The Prayers of Nehemiah – Part Three; Trusting Prayers

They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet the threat. Nehemiah 4:8-9

Here’s the situation.

Nehemiah has arrived in Jerusalem to help the people rebuild the city walls to protect themselves. Not everybody is happy about this. Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, was much incensed over this. Sanballat may have had his eye on the position of governor of Judea, where Jerusalem was located, but Nehemiah’s arrival has ruined his plans, putting him in a terrible mood!

Sanballat and Tobiah ridiculed those rebuilding the wall in an attempt to get them to give up on what could have been an impossible feat. However, Nehemiah, as always, responded to the threats and ridicule with prayer. Because he knew nothing was impossible for God, he continued to put his trust in the God of the impossible and encouraged the builders to remember their calling and God’s purpose for the project. Nehemiah knew his God would help.

Prayer does not give you special powers.

Prayer does not give you special powers. Praying is an act of yielding our wills to God so His power can work through us. We are not trying to convince God to change our circumstances but to prepare us to be involved in His activity.

I have spent many years praying for God to help me with my diet and eating habits. I wish that God would zap me and the pounds would drop off. I prefer my prayers would make dieting easy; I do not like to do hard things.

I went on a 40-day sugar fast earlier this year and it was hard, but I completed it. After completing the fast, I had not lost even one pound. I was very disappointed with God for not changing my weight and asked Him what the point of the fast was. He showed me how I was more focused on Him changing my circumstances, while He was focused on changing my mindset. With this revelation, I am now prepared to start a new diet program that will be even harder and require longer than 40 days. Guess what? My confidence is healthy because I know I can do hard things with God’s help.

A partnership with God

God did have a purpose for the 40-day sugar fast and it was to prepare me for the next part of my journey to a healthier body, mind, and soul. Guess what? I have been on this new health program for almost exactly 40 days, and I have lost 21 pounds. Wow! Without doing the preparation earlier this year, I would not have had the confidence to walk into this new health program that requires intense focus and change. When we partner with God, both in prayer and in obedience, we experience His perfect plan, a plan for success in our lives.

Nehemiah consistently combined prayer with preparation and planning. He was serious about keeping watch over what God had entrusted to him. He showed trust in God even while taking necessary precautions by posting a guard over their work. Trusting God does not mean we do nothing. Action does not mean we do not trust.

Trusting Prayers

There is a false belief amongst some people that if you take action after praying about a situation, you are not truly trusting God. For example: Praying for God to protect your home and then installing an alarm system. But Nehemiah does precisely that, he prays for God’s protection of the building site and then posts guards on the site. But remember, we get to partner with God in His plans and that means taking action is an act of trust. Read that again; taking action is an act of trust.

I am trusting God when I enlist the help of my doctor when I am sick. I am trusting God when I installed the alarm system at our house. I am trusting God when I enlist the help of a coach on my new health program.

So, as we pray for God to work in our lives, it is essential to ask Him what steps He wants us to take in our circumstances. Does He want us to hire someone to help us? Is He asking you to stand guard over your project? Has He requested that you prepare your home for ministry? When we take action to partner with God in His divine plans, we will see Him complete the impossible tasks we need to be done.

Let’s pray and ask God to show us what our part is and how we can trust Him in the process.

Heavenly Father, we look to you to share your vision and plans for our future with us. We submit our will to yours and ask what we can do to partner with you. We desire to walk in obedience to you, not because we are desperate for our circumstances to change, but because we want to love you and live life fully within your will for us. Thank you for your faithfulness in preparing a way for us to serve you and fulfill your purpose for us. In Jesus’s name. Amen.