Prayer: anywhere, anytime

“The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favour in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.’” Nehemiah 2:4-5
We often think of prayer as something we have to take time with, or that we have to adopt a certain position or at least close our eyes, or that it has to be out loud. Here, when Nehemiah appeared before the king, he tells us that he prayed to God before answering the king. I’m pretty certain that Nehemiah didn’t kneel down, put his hands together, or close his eyes. He most likely didn’t pray out loud. Nor would his prayer have been very long. In fact I think he did it in such a way that the king didn’t know he was praying.
Yet Nehemiah had been praying about this situation extensively (see ch. 1, for example). He had laid the groundwork for this moment with prayer, having asked God to provide him with the opportunity to speak to the king about it, and for a favourable response (Neh. 1:11). Now, when the time came, Nehemiah uttered a quick prayer in his heart, and made his request. Most likely his prayer was something like, ‘Help me Lord!’
This is encouraging to us, because we can do the same thing today. Yes, we need to spend time in prayer, laying the groundwork. But in a moment of difficulty, or when a decision needs to be made quickly, we too can pray in our hearts, ‘Help me Lord’. He hears these prayers just as clearly as those prayed out loud that go on for half an hour. We can pray anywhere, anytime – God is listening.