The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day four)

I love that throughout Scripture, God commands fasting and feasting in equal measure, often in symmetry to each other. Our God is not one who commands constant mourning or asceticism, nor does he desire for us to live in unending indulgence and leisure. Both fasting and feasting are good and proper ways to respond to God’s word, and we see them both displayed by the heroes of our faith. Depending on the people in question and the way God is moving amongst them, some encounter God’s law and holiness and rightly fall on their face, mourning over their sin. Others, as we see Nehemiah encouraging here, rightly breakout in rejoicing because the Lord of Lords is on their side, and as the writer of Lamentations states, “His mercies are new every morning.” Both are needed – we must mourn over our sin and tremble at God’s holiness, but we must also rejoice that such a holy God pursues us with love and grace. The more we understand Scripture, just as the Jews did in this passage, the more we will feel led to both fast and feast in response to God’s Word.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day three)

“For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.”

For these Jews, the words of the law were not just a solemn recitation. These words of the law were the history of their own people’s interactions with God. They heard Moses’s cry: “Hear, O Israel.” And they couldn’t breathe. Moses was alive again, calling out to them to remember the sweep of history, the rescue from Egypt, the passing through the sea, the manna from heaven, the water from the rock, the Ten Commandments, the year of Jubilee, the welcome to the foreigner, the God who hears from heaven – all of it. They heard, and they remembered. Even those who might not have ever heard these exact words heard the word that fit their souls as if they were now home. And they were.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day one)

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” v. 11

We are told in the book of Ecclesiastes there is a time for everything under heaven. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:4 – Nehemiah and Ezra recognize the need for both joy and sorrow in people’s lives. As we continue in our study next week, we will enter a time of sorrow and repentance, but on this day there was joy. Much repair was needed. Not in the physical wall anymore, but in the hearts of the people. The wall was a representation of the broken relationship between the people of God and God himself. The people had drifted and abandoned the teachings of the Lord. When confronted with the truth, they were understandably upset. They came face to face with their sin. Their reaction was warranted. Ezra and Nehemiah are not trying to sugar coat the need for repentance, but they are giving the people hope and reminding them they are loved by God who will welcome them back. There may be hard days ahead, but it is important to know that there is a path forward. Sometimes, even before everything is fixed, it is important to remember you are heading for hope. Celebrate this truth.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day seven)

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. vs 15

Fifty two days. A feat that can only have been accomplished with divine supplementation. Yet, God did not physically assist in the building of this wall. The supplementation is a direct result of the supplication of Nehemiah. As has been stated in the vlog and other posts, Nehemiah spent 4 months in prayer before ever starting this project. He prayed for more than double the amount of time it took to build the wall. The fight began on his knees before the Lord, and God rewarded his supplication with wisdom and favor.

What are you praying for? We have a tendency to pray for the things that are directly in front of us, but what is coming down the line that you need to pray for now? If we wait until the moment is upon us to begin praying, we will miss out on valuable time to begin to fight. Even if you do not believe something is coming that you need to pray for, go ahead and get on your knees now, and ask the Lord to guide your steps. Imagine what the Lord will begin to do when we all our praying in unison for the future of our lives and His church. Revival is near!

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day six)

“They all wanted to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.’ But now, strengthen my hands.” Nehemiah 6:9

A conspiracy was afoot in Judah. Lies, false prophets, and even death threats—each one a calculated attempt to paralyze the people of God through fear. The strategy was simple: if fear could take hold, the rebuilding of Jerusalem would stop.

This is a needed reminder for us today. We also have an enemy—the father of lies—whose schemes are aimed at immobilizing the work of renewal in our own lives, in our churches, and in our communities. Fear is still his favorite weapon.

Nehemiah’s response points us to a better way. Instead of shrinking back, he prayed: “But now, strengthen my hands.” When fear pressed in, he pressed on, trusting God to provide the courage and strength to finish the work.

Where fear would stop us, God’s strength can steady us.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day five) “And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”  Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him. Nehemiah discerns that this is a trap and a lie. But how?  What led to this understanding?  It’s really simple, Nehemiah knew the scriptures. He knew his Bible. He knows that only Priests and Temple attendants can go into the Temple building itself. He is allowed into the courts, but no further.  The scriptures are indeed a light and lamp to us. They are also a guard just as much as a guide. Reading and studying the scriptures daily/regularly produces fruit and also protects us. Another facet of God’s wisdom in giving us the scriptures.

“How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the Lord.

How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”
Psalm 119‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭9‬, ‭11

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day four)

Nehemiah dealt with mockery and oppression from powerful people, he dealt with internal strife among the people of God, and now he’s dealing with direct threats to his life, blackmail, and false prophets. Anyone in his shoes would have experienced fear and frustration, and would have considered quitting. Most would have quit. But Nehemiah carried on, completing the wall in a miraculously short time.

Nehemiah was able to carry on despite all this opposition because he knew God’s voice. John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” He knew God’s voice, and didn’t hear it in the voice of his oppressors or their false prophets. He gave ear only to what the Lord had to say. Everything else he heard he submitted to God, who gave him discernment in how to respond.

In order to fulfill the calling on his life, he needed real, spiritual discernment. That discernment was gained through the countless hours he spent in prayer before the task of building the wall ever began. Discernment is built in the quiet place, where we spend time getting to know the voice of our Shepherd. God lovingly invites you into that quiet place each day – accept that invitation.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day three)

Nehemiah visited a shut-in. And during that act of godly care – even right there – his wily nemeses attempted by proxy to dislodge him from his steadfast adherence to his mission. Nehemiah consistently saw through every disguise, every ruse, every feint. How? By rejecting everything that didn’t look like the deep longing that God had nurtured in his soul. Did Sanballat’s “concerns” for the welfare of the Persian empire look like that longing? No. How about this current fearmongering from this convalescing acquaintance? Again, no. Nehemiah would not stop until the longing for Jerusalem’s reestablishment was fulfilled. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes that God has set eternity in the hearts of people. Nehemiah was listening to those deep yearnings that welled up from the center of his being, from that place in which he bore image of God from the moment God created him.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day two)

When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. v. 16

Why were there so many voices of opposition to Nehemiah and the Jews? There was a great concern that God himself may actually be helping them to rebuild the wall. If God was behind this project, then what else was he going to do? Often the loudest criticisms and oppositions will appear when you are being used mightily of the Lord. Before Jesus began his public ministry he was tempted by Satan. How did Nehemiah discern what was noise and what was truth? How did Jesus, for that matter? Their nearness to the Father’s message and call were the plumb line for their actions. Even if what you hear sounds plausible, it must line up with the Spirit’s direction. Nehemiah trusted his path, and refused to let the noise dissuade him from what he knew to be true. There will be noise in your walk, and often the closer you are to the truth, the louder it becomes. Don’t be led by noise, be led by the Lord.