"Pray and Fight" June 29 Readings: Nehemiah 1-5

Today's Reading - Nehemiah 1-5

Background

Until the 16th Century, Hebrew Bibles included Nehemiah with Ezra.

Nehemiah was cupbearer to the King and led a return to Israel to rebuild the walls to protect Jerusalem. Ezra led in the spiritual rebuilding of Israel but Nehemiah worked to protect them from physical enemies.

He also finds out that Israelites have been backsliding and marrying non-Jewish wives and he confronts that sin.

Devotional - Pray and Fight 

Nehemiah was operating under the call and blessing of God, who had put it on his heart to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. God had further blessed him by granting him favor with the king who sent him on his way in favor. When he arrived, he was faithful to do the work of God carefully and diligently. The walls were being built.

Of course, that meant that everything went well, everyone cheered him on and supported his work and things fell into place. Amen?

Uh...no. There was a man named Sanballat, his friend Tobiah and many others who were opposed to the work Nehemiah was doing. They marshaled their strength to oppose the work that was being done. Sanballat was furious about the progress God's people were making.

The fact is, God's work will always be opposed. Jesus was opposed. Paul was opposed. Every great figure in the Bible experienced great opposition from the enemies of God, even sometimes from within God's people. When you determine to draw near to God, to seek him with all your heart, and to serve him in this world, expect that you will be opposed. Jesus promised that the world that hated him will hate us. Christians who walk in the flesh will oppose those who walk in the fullness of the Spirit. That is just the nature of things in this fallen world.

Nehemiah's approach to dealing with Sanballat and his minions is instructive. In verse 9, it says,

"So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night."

There are a couple of times in God's Word where his people were told to do nothing but stand and watch God work. "Stand still and see the salvation of God." Sometimes, they were told to do acts of obedience to display their faithfulness to God (like march around Jericho). But most of the time, God sent his people out to battle to fight against their enemies. The vast majority of biblical encounters follow this pattern.

Depend on God and fight hard. 

Nehemiah bathed everything he did in prayer. He asked God's wisdom to know what he should do. He asked God's blessing and protection as he did it. He never operated independently from God or live out his own agenda. He sought God faithfully.

But he also set a guard. The vast majority of the time throughout the Bible, God's people, depending on him, having prayed for his blessings, had to take up arms and fight. In the Old Testament that fighting was often literal. In the New Testament era, the weapons are spiritual. But the fact is that we must not only pray for God's direction, wisdom and power, but we must fight the good fight. We must go out into this world and work in God's name. We must face down the enemies of God and stand in Christ's victory.

Father, forgive me for when I have failed to pray and seek your wisdom and power and gone out on my own. Forgive me as well for when I have prayed for your power to be revealed but failed to take up the weapons of warfare you have given me and gone to battle in your name. 

Think and Pray

Do you balance these two sides?
Do you pray for the power of God and work in the power of God?