Desire To Fear Thy Name

“…who desire to fear thy name…”  - Nehemiah 1.11

 

Is that a question?

 

Should it actually say “Who would desire to fear thy name?”  Or, “Who in the world would ever want to fear God?”  That doesn’t sound too “fun”.

 

So is it a question?  Is it somehow a mistake in our Bible?

 

No.  It is actually a prayer, it is a request.  Here Nehemiah is praying for help as he was going to ask the Persian King about Jerusalem… “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.  (Nehemiah 1:11)

And Nehemiah is letting us in on a little secret… he and his companions WANTED TO FEAR GOD!

I can’t say I’ve heard of anyone praying like that lately… but I’d be silly not to start that myself… “Lord, help me to fear thy name… I want to, I desire to fear You, to fear thy name!”

 

“…who desire to fear thy name…

I wonder what might happen when my “want to” becomes that sort of thing…

a desire to fear thy name…”  What happened to Nehemiah?  “the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper…”

 

Pastor