May 31 2021 Day 109 Nehemiah 1:1–4:23

So we prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.


I admit I was not terribly familiar with the book of Nehemiah, and that’s unfortunate. It’s a great read, once you get past the recounting of all of the names of people who worked on the temple’s rebuilding. Nehemiah was a lowly cup-bearer to the king, while the Israelis were in exile. He mourned his homeland and Temple, and asked the King if he could return and work on its rebuilding. The king agreed. More than a story of one man’s courageous return to rebuild, the book of Nehemiah is the story of persistent prayer. He prays before he goes to the king to ask, he prays as he’s beginning the reconstruction and organizing the work. At one point, there is a hostile plot to stop the work, and Nehemiah prays.

At every turn, he prays. In addition to praying though, he acts. He prays and then goes to the king. He prays, and then sets guards as protection against the hostility. This is very helpful for me, as I’ve always struggled with the notion that prayer is a one-sided lob to God, where I ask God to do something for me. What I take from Nehemiah is that I need to be involved.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting God needs my involvement, or that I’m somehow constructing or controlling the outcome. But neither do I believe that I can offer up my prayer, and then sit as a armchair quarterback, awaiting God’s unilateral action. Nehemiah prayed, then asked the king to let him go to rebuild. Nehemiah prayed, then set a guard as protection.

This morning, I’m thinking about the relationship between prayer and action, and how both are needed at least to my soul. I am not well served to plot a course and start acting without first creating space and time for prayer. I don’t mean the kind of prayer where I recount all my woes to God. I’m pretty sure God knows that already. God even knows about the woes I haven’t acknowledged, as well as the blessings both known and unknown. Rather, I’m talking about the kind of prayer where I am quiet and receptive to God’s word. It’s not like I actually hear God speaking to me, but rather, I know God is working in me and through me.

In my current world, I need to pray, to listen to God. And then, I need to be involved. For example, with my loved one, I cannot simply pray that God will provide an immediate cure, and then I get to sit the rest of the story out. I pray, I listen, and then I do what I can with the confidence that God is with me as I bumble my way through. I have certain skills and experiences that position me well for certain kinds of action related to my sick loved one. I should never set off without a Godly consultation first, but like Nehemiah, I need to pray, then set the guards.

In my new-found unanticipated life of leisure, I likewise need to pray, then be prepared to act. I’m not sure what that action is yet, but I’ve realized something important. When I relocated to take the job I no longer have, the clincher to take the job was my then-boss saying that if it is of God, it will work out. Yes! And it did work out. And if that axiom was true then, it’s true now. If it is of God, it will work out. I am not meant to be there any more. Now, I’m not working there and I’m resting, and I absolutely believe that is of God. What is next on my journey is unclear, except today. Today, I will aim to rest where I am, and pray about what’s next. If it is of God, it will work out. Today’s rest is definitely of God.