“When I heard these things, I sat down and
wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of
heaven”.
Nehemiah 1: 4
Nehemiah was a man of action. Nehemiah was an
organizer, motivator, manager. He liked to do things. He built the wall around
the city in 52 days. Yet, instead of immediately going out and taking action,
when he heard that something was wrong the first thing he did was get alone
with God. He got alone with God and
prayed. This was the pattern of his life. The Bible records nine occasions when
he prayed either for wisdom, guidance, protection, or provision.
In the church we are constantly on a stretch,
if not on a strain, to provide new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance
the church and secure enlargement and efficiency. The more I think about this
is the more I am convinced that human beings are God's method. From the
beginning we were created to participate in God’s creative activities.
In seeking to advance their understanding and
explain their own existence in this wonderful world the Jewish redactors stated
that God entrusted the naming of the animals and the care for creation to “the
man”. (Gen. 2:19 – “Now the Lord God
had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky.
He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man
called each living creature, that was its name”. Genesis 2:15 – “The Lord God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it”.)
The church is looking for better methods; God
is looking for better men and women. The prophet wrote, "I (God) looked in vain for anyone who would build again the wall
of righteousness that guards the land, who could stand in the gap, but I found
not one". Ezekiel 22:30 (The Living Bible). Who is God looking for? God
is looking for people to use because he does not want to have the stones cry
out. God is looking for people who are concerned, people with a burden and a
passion.
There are many areas and issues confronting
the church and society that God wants to deal with. Are you burdened about any
of these? Then God is looking for caring people who pray. There is no solution
for prayer but prayer. The effectiveness of my life and yours as a follower of
Jesus is determined by our prayer life.
Nehemiah knew what it meant to “pray without ceasing” because he took
everything to God in prayer, whether he was alone, before the King, or on the
field of work.
THOUGHT: Christ followers make prayer a first priority not a last resort.
No comments:
Post a Comment