Help us to put aside selfish gain, to care for the people around us, and to act out of a genuine reverence for You rather than looking for praise

[servant of Christ01]

Bread of Heaven/Word of Life/ Jesus is the word of God：

Nehemiah 5:14 :
Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year--twelve years--neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

A Reflection Prayer based on Nehemiah 5:
Our prayer:

"Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Nehemiah. Give us a heart of true servant leadership. Help us to put aside selfish gain, to care for the people around us, and to act out of a genuine reverence for You rather than looking for praise from the world. Remember us for good, and let our daily work bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name. Amen."

 

[Articles]

We join with you in this beautiful reflection and prayer from Nehemiah 5 and we say amen to the heart behind it.

We love the example of Nehemiah you have lifted up. For twelve years as governor he refused to take the food allotted to him, though it was his right, because he saw the burden it placed on the people. As it is written in Nehemiah 5:15, But the former governors who were before me were supported by the people, and took bread and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver, yes, even their servants ruled over the people, but I didn’t do so, because of the fear of God. His motivation was not political advantage or praise from men, but a genuine reverence for the Lord, and that is the heart we too desire.

This is the mind of Christ that we are called to walk in, doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself, each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others Philippians 2:3-4. Nehemiah cared for the people around him more than his own gain, and so we are called to model true servant leadership as Jesus taught, For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve Mark 10:45.

We also hear your heart to act out of reverence for God rather than looking for praise, and scripture warns us about this very thing. Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, otherwise you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven Matthew 6:1. When we work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men Colossians 3:23, we can trust that God sees in secret and will remember us for good, as Nehemiah prayed in Nehemiah 5:19, Remember me, my God, for good, all that I have done for this people.

You are right to connect this to Jesus as the Bread of Heaven and the Word of Life. He is the Word of God, for In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God John 1:1, and Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry John 6:35. Only as we feed on Him daily can we have the strength to put aside selfish gain and live for His glory.

We pray together with you:

Heavenly Father, thank You for the faithful example of Nehemiah and for Your Word that teaches us what true leadership looks like. We ask You to give us hearts that fear You above all else. Help us to put aside selfish gain and entitlement, to love and care for the people You have placed around us, and to serve without seeking the praise of this world. Search our motives and purify them, so that all we do is done out of genuine reverence for You. Forgive us where we have sought recognition from men instead of Your approval. Fill us with Your Spirit and feed us with Jesus, the true Bread of Heaven, that we may have strength to work faithfully for Your glory. Remember us for good not because we deserve it, but because of Your mercy in Christ, and let our daily work, whether seen or unseen, bring honor to Your holy name. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We were moved by your prayer for a servant heart like Nehemiah's. Wanting to set aside personal gain to care well for others and to live out of reverence for God rather than for praise is a beautiful and humble desire, and we want to join you in asking God to shape that in you day by day.

What has helped us is remembering humility is not thinking poorly of ourselves or holding back timidly, but simply putting the needs and interests of others before our own and being willing to serve quietly where God has placed us. It grows not all at once but through honest reflection and intentional choices to act with care when no one is watching.

One small step that may help this week is to prayerfully consider one ordinary place, at home, work or church, where you can choose that quiet service, and perhaps ask someone who knows you well how they see God growing this in you. Their honest perspective can be a gentle mirror.

Father, we thank You for stirring this desire to serve. Form in us hearts that love You reverently and care faithfully for those around us. Help us to work for Your glory in the small, unseen moments and remember us for good as we walk with You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

[Nochaeld]

Bread of Heaven/Word of Life/ Jesus is the word of God：

Nehemiah 5:14 :
Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year--twelve years--neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

A Reflection Prayer based on Nehemiah 5:
Our prayer:

"Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Nehemiah. Give us a heart of true servant leadership. Help us to put aside selfish gain, to care for the people around us, and to act out of a genuine reverence for You rather than looking for praise from the world. Remember us for good, and let our daily work bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name. Amen."

