Nehemiah 1:4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Early church tradition tells us James, the half-brother of Jesus, spent so much time kneeling in prayer that his knees became thick, leathery, and calloused, like the knees of a camel in the desert. Nehemiah was tormented to hear about the devastation in Jerusalem but his knees became thick, leathery and callous before he moved into action.
Before we can be commissioned into a mission, we must kneel down in submission. Without fasting and prayer none of our actions will have any reciprocation or response. Before we move in the physical realm there must be a shift in the spiritual realm. “Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” – C.H. Spurgeon.
Nehemiah received the report about Jerusalem in the month of Chislev, which is approximately November–December. Nehemiah fasted and prayed for several days. He finally spoke to the king in the month of Nisan, approximately March–April. This means that he fasted and prayed for about 4 months before he addressed the issue to the king. Nehemiah did not go to the king with his petition. He laid his petition before the King of kings and the Lord moved the heart of King Artaxerxes. The king granted him paid leave, provision and protection to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The Old Camel’s Knees was the secret to Nehemiah’s success in his mission.
Camel’s Knees:
- Purpose: Prayer fuels our plans and purposes into action. Without prayer we are a car without gasoline.
- Provision: Prayer draws the provision for our purpose from the celestial to the terrestrial. Prayer takes our focus from the worldly deficiencies to divine potencies and proficiencies. “And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests” (Nehemiah 2:8).
- Protection: Prayer surrounds us with the hosts of angelic armies. “We prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection against them day and night” (Nehemiah 4:9).
The secret to Nehemiah’s success in rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem in 52 days was his praying old camel’s knees.
Prayer: Sovereign Lord, Lord I seek the face of the King of Kings. Make my knees like the Old Camel’s Knees. Amen.
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