“Remember me, oh my God, for good.”
– Nehemiah 13:31
He actually prays this three times in this chapter. “Remember me, oh God, for good.” Nehemiah. What we see all throughout this book is a longing in him to experience the grace of God and steward God’s grace for his glory and for the good of God’s people. We see that. Through 13 chapters, he’s obviously not perfect, but he gives his life. He’s left the Persian palace and all the comforts he had there to go and lead the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem and rebuilding of the people in Jerusalem, and in the end he just wants to be remembered before God for living for other’s good and for God’s glory. I read that, and I think, “Yes. I want that to be true in my life.” I trust you want that to be true in your life.
Nehemiah 13:31 Calls Us to Live for God
In the end, what we want is to have lived for the good of others and for the glory of God’s name.
We pray, God, in the end, this is what we want. God, in the end, this is what we want. We want to have lived for the good of others, good of people around us. God, we want to have lived for the glory of your name. We think about all the times in this book where Nehemiah says, “God, put it on my heart to do this. This way for someone else, and this way for the people of God.” We just pray. I pray in my own heart. God, whatever you put on my heart to do for the good of others, for the good of your church, for the glory of your name, God, may I be faithful to do that.
I pray that for people who are listening to this. Help us, oh God, to live good lives by your grace, a salt and light in the world serving and loving others, leading people to Jesus, building up your church, laying down our lives that others might know your goodness and your grace, that others might see your glory. I think about Nehemiah having lived so the nations around Jerusalem might see your glory. God, may others remember our lives for these things.
This Verse Reminds Us of our Need for God’s Grace
We know only you can cause that to come about. God, we need your grace to live lives that will be remembered in that way, so help us, we pray. We pray that you would help me, pray that you would help us to live our lives in such a way that in the end we are not, not for our own sake, but for your sake, God, that it’s said, yes, that was a good life that counted for the good of others and the glory of my name. God, may that be your commentary on my life, our lives. We pray. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
