Second Baptist Church is relocating to a new campus in 10 weeks, and we need God’s hand on every stage of this journey. My daily prayer lately has been: “Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands!” Proverbs 90:17
Our church is preparing for this historic move by studying the book Nehemiah for the next seven weeks in all of our Small Groups and worship services. My weekly blogs for these next seven weeks will hopefully complement our churchwide study. Nehemiah is the story of the final leg of a long, multi-stage relocation from Babylon to Jerusalem; the story of a successful construction project; and the story of a sweeping spiritual revival. That is exactly what we are praying for at 2BC! Please join me in praying for a successful finish to our relocation and construction project – but most of all, for a genuine revival in both our church and our community.
Let’s face it, we all are in need of revival, regardless of whether you or your church is in a relocation or construction project. Nehemiah put on a leadership clinic for us 2500 years ago that we can all still learn from today. Nehemiah’s humble leadership is demonstrated in his willingness to honestly assess the problems in Judea and then humbly pray for God to provide the solutions.
NEHEMIAH TOOK THE TIME TO HONESTLY ASSESS THEIR PROBLEMS
When Nehemiah asked his brother how things were going back home, Hanani flatly reported that the “remnant that survived the exile…is in great trouble and disgrace” (v 3). Nehemiah was not a superficial optimist. You know people who are always “fine” or “awesome.” Leadership Guru Jim Collins says that one of the common factors in companies that make the leap from “Good To Great” is “confronting the brutal facts w/out losing faith.” The prophet Jeremiah told prophets of that day to stop saying “’Peace, Peace!’ When there is no peace.” (Jer 8:11)
Their primary problems were security, leadership, resources and unrepentance. We all have problems, but we don’t all take the time to assess them before we attempt to tackle them. It is not really that hard to find people who are good at assessing problems. Some even seem to enjoy pointing out other’s problems. Good leaders do more than identify problems, they find ways to solve them. Nehemiah’s secret sauce for assessing and solving problems was…(drum roll)…FASTING and PRAYER. Next week I will write about how to safely and effectively fast, but today I want to just highlight how important prayer is to problem solving in general and spiritual renewal/revival in particular.
NEHEMIAH HUMBLY & BOLDLY PRAYED FOR GOD’S SOLUTIONS
The solution to their obvious security problem was to simply rebuild the city wall. Before he came to that conclusion, Nehemiah “sat down and wept…fasting and praying” for four months (v 4). The solution to Judah’s leadership problem was for Nehemiah to volunteer, but only after he prayed for guidance. The solution to the resources problem was to pray for King Artaxerxes’ favor – which only happened as a result of Nehemiah’s prayer, “Give your servant success today, and have compassion on him in the presence of this man” (v 11). The solution to their sin problem was repentance, so Nehemiah prayerfully and tearfully repented for Israel, his family and himself (vv 6-9). His repentance eventually inspired others to do the same, which led to a personal and nationwide revival. Who doesn’t want that?
Take a few minutes right now and ask God to help you honestly assess any problems in your life, family, work or church.
Apply your faith to those problems by putting them into God’s hands through prayer. Journaling helps me to articulate my prayers and remember God’s faithfulness.
Pray for God to bring revival to your church, home and life. Pray: “Revive us so we can call on your name once more.” Psalm 80:18
