Anyway

Day five of a month for prayer and fasting and calling out to God

The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:1-4

Throughout this month (June 2025) we hope to share back what some of you have shared with us. Thank you to Carla for telling me about the above song by Benjamin William Hastings - Anyway. What is our response to the situation we find ourselves in? For Nehemiah, at the devastating news he received, he could not stand, he wept, he mourned and fasted and prayed. How many of us parents have experienced similar in our response to news that our child no longer identifies as… our child. Our son is no longer our son. Our daughter no longer our daughter. And the implications of that. For some of us we knew, instantly, what this might mean. Others have had a slow and painful education.

And yet we keep reading Nehemiah’s account and we find him saying this:

Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments…” Nehemiah 1:5

I hadn’t thought of Nehemiah when considering fasting this month, and I’m grateful to A.C. mother of trans identified son, who shared this link with me: https://www.gotquestions.org/prayer-fasting.html and I found this so helpful, exploring different times people fasted and prayed including Nehemiah’s response. Will we, however we feel, no matter what circumstances we are in, will we praise the Lord, the God of heaven, anyway?

Father in heaven, you are my Lord, you are the great and awesome God, and you are faithful to keep your covenant of love with those who love you and keep your commands. I can trust in you and I will praise you in this storm I am facing right now. You warned that when a nation turns from you, that nation will lose its blessing. And also promised that when people turn back to you and obey you once more, you will be quick to forgive. Father in heaven, I turn to you. I will follow you and your son Jesus. Hear from heaven and rescue my family. Amen

Read yesterday’s post: https://goal31.substack.com/p/joy

Day six: https://goal31.substack.com/p/be-strong-and-courageous

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