Nehemiah's Unfiltered Prayer

My devotional reading was in Nehemiah this morning. I've been rereading the major stories in the Bible chronologically through a Bible Gateway plan: I've also been using the Message version, which although not my favorite, is definitely an interesting take.

There is something within all of us that really just wants to be candid with God when we pray. However, there is another more "churchy and refined" part that acts as a filter when we begin to pray, sanitizing thoughts such as "Lord, do them in!!!" into "Lord, please let them see the error of their ways." Hey, and some of you may even have the KJV filter on top of that that turns it into "Lord, Blessest thou mine enemies with Thine revelation of their transgressions."

Well, I think Nehemiah may have let one of the unfiltered ones out. In chapter 4:5-6, he prays to God because of the persecution of Sanballat and others who continually try to discourage and sabotage his plans of rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah prayed, "Oh listen to us, dear God. We're so despised: Boomerang their ridicule on their heads; have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return; don't forgive their iniquity, don't wipe away their sin—they've insulted the builders!"

Wow. And although the Message makes it more direct or colloquial than it may actually have been, other translations still have the same content. Sanballat sounded like a real jerk. When you read through the context of the passage, you'll be rooting against Sanballat as well! Because of him, the workers had to arm themselves. Because of him, Nehemiah was almost tricked into a sham meeting where his life would have been on the line. Sanballat was a conspiring gossiper. He was paranoid that his influence would be threatened. I can understand Nehemiah's "mean" prayer. It was justified. After all, one could argue that i was well before Jesus came along and said "Love Your Enemies."

Still, I'm not sure that Nehemiah's prayer is still one we should model. That's probably why the Prayer of Jabez was marketed a little more successfully. I do believe that we should feel the freedom, without being blasphemous of course, to be candid with God in our personal prayer. Love is always the better answer, and God always acts out justice in His way.

So, what happened to Sanballat? Did God bash him in the head? Did someone pull down his robe in public revealing his "I love Samaria" boxers? Well, no. And I'm not the greatest Biblical historian, so I could be wrong here: nothing happened. I can't find scripture again mentioning his name, except for a later passage in the book in which Nehemiah drives away one of Sanballat's relatives (13:28). So perhaps Sanballat's punishment was just the fact that he had no lasting legacy or imprint on history. If any of you out in blogosphere land know anything further about Sanballat, I'd love to hear it. I think it's important to note, though, that God didn't act immediately or directly along with the lines of Nehemiah's unfiltered prayer. God chose to do then, as He does now, to act in His own timetable in regards for justice.



I'll close with a further point of note. A little later, Nehemiah does turn the filter back on, just a bit. He's still mad, but his words are a bit softer.

Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done (6:14)

In this case, the prayer filter works appropriately. Leave it up to God. Atta boy, Nehemiah.