As Nehemiah prayed, his faith and courage grew strong. His mouth was filled with holy arguments. He pointed to the dishonor that would be cast upon God, if His people, now that they had returned to Him, should be left in weakness and oppression; and he urged the Lord to bring to pass His promise: "If ye turn unto Me, and keep My Commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there." See Deuteronomy 4:29-31. This promise had been given to Israel through Moses before they had entered Canaan, and during the centuries it had stood unchanged. God's people had now returned to Him in penitence and faith, and His promise would not fail.

Nehemias' tro og mod voksede, efterhånden som han bad. Han fremførte en hel række hellige argumenter. Han henviste til, at Gud ville blive vanæret, hvis hans folk vedblev at være svagt og undertrykt, efter at de havde omvendt sig til ham. Han bad også indtrængende Herren om at opfylde dette løfte: "Hvis I omvender eder til mig og holder mine bud og handler efter dem, så vil jeg, om eders fordrevne end er ved himmelens ende, dog samle dem derfra og bringe dem til det sted, jeg udvalgte til bolig for mit navn." (Se 5Mos. 4,29-31.) Dette løfte fik Israel ved Moses, før de drog ind i Kana'ans land, og det var ikke blevet rokket i de følgende århundreder. Nu havde Guds folk omvendt sig i anger og tro, og hans løfter kunne ikke slå fejl.