I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Nehemiah 1-3.

It would be easy to think that the news which Nehemiah’s brother brought him from Jerusalem just represented the lack of rebuilding which had happened since it was sacked by the Babylonians.  However, if that were the case, he would have reported that the walls and gates had not been rebuilt.  Realizing that the walls had been rebuilt by the returned exiles and then destroyed once more puts some needed context on the rest of the passage. When Nehemiah received this news, he mourned, fasted, and prayed.  However, when Nehemiah was finished fasting and praying, he had a plan of action, which means that his definition of fasting and praying was different from what we normally think of when we talk about fasting and praying.  It is time to re-evaluate what God intends for us to do when He calls for us to fast and pray.