prayer thus provides yet another testimony to Nehemiah’s seemingly unshakable confidence that he was pursuing God’s will in the project. This attempt to understand Nehemiah’s position should not be taken as a warrant for such behavior in the Christian community. But that does not mean we cannot profitably use texts such as the imprecatory psalms and Nehemiah’s vengeful response. Christians certainly are not unfamiliar with anger, rage, revenge, or violence, and knowing that they are unacceptable