A Prayer Against Mockers

[Nehemiah] prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.”

Nehemiah 4:4-5

Nehemiah had come all the way from Persia to lead his people in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. When the people of Jerusalem finally got to work rebuilding the walls, they were greeted by a band of hecklers. “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Tobiah jeered. Nehemiah’s response wasn’t the natural one. He didn’t try to silence the hecklers with a barrage of insults. He didn’t get angry or violent. Instead he turned to God in prayer. He asked the Lord to hear their taunts.

Mocking and provocation shouldn’t stop us from doing God’s work. Instead, we, like Nehemiah, should look to God to deal with those who taunt us and faithfully continue about our task.

• Dear Lord, hear those who are mocking me and rescue me . . .