Pray First, Then Press On
By Dean Collins
We can learn a lot about leadership from Nehemiah. Maybe the most important thing is to remember to pray before you begin and continue to pray throughout the project you are working on. In chapter 4 we get a picture of the significant opposition that Nehemiah and his colleagues faced as they were building the walls of Jerusalem.
Often we think our prayers are best offered in the quiet still places of life. After all, Jesus said this regarding prayer: “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6). And we have many examples of Jesus going by himself to pray. Praying alone and praying in quiet places is certainly a good thing. But sometimes we need to pray when we are in the middle of the storm or the fight. We dare not wait until we can find a quiet moment or prayer closet!
When the opposition comes at us and there is enemy fire, we quickly realize that their anger and jealousy has no limits. When Sanballat and Tobiah criticized and planned physical violence to stop Nehemiah and his crew from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah fought back immediately. Not with a sword or spear. His first strike was with a prayer:
“Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.”
Some of you might join me in admitting that when our important work is attacked and the enemy stirs up opposition, my first impulse is to fight back. And in this case Nehemiah did, but with great wisdom and restraint, he fought back first in prayer. Nehemiah’s prayer showed strength and faith that God was the one who fights our battles.
When you read this chapter, you discover that Nehemiah’s prayer didn’t immediately change the behavior or attitude of their enemy. In fact it stirred them up toward violence as their solution. So Nehemiah prayed again, and he set a guard as protection against the enemy day and night.
And once again the enemy persisted. Nehemiah then divided his labor force. Half of them worked on the wall, and the other half stood guard to make sure that the enemy could not stop them. But Nehemiah also knew from a manpower perspective he was outnumbered, so he gave a new instruction and reminder to his crew: “In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
What determination, what faith, and what confidence that God would see this important project to be finished!
It may not feel natural at first, but Nehemiah gives us a model of the way we can pray and trust God when facing enemy fire. Pray, plan, and trust God to fight for you.
Today, Father, we pray that you would help us trust in you more than we trust in ourselves. We ask that your Holy Spirit prompt us to be obedient in always turning to you first before we try to fight a battle alone. We love you and trust you because we know you will always fight for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Nehemiah 4:1-20 ESV
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