1. Nehemiah 1:6 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is meant by the phrase “to hear the prayer”?

Nehemiah 1:6 (ESV)

6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned.

The basic assumption in the concept of prayer is that there is a Hearer who actually hears. That is, God exists and transcends the divine-human chasm to intercept and be attentive to human speech directed to him and in turn to respond. People speaking to God are responses from God’s covenant partner to the bond of love he mercifully established between himself and them. God’s gracious promises in the covenant form the reason why speaking with him is possible.