3/18/2023 0 Comments Nehemiah prayer against enemies![]() Ultimately, though, the securities that I erect, and even the walls, built around Jerusalem can fail. I can find solace and refuge in my relationships with friends and family. What gives you a feeling of safety and security? It is easy for me to rely on the locked doors of my home or my Ring camera notification to provide my security. Nehemiah 4:9, “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” The walls would provide a measure of sanctuary and safety when they were completed but God would be their ultimate refuge. He also recognized that God was in control and would be their protector and defense. ![]() The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Nehemiah knew that the enemy was real. Mark 14:38, “ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. If we focus on the visible enemy alone, and forget the invisible enemy, we are sure to start trusting our own resources and this will lead to defeat. What enemy surrounds you? How is your life vulnerable to attack? They were surrounded by enemies who desired to see these walls fail to be built, leaving the people vulnerable to attack. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” How is prayer a priority in your life? Jerusalem found itself being threatened by four different groups. Nehemiah demonstrated his prayer priority in Nehemiah 1:4, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. When we lead like the shrewd Nehemiah, we will understand servant leadership in a new light.įor more on how to apply biblical principles in your everyday leadership, see Tom’s book Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019).Watch and pray! Watch and pray combines faith and work and is a good example for us to follow. It is intensely practical in the “real” world. I believe Christianity is an active faith. He resisted his enemies with shows of strength and crafty strategy. Nehemiah knew their confidence would falter again, so he stationed a visible defense force and made sure the people were always ready for battle.Īfter further intimidation, political pressure, assassination attempts, and lies, the climax to the story comes in chapter six.ġ5 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.ġ6 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.ĭo you see the interplay of prayer, faith and action in this great leader? Nehemiah served his people by obeying God’s direction to build the wall. He fought against their fear by pointing to the power of the Lord, and commanded them to stand up and fight for their families and homes! They confidently went back to work. Though his resistance was fierce, hope was quickly dissipating among Nehemiah’s people. When Nehemiah heard of this, he responded with another prayer and more action:ĩ But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. When they saw the progress, they planned to attack as a single, unified force. They reached the halfway point before Sanballat and his allies could do anything about it. In response, Nehemiah asked God to humiliate his enemies, and then immediately commanded his people to get to work on the wall. He lashed out with bitter criticism as Nehemiah began rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. The initial threat emanated from a leader named Sanballat, a lifelong enemy of the Jews. Let’s walk through a synopsis of this amazing story. Nehemiah chapter four describes how he faced down strong opposition. Nehemiah is one of the starkest examples of powerful leadership in the Bible.
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