Inspiration

$NEHEMIAH: THE PRAYER FILLED LEADER ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Nehemiah 1: 4 \"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven\" Note: If you are leader reading this message, what is your prayer life like and what do you do when you are face with difficulties as a leader? \"Nehemiah like Ezra was a child of captivity. He was born into the home of parents who had known the horrors of exile. He had lived with the reality of being a Jewish stranger in a strange Gentile land. In these first two chapters we meet a man who had risen to a place of prominence in a foreign land but his heart still yearned for Jerusalem, his beloved city of his fathers and the city of his God. Nehemiah held a position of great honour and respectability. His place was one of royal stature. As cupbearer to the King, he had access to the most powerful man in the Kingdom. At the same time, he was a man of prayer and was deeply committed to his God. In reading these two opening chapters, we quickly begin to see the hands of God at work, placing the right person in the right place at the right time. Isn\'t that just like our amazing Lord?\" What is our prayer life like? And what do we do when our backs are against the wall? Nehemiah\'s story may not be one of the most familiar in the Bible but it is a great story nonetheless. It\'s about a man who heartily loved his God and his country, who courageously spoke his mind, who fearlessly stood against opposition and who carried out a most incredible task. He did it all without any fanfare, all for the purpose of sustaining his beloved nation of Israel and especially the city of Jerusalem. When we look closely at the story of Nehemiah, we see \"a picture of a leader who sought God\'s leadership in his life\". From Nehemiah, we learn four important lessons about leadership: 1. Expect opposition \"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\" 2. Keep a positive perspective \"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\" 3. Fight your battles with prayer and fasting \"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\" 4. Always stay close with others \"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\" 1. Expect opposition: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Nehemiah has a wall to build. After gaining permission from the King of Persia to go to Jerusalem, Nehemiah started his project the right way with careful planning. He went out a night to surveying the walls, envisioning what the finished product would look like. Then he went about gathering people to help him rebuild the ruined wall that surrounded the once great city of Jerusalem: Nehemiah 2: 18 \"I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, let us start rebuilding. So they began this good work\" That\'s when the opposition came. There were people who didn\'t want the wall rebuilt because broken walls give them access to loot the city whenever they pleased. The same group showed up again and again, causing trouble wherever they went. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem started small by trying to demoralize Nehemiah\'s crew of volunteer workers by planting seeds of doubt in their minds: Nehemiah 4: 2 \"And in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, what are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble, burned as they are?\" Later the opposition became more intense, it took the form of an open letter to the community, spreading lies about Nehemiah\'s motives for rebuilding the wall and when the threats came, Nehemiah combined prayer to God with preparation to defend himself and his workers: Nehemiah 4: 9 \"But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat\" Nehemiah expected opposition and when it came he was prepared. 2. Keep a positive perspective: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Throughout this opposition phase, Nehemiah never lost his motivation or his confidence in his powerful God. He maintained a positive perspective and before his enemies knew it, the Job was moving along quickly: Nehemiah 4: 6 \"So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart\" How\'s that for a positive attitude? Not, hey we are only half done but praise God, we are done halfway. Now that\'s the way people act who are positive and who have a perspective from God. 3. Fight your battle with prayer: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: From the time he requested leave from the King, his former employer, Nehemiah bathed this work in prayer. Woven throughout this personal journal are brief prayers: (A). Then I prayed to the God of heaven Nehemiah 2: 4 \"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven\" (B). Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Nehemiah 4: 4 \"Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity\" (C). Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God because of what they Have done. Nehemiah 6: 14 \"Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me\" Nehemiah\'s prayers turn this book into a beautiful woven tapestry of intercession before God. He fought his battle on his knees. 4. Always stay close to others: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Nehemiah inspired his fellow volunteer workers with his vision for the new wall, he stayed close to them. As Solomon wrote so many years ago: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 \"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up\" Nehemiah\'s friends were with him to lift him up when the opposition became intense. They worked with him and prayed with him and stood guard with him during the construction process. Perhaps you have heard the old Joke: Who holds the honour of being the shortest person in the Bible? The answer: Knee-high-miah. Strangely enough, however, that tired old joke identifies the very part of Nehemiah\'s body, his knees that were most effective throughout his life. Nehemiah was a man who fought his battles in humility. At the times when most people would have fought back or sought to make their own way through opposition, this man fell to his knees in prayer. In that sense, he was one of the tallest men who ever stood on the face of the earth. Note: Let us make it practice to go in prayer each day before our loving God on our knees! Amen!$

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