This did not mean that Nehemiah took time off from work to go pray and maybe miss a few meals. Rather, this word fasting implies that he had completely lost his appetite. He was fasting simply because his burden was so consuming that it had taken away his desire to eat. I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. In the Scriptures, a number of different words are used for praying. Here, the Hebrew word involves pleading, deep emotion,