February 29, 2024

Nehemiah 4.9 (NIV)
But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

[Do not] pray about . . . strategies, but . . . make prayer the strategy.*

It was nearly 100 years since the Jews returned to Jerusalem from exile and still the city had no walls. While a walled city is a foreign concept to us, it had cultural and political significance in the Middle East of the Old Testament. There was resistance from some local officials but the biggest obstacle to rebuilding the walls was lack of leadership. And along comes Nehemiah – a man on a mission from God.

The project was coming along nicely when their progress came to the attention of some of their most avid adversaries who began to plot a strategy to fight and “stir up trouble” (verse 8). How did the Jews respond to this threat? Nehemiah says they prayed and then posted a guard. 

There are a couple of ways to misinterpret Nehemiah’s actions. We could think that this is an example of the adage that many people mistakenly think is found in the Bible: God helps those who help themselves. But that would be wrong. We could also see it as a sign that they didn’t trust God. They prayed, after all, so why did they need to post a guard?

When they had finished their prayer, they did not have the luxury of time to weigh their options. Prayer plus responsible action is not a sign of lack of trust – it is a step of faith. Posting a guard would have been useless if God hadn’t been consulted first. As it says in Psalm 127.1, “Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” And without action, their prayers would have been faithless.

We must be careful to ask for God’s direction before taking action. Pray and be led by his Spirit into action.

The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. . . . He does not anoint plans, but men – men of prayer.*

*Quote sources available upon request.