LORD, please "keep deception and lies far from us, give us neither poverty nor riches, but feed us what is sufficient for us," Prov 30:8. If riches increase, let us not set our heart on them, Ps 62:10. Help us have contentment with godliness, 1 Tim 6:6, since the entire earth is the Lord's, as well as those who dwell in it, Ps 24:1, Keep us from covetousness, Ex 20:17, and help us not love the world or anything in it lest the love of The Father be forfeited, 1 Jn 2:15, and keep us from the desire for other things that choke out the Word of God, Mark 4:18-19. Keep us from temptation, Luke 11:4, sin, Zeph 3:13, 1 Cor 8:1, false believers, 2 Tim 3:5 and the evil one who blinds eyes, hearts minds and the world, Rev 12:9, Matt 6:13, John 17:15, 1 Jn 5:18. Thank You in Jesus' Name, Phil 4:6-7, Amen, Rev 3:14, 2 Cor 1:20.

 

[Nochaeld]

Bread of Heaven/Word of Life/ Jesus is the word of God：

Nehemiah 5:14 :
Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year--twelve years--neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

A Reflection Prayer based on Nehemiah 5:
Our prayer:

"Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Nehemiah. Give us a heart of true servant leadership. Help us to put aside selfish gain, to care for the people around us, and to act out of a genuine reverence for You rather than looking for praise from the world. Remember us for good, and let our daily work bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name. Amen."

LORD, please "keep deception and lies far from us, give us neither poverty nor riches, but feed us what is sufficient for us," Prov 30:8. If riches increase, let us not set our heart on them, Ps 62:10. Help us have contentment with godliness, 1 Tim 6:6, since the entire earth is the Lord's, as well as those who dwell in it, Ps 24:1, Keep us from covetousness, Ex 20:17, and help us not love the world or anything in it lest the love of The Father be forfeited, 1 Jn 2:15, and keep us from the desire for other things that choke out the Word of God, Mark 4:18-19. Keep us from temptation, Luke 11:4, sin, Zeph 3:13, 1 Cor 8:1, false believers, 2 Tim 3:5 and the evil one who blinds eyes, hearts minds and the world, Rev 12:9, Matt 6:13, John 17:15, 1 Jn 5:18. Thank You in Jesus' Name, Phil 4:6-7, Amen, Rev 3:14, 2 Cor 1:20.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your prayer is one which the Lord delights to hear, for it seeks not the praise of men but the honor of His name. The example of Nehemiah is set before us to this very end. He had power to take the governor's allowance, and custom would have excused him, yet for twelve years neither he nor his brothers ate the food allotted to the governor, because the fear of God ruled in his heart. He put aside selfish gain that he might not burden the people, and he cared for those entrusted to him out of a genuine reverence for the Lord.

This is the right kind of fear of which the Scripture says, Happy is the man that feareth alway. It is not the slavish fear that dreads man or the fear that brings dishonor to the power and goodness of God, but the holy fear of sinning against Him, the fear of wronging our neighbor and of not loving as we ought. Such fear is the friend of true prayer and the guardian of true service. When we walk in the fear of the Lord, we are kept from seeking our own advantage and made willing to be servants, yea, slaves for Christ's sake, counting it our highest honor to be the servant of the least of His people that we may bless them and glorify Him.

And this spirit is learned only in humility. Like Jacob we must come saying, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant. When our mercies magnify the Lord, we shall have many of them, but when we use them for the magnifying of ourselves, they will depart from us. The Bread of Heaven, the Word of Life, even Jesus who is the Word of God, did not come to be ministered unto but to minister, and He has left us this pattern that we should follow His steps.

May the Lord answer your prayer according to His grace. May He keep you from the desire for praise from the world, and make your daily work to be done faithfully as unto Him, not as unto men. May He pour upon you the spirit of grace and supplication, that you may enquire of Him continually and walk in reverence before Him, and may He remember you for good, not for your merit, but for Christ's sake, who alone is our salvation. For salvation is of the Lord, in its planning, its execution, and its perfecting, and to Him be all glory.

We join you in this prayer, that He would make you a faithful servant, humble, watchful, and zealous for His glory, and that your life and labor may be found well pleasing in His sight at His coming. Amen.

 

[usha rani]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.