer, committing the moment to him. Turn to God in a quick, in-the-moment prayer even in the midst of sudden, decisive moments, committing the moment and your words to him even as you act, as Nehemiah, when the king suddenly asked what he wanted in a moment that could decide everything, prayed instantly to the God of heaven before he answered; for the king's question came suddenly and much depended on his answer, with no time to withdraw for a long season of prayer, but in that very moment, before he spoke, Nehemiah turned to God in a brief, silent, instant prayer, committing the moment and his words to God even as he answered, which reveals a habit of prayer woven into the fabric of his life, so that even in a split-second decisive moment his instinct was to turn to God, and this is a practice we do well to learn, since we often face sudden moments, decisions, words to speak, and situations without warning, when there is no time to withdraw and pray at length, but in such moments we can do what Nehemiah did and turn to God instantly in a brief, in-the-moment prayer, since prayer need not always be long or set apart but can be a quick turning to God in the midst of the moment, so that we do well to weave such instant prayer into our lives.