God first

Nehemiah 2:4-5

The king asked, "Well how can I help you?"

With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, "If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried."

Nehemiah was a servant of king Artaxerxes. He was the king's cup bearer. But when he discovered that Jerusalem was in trouble, he asked the kings permission to return to this place of his ancestors. If you look closely, you will notice that before he spoke to Artaxerxes, he made a prayer to the "God of heaven". 

Proverbs 3:4 says: Then you will find favor with both God and man, and you will earn a good reputation.

Luke 2:52 says: Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

This is a principle throughout the Bible, favor from God FIRST, ultimately results in favor from man. But sometimes I think I get it backwards. Sometimes I try to bypass God's favor and try to get man's favor on man's terms. God is the one who softened king Artaxerxes' heart toward Nehemiah, but it was ultimately so that God's purposes could be fulfilled.

Dear Lord, I pray that I would seek favor from you, before I would seek favor from men. Forgive me for the times that I have got this principle backwards. Thank you for showing me favor when you sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins. Thank you for the gift of eternal life! I pray that my love for Jesus would grow day after day! In Jesus name, Amen!