The Everyday Prayer

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.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 3:1-5 (day five)  I wonder how Nehemiah reacted when the wall actually started getting rebuilt. He had prayed and planned. He had shared his heart with many. He had faced real opposition (where we last read in chapter 2). He had sensed the Lord’s leading and provision. He kept believing and trusting. Did he ever doubt?  Did he ever question?  Was he anxious or discouraged?  Was there an underlying sense of hope and courage in the midst of it all?

Then in chapter 3, it actually started happening. Little by little and space by space… progress. God was moving and working in the hearts of people to accomplish His plan and purpose. There was work. There was community. There was unity. There was diversity. There was worship. There was joy and celebration. And there was opposition. Sounds like missions and ministry, doesn’t it?  Let’s get to work!  Let’s join in too (to what God’s doing in and thru our church). Let’s serve others, share faith, work, and worship!!  Let’s build God’s Kingdom through His Church.

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

While several of the names listed in this passage don’t mean anything to us, they would have meant a great deal to Nehemiah’s original audience. In a collectivist culture like this, family names and family heritage meant a great deal, and loyalty to one’s family or clan was a high value. Loyalty was strongest among one’s immediate family (though that included far more people than we would today), next strongest among the clan, present but still less strong among tribes, and the pattern continues as you draw the circle wider.

When we come to this list of names, we’re meant to be struck by such a great number of families coming together in unity for this shared task. These people didn’t come together in a vacuum. I’m sure there were plenty of past hurts and tensions, ideological differences and even bad blood between some of these families. They all gave up time, resources, and even their own security to participate in building the wall. This is a miraculous picture of unity!

Chris has often said that one of the primary marks of revival and movement of the Spirit is unity among God’s people. We get a beautiful picture of this in Nehemiah. What opportunities has the Lord given you to participate in such Unity?

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

“Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.”

The people followed Nehemiah. He facilitated their skills, helping them channel their engineering, masonry, and stonework abilities to rebuild an entire city. But Nehemiah also followed the people. That is to say, Nehemiah responded to the hopes and desires already present in their hearts. These longings were not wishful thinking or flights of fancy, but deep yearnings long dormant from ancient times, passed down from generation to generation from the time of the exodus, full of the fervor of Moses’s preaching and the promises of the law. These were dreams – initiated by God – that would not die. It was these dreams, present in Nehemiah’s own heart too, that Nehemiah heard and followed.

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

Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. V. 1

Never far from the minds of those working on these gates and the wall is there purpose, both as a structure and as a symbol. After each door, gate, or portion of the wall is completed they consecrated that section. To consecrate is to set aside as to make holy. It is to bless all those who will use it, and to ask for a blessing on the structure itself. They were under no illusion. This was holy work. Do you take your work that seriously? Maybe you think your job is not that significant in the Kingdom. You may not be rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, but there are people around you that are counting on you to model a life lived in service the Jesus. Try to reframe your life as one which is building the Kingdom whether at home, in the office, or wherever you may be.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 2:11-20 (day seven)

So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. vs 11

So I came to Los Angeles and have been here three days. In a month of bustling ministry, even my days have felt off. From Impact Camp to VBS to Mission Choir Tour, our student ministry has not stopped. Being two hours behind does not help either, so I apologize for the tardiness of this post. However, in my time here so far I have seen God doing some really cool things.

Maybe not quite to the level of Jerusalem, but Southern California was once the center of revival and the Jesus Revolution. When we hear on the news and through political discourse, it would appear that SoCal is no longer a hub for Christian influence. Walking Rodeo Drive and serving in soup kitchens has given us a glimpse at the brokenness of the city from the top of the socioeconomic food chain to the bottom. I would agree that this city is broken and in need of the Lord.

Yet, in the midst of it all, we have come across some people of peace who are walking with the Lord and trying to put together the pieces of the brokenness and heal the city through the Love of Jesus Christ. Places like the Dream Center, the Salvation Army, and the St Francis Center have revived hope in my mind and shown me that the Lord is doing amazing things in this city. Will you pray for us as we continue to serve here? Will you pray that God might use you to heal the brokenness in your own neighborhood and city?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 2:11-20 (day six)

As far as we know, Nehemiah never received a direct word from God instructing him to journey to Jerusalem and lead the rebuilding effort. But he knew God’s promises. And he certainly knew the story of Queen Esther.

During four months of fasting and praying, it may have dawned on him, just as it did for Esther (with Mordecai’s help), that perhaps God had placed him in his position for such a time as this. His kingdom prayer gave way to kingdom action.

That makes me wonder:

Are my actions limited by the scope of my prayers?

What might God do in and through us if we believed His promises like Nehemiah did—and boldly widened the reach of our prayers?

Will you join me?

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 2:11-20 (day five)

In chapter 2, Nehemiah makes a thorough and comprehensive inspection of Jerusalem. He then gives a startling and honest review and evaluation. Both the destruction and the negligence are a part of what he has observed and reports. Yet, with the reality of a decimated city, Nehemiah also shares the potential and possibilities of rebuilding.

In the same way, (with the presence, guidance, and grace of the Holy Spirit) we must make the same kind of review and inspection of our hearts and lives. Like Nehemiah, God will allow us to see the full and accurate status of our lives. He then leads us and joins us in the renewal and rebuilding process. Spiritual growth and progress is a “we” endeavor. “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians‬ ‭2‬

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139‬