I absolutely love this prayer from Nehemiah. Remember -- he's just heard devastating news that Jerusalem lies in ruins -- but rather than rush headlong into action, he stops to pray. He slows down enough to ground himself in prayer. May we all be so wise!
And as he prays, he includes a confession of sin. He acknowledges the shortcomings of the people. God repeatedly warned the people of turning from the worship of God, and the people did it anyway, and they are scattered. Nehemiah prays for forgiveness, including himself among the culpable, but then turns and prays for God's blessing upon his actions, reminding God that the people are the redeemed who have been claimed by the strong hand of God.
When we pray, we don't need to hide anything from God. We can confess our sins with confidence, because God knows our sin -- but our sin isn't the end of the road, thanks be to God. There is hope on the other side of sin, and so Nehemiah acknowledges and confesses sin but then moves through it, asking God for a way forward.
We all have shortcomings in our own lives, areas where we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In the midst of dire situations, we can acknowledge that reality in our prayers, but we don't have to stop there -- we move through it and ask God's blessings on the next steps, that we may do what is wise. We don't need to live in the past -- the future is ahead, and God sends us into it!
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