" . . . and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."
Nehemiah is making this prayer (above) to God, on his own behalf. He asks the Lord to "let [him] prosper this day." A lot of times it is dif-
ficult for churchmen to know exactly how to pray, (cf. Rom. 8:26 in this regard). It seems to me, however, that a good and safe prayer is for success, and victory. After all, if we (in the church) do not suc-
ceed, everything else suffers as a result.
Some people are loathe to pray for themselves--but this is a wrong-headed notion, even though it may come from sincere and even pure motives. Instead, the best humility makes sure that we *do* pray for ourselves. If anyone has any question about the truth of what I am saying, I would have them find Jesus praying for Himself, in the Gar-
den of Gethsemane, (see Matt. 26:36 ff.).
[Puritan quote of the day: "Satan could not deceive us, unless we de-
ceived ourselves first, and are willingly deceived." --Richard Sibbes, in, "The Soul's Conflict with Itself"]
