The Everyday Prayer

“…for the people had a mind to work.” — Nehemiah 4:6b

Some translations say, “the people were enthusiastic about their work,” but perhaps there’s an even better word: resolute. Nehemiah 4:6 doesn’t just describe motivation—it captures a profound unity and unwavering determination. Despite persistent opposition, the people pressed on because they shared a united and resolute commitment.

There’s something powerful—even sacred—about that kind of shared purpose. Unity with resolve is nearly unstoppable.

This is why Jesus, over 400 years later, would pray:

“That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you… so that the world may believe that you sent me.”— John 17:21

Jesus’ primary missional strategy isn’t high-performing individuals with lofty platforms. It is a unified people—a Kingdom community with a mind to work together in pursuit of God’s mission. The world will know Him when we are one. Think about that.

 

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 4:1-8 (day five)  Work on the wall has started. The mentioned people and families are following God’s plan and purpose. Now comes criticism, mocking, anger, distraction, questioning, and persecution. Probably should have expected it. We know to expect it from Jesus teachings- see John‬ ‭15‬. Yet verse six says in the midst of all the opposition and noise, “So we built the wall”.

I like Jerry Bridges’ thoughts on the preeminence of obedience in the life of the believer- how faithfulness is to be desired over success.  It really gives clarity to the focus and desires of the heart. Am I first and foremost desiring to please and honor God with all I am and all I do?  (See Colossians 3:22) Even at the cost of personal awards and rewards?

“God wants us to walk in obedience – not victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self. This may seem to be merely splitting hairs over semantics, but there’s a subtle, self-centered attitude at the root… Until we deal with this attitude, we won’t consistently walk in holiness.”- Jerry Bridges

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 4:1-8 (day four)

When walking through a difficult life circumstance, I often think to myself, “I don’t know how people do this without Jesus.” Whatever the situation is, be it financial struggle, health concerns, relationship issues, job stress, all of it – truly all of it – takes on a different light when submitted to Christ. The situation might still be hard, but when we walk in relationship with the Lord, he bears that heavy burden for us. We know that his purposes for us are good and that his plan for our life is one of redemption, so we can trust that he is working and moving on our behalf, even when things seem most dark.

While Nehemiah lived before Jesus came onto the earthly scene, we see him modeling this same thing. When he was getting scorned and jeered at from all sides, and even living under physical threat (ironically, these threats from Sanballat reinforced Jerusalem’s need for the wall), he ran to the Lord, and gave that heavy burden directly to him. Nehemiah trusted God’s plan, God’s justice, and God’s faithfulness. Nehemiah believed what Paul would later write, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” 

What heaviness are you carrying that would be better off in the Lord’s hands?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 4:1-8 (day three)

“What are these feeble Jews doing?”

A well-worn aphorism: “When you have the facts on your side, pound the facts, when you have the law on your side, pound the law, and when you have neither, pound the table.” All the harrumphing going on here betrays the weak position of Nehemiah’s enemies. Confident people don’t employ ad hominem arguments, and Nehemiah knew it. He could see through their ridiculous rhetoric. But would his resolve envelop the people he led? This question fueled his prayer. The resulting calm and courage in him provided a steady voice to which all the people rallied.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 4:1-8 (day two) Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. v. 7

There is/was an historic animosity between these people groups. It can be seen playing out in our headlines every day. I don’t want to get into the geopolitical situation that we are experiencing today, but I think we can find parallels to Nehemiah’s story all around us. There will always be people who actively discourage you. It is one of those things like death and taxes that you can count on. How do you deal with those words thrown at you? How do you confront the plot to undermine your work? How can you push forward, when there is such an active force pushing against you? Trust your call. Surround yourself with others who share the vision. Rely on the Lord. Nehemiah knew what was before him was a great task. He was select in whom he trusted with the vision, and he was undeterred by those who were against him. This doesn’t mean it will be easy, but surround yourself with the Lord’s protection, and get to work.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 3:1-5 (day seven)

After them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. Nehemiah 3:22-23

The first time I heard about Nehemiah was not in a Sunday School class nor was it a sermon. It began outside the walls of the church. I read it on a t-shirt of the local high school football team where my father was the head coach. He had chosen this passage to communicate principles of teamwork through the building of the wall.

The highlight and main point that has stuck with me all these years was the fact that each person did the work outside of their own house. This was an ingenious move by Nehemiah, clearly wisdom from the Lord, because it not only helped the speed of the construction process it also helped the quality of the construction. If you are in charge of building the wall in front of your home, are you going to give it half of your effort or are you going to make sure it is done perfect to protect your loved ones? If each person builds their wall swiftly and thoroughly, you will be able to complete the entire wall in no time and can trust that you can keep the enemy out.

Now I think the point for the football team can be translated to our spiritual life equally as well. Your job is not to worry about the integrity of the entire wall. You just need to do the job that is in front of you. If everyone does their job correctly, the wall will hold up against any enemy trying to break it down. What if you just started to build a spiritual kingdom with what God has put right in front of you? Your family, your home, your neighborhood?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 3:1-5 (day six)

…you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,^[b] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

In his commentary on Ezra–Nehemiah, Christopher J. H. Wright notes, “Those who had put their faith in Jesus Christ (in the first century)… had been grafted into a people with an identity stretching back nearly two thousand years.”

As the Church, our identity is not disconnected from Israel—it is deeply rooted in the story of God’s covenant people. Through Jesus, we’ve been grafted into the same calling: to be a holy nation, a city on a hill, a light to the nations.

This is why the vision and unity displayed in Nehemiah 3 matter so deeply. Like the people of Jerusalem rebuilding their walls, we too must recover a shared Kingdom vision and embrace a shared Kingdom work. Now more than ever, the Church must recapture its missional identity as God’s set-apart people, shining with His light in a dark world.