“Pray for Next Steps” (Nehemiah 2:11-20) - Revive Us Again II -

“Pray for Next Steps” (Nehemiah 2:11-20)

- Revive Us Again II -

Prayer Is the Greater Work

If God could grant you one wish, what would you ask for? Recently, I had special prayer needs and started fasting and having an extended time of prayer for about a month. I promised God that I would come to God’s house at least once a day and seek his face. Praise God! He answered my prayer on the last day of “10 Days of Prayer” meeting. The other day while I was meditating on today’s scripture, I realized that since my prayers were answered, I stopped coming to God’s house to pray in the closet. Many Christians have a tendency to start off strong, but after a while, especially after their prayers are answered, their passion and zeal diminish. Nehemiah had been praying for four months day and night for granting him favor in the presence of the king. And you see, his prayers were answered! But Nehemiah never stopped praying. Moment by moment he prays spontaneously for his next steps. He constantly seeks God’s guidance with all his heart. In verse 4 the king said to him, “What is it you want?” Then before answering the king, Nehemiah paused for a moment and prayed to the God of heaven. In every moment he was completely dependent on God, and he always sought His guidance, even in the middle of his conversation. Many of us in this room tend to take action first, based on our experience and wisdom, and then pray: “Lord, give me success!” But, Nehemiah was opposite. He always prayed first, and then he took action. What a holy habit to follow! And God directed Nehemiah’s next steps, and His gracious hand was always upon him.

In today’s scripture, Nehemiah finally arrived in Jerusalem. He must have been excited, high-spirited and ready to start rebuilding the wall immediately. But verse 11 begins with Nehemiah’s statement in this way: “I arrived in Jerusalem and remained there for three days” (ISV). Why didn’t he immediately go to work? And what did he do for three days? He didn’t do anything but pray. Again he prayed for his next steps. Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works – prayer is the greater work. Too often we treat prayer as the preparation for the work of the church… do you not see, prayer is the work of the church.” Without prayer, all our Christian service is like building our own castles on sand. Without prayer, it is impossible to keep pace with God and be directed by God. For me, it took 36 years to learn this truth. It was only a few months ago that if I had one-hour free time on Saturday, I spent that time making my sermon more eloquent or searching better sermon illustrations. But now, if have one hour free, I go to the sanctuary and pray, because now I know God works through prayer. For the Israelites, it took 40 years to learn this truth. For them, it took 40 years to learn how to listen to God and how to keep pace with God. When the cloud stayed above the tabernacle, the Israelites remained in camp for two days or a month or a year, and when the cloud lifted, they would set out (Num 9:22). They had to learn a God-dependent life. It took 40 years. Nehemiah also had to learn this. He learned this truth through the things he suffered (cf. Heb 5:8). And now Nehemiah always prays for next steps. God shows him three essential steps and leads him step by step.

Investigation

The first essential step is time of investigation. After praying for three days, led by the Spirit, Nehemiah goes out one gate, circles the city, and returns by the same gate at night. Before beginning to build the walls, before saying to anyone, in solitude he took the time to examine the broken walls of Jerusalem and the gates destroyed by fire. In solitude he took the time to weep over the ruins and count the cost. In solitude he made a night journey. Nehemiah already knew what God had put in his heart to do for Jerusalem. He had God’s vision, God’s big picture, but he didn’t know how to get there. So like Jacob, left alone at Jabbok River, Nehemiah made a night journey and struggled with God all alone. How about us? Before doing our Christian service, before telling visions and plans to anyone, we need to make this night journey in solitude to hear what God wants to put on our hearts. Jesus said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matt 6:6). Do you have your spiritual closet? There we can truly commune with God. There we can truly examine our spiritual lives. As we make an investigation of our lives, our standard for investigation must be the Word of God, not our past or other’s lives. We cannot say, “Well, I am better than I used to be.” Or we cannot say, “Well, I am better than that other person.” As we come to the Word of God, it becomes a strong searchlight. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. It discloses our secret sins (Heb 4:12-13). Before taking action or telling anyone, go to your prayer closet and hear what God has for you, and you will live.

Cooperation

Nehemiah made that investigation with prayer, and after that, led by the Spirit he went on to seek the cooperation of the people. This is the second essential step. Verse 17 says, “Then I said to them, “…Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” Rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem was not a new vision at all. Probably, several other Israelites were eager to rebuild it, and they might have wonderful plans, and even some of them might try them. But none of them could make it. The wall and whole city of Jerusalem had been abandoned more than 150 years. Why? It is because those plans were not from God. They were not established and embodied through prayer. But when Nehemiah shared this vision, all the people came out as one man. If we turn to chapter 3, at least 43 different groups of people joined together and did their parts. When we pray for next steps, God raises his servants and unite them around his vision. Prayer is the battle. We cannot fight and win this battle by ourselves. So, God always raises his people to fight the good fight together. Over the year my family and I have had four surprise visits from the previous congregation. The interesting thing is that all of them were my small group members. We used to have a meal together. We shared our prayer requests and experiences. We rejoiced together and mourned together. My prayer is that I may have that kind of spiritual relationship with each of you. [Hodgdon] Now we have a Tuesday Bible study group. And I am planning to start a weekday ongoing small group gathering from next year. [Houlton] Now we have two ongoing small group gatherings – Wednesday Prayer Fellowship and Sunday Bible Reading Club. And I am planning to start a weekday ongoing small group gathering from next year. I exhort you to come to those spiritual gatherings and build up the spiritual wall of the church together!

Determination

With prayer, Nehemiah saw the need for investigation, and he enlisted the people’s cooperation. Then, God prepared him to be determined. As Nehemiah and his people began God’s work in earnest, immediately they faced opposition. Sanballat and Tobiah mocked and ridiculed them. They said, “Are you rebelling against the king?” As we do our Christian service, we have to expect opposition. When the decision was made that I would be appointed to my previous church, immediately six of the church family members officially declared that they would leave the church. Rumors were going around that I didn’t speak English and my ministry would not be successful. Even before starting my ministry there, I had to deal with racism and rumors. My strategy for overcoming them was to run to God’s house every single day and pray for the church. God did make me bold and determined. With God’s help and intervention, those six people decided to stay the church. Within six months my family and the whole church family became one big family in Christ. Our weapon for spiritual opposition is to let God fight for us through prayer. When Sanballat and Tobiah mocked and ridiculed Nehemiah, he invited God into his circumstance. He answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success.” When David fought against Goliath, he invited God to his circumstance by saying, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1Sam 17:45). From that moment that battle was not between David and Goliath any more. It became the battle between God and Goliath. And we know the result. 

With Assurance of Victory

In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian arrives at Palace Beautiful. But as he enters a narrow passage and sees two lions lying in front of the gate. Christian was so afraid and about to go back. But the gateman, whose name was Watchful, cried out, “Why are you so cowardly? Don’t be afraid of the lions, for they are chained and placed there to test your faith!” So Christian followed the gateman’s directions and safely reached the palace. Like Christian did, we will face the challenge of Christian service. But like Nehemiah did, if we constantly pray for next steps, God will lead us step by step, and we will overcome the challenge with assurance of victory. Yes, on our pilgrim journey we will meet lions. But when we pray, God will open our eyes to see them in chains. Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray without ceasing! Amen.