Have you ever had a burden about an issue or been worried about something or someone and thought of praying but ended up not praying?

We often postpone prayer about issues or for someone to our special prayer times. But we tend to forget to do so when the time comes to pray. Recently, a friend shared a personal issue with me, and I assured my friend that I will pray about it. After the conversation I realized that I could have prayed for her in the moment and not later. God would have heard us and would have attended to her that very moment.

Recent pondering on Nehemiah 2:4-5 revealed that “in the moment prayer” is effective and avails much (James 5:16).

Here is a brief summary of the story of Nehemiah in the Bible:

Nehemiah was a Jew in captivity in Persia when he received a report of the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem which had no walls to protect the city. This news stirred up a deep sadness in Nehemiah, as a result, he availed himself to God to use him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. After days of fasting and praying to God about the situation, one day, Nehemiah was serving King Artaxerxes and had a sad countenance in his appearance. The king knowing this was not the usual look of Nehemiah asked him, what was wrong? In that moment, amidst his fear, Nehemiah shared that which was burdening his heart. In response to what Nehemiah shared, the king asked, “What do you want?” At that moment, Jeremiah prayed to God and being led by the wisdom and guidance of God, Nehemiah kindly requested permission to go back to the city in Judah and rebuild it and rest of the story goes on to show how God can use a man who trusts and depends on Him.

And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King ^[a]Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. ² Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.”

So I became ^[b]dreadfully afraid, ³ and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?

“Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.””

Nehemiah‬ ‭2‬:‭1-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven

In those days, speaking to a king can be a very dreadful task, one could end up being dead just by the wrong use of a word. Here in Nehemiah 2, Nehemiah’s sad countenance triggers the dialogue between Nehemiah and the king. This immediately sparks fear in Nehemiah because he does not know what might happen to him at the end of the conversation. In that very moment where fear had gripped Nehemiah, he does not wait to pray at a later time but right in the moment before the king, he prays and trusts God to guide him in his responses to the king’s questions. Indeed, God allowed Nehemiah to find favor before king Artaxerxes. This opened a great door of blessing which allowed Nehemiah to embark on the journey to rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem.

At the moment when we are faced with difficult situations, or reports of sad or disheartening news, we need not wait to pray at a later time but right in that very moment, we can lift up prayer to God and He will hear us. I have come to find “in-the-moment prayers” to be so empowering and very effective.

As you pray in the moment, here are just a few highlights of what transpires:

(1) It is your invitation to God to take over the situation. In other words, it is your act of declaring from that instance that the battle is the Lord’s!

(2) It relieves you of the burden as you now entrust it into God’s hands and ask for His guidance, help and leadership.

(3) It fills your heart with peace because we know we serve a faithful God.

(4) It also set you in motion to press on in prayer for victory to be obtained

(5) Immediate results can be obtained when we pray in the moment just like we see in the story of Nehemiah

Beloved in Christ I pray this stirs your heart to pray whenever a burden is impressed on your heart. I entreat you to not to procastinate to pray but just pray and watch how God manifests Himself in the situation.

Be blessed and always remember that God dearly loves you!