PLANS FROM HIS PRESENCE!
Nehemiah 1:4”And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.”
“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'” Billy Graham
I have watched and participated in many meetings, where elaborate plans, innovative ideas and various other factors are thrashed out and discussed in ‘brain storming sessions’ with swanky presentations and great eloquent words; sadly, many have flopped badly, though; the thoughts gets buried there!
But today, I want to talk about Nehemiah who stunningly takes off with the mega project of building the burnt walls of Jerusalem amidst severe oppositions, criticism and hurdles; he arises to do so FROM the presence of God. Did you read that? From the presence of God! Yes, read the above scripture again: Nehemiah sat down, wept, mourned certain days, fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Are you listening to me? Nehemiah was shattered when he heard the plight of the people of God; yet, he calmly pours out his feelings and emotions at the feet of the Lord and waits for Him! Way to go Nehemiah! Today, we have people follow a friend to Canada because there is money there, we have people who take up Engineering course because someone said there is scope in it for job, we have people who wear a particular dress because it looks nice on someone else (would it be nice on you? Think!) People rush and dash, apply here and there, try 1000 things and finally end up in a mess. I think I’m speaking to someone out there! After God relocated our ministry to Hyderabad, we moved to a particular area and funnily within a span of five years, I have seen many shops, bakeries, restaurants, eat-outs and many other establishments change very regularly – nothing remains even for a span of six months. These are the fickle-minded people who start something erratically and unwisely, but Nehemiah sat at the presence of the Lord and waited on Him with fasting, tears and prayer! Glory to Jesus! Young people! Learn this art! Look what happens! God unfolds His plans awesomely and Nehemiah goes about it meticulously, wisely and systematically.
Prayer of Nehemiah: Now, let us start with the prayer of Nehemiah, it was not a fleeting prayer but a faithful and passionate prayer, looks what he says:” Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night..” He prayed ceaselessly! Imagine praying in the midst of ruins! Life can feel dreary and onerous, particularly when are things are grim around you; however, prayer is the ONLY remedy out of this! We need prayer warriors like Nehemiah who would pray day and night until they hear from heaven! Today we say prayers like fast-food that lasts for two minutes! If anyone prays for ten minutes then that would be long! Alas! How less we pray and how much we expect!!!!! No wonder, heaven remains shut and we live in drought because we have forgotten to pray! We prefer to stand in front of the doctor’s clinic for five hours to just get an appointment rather than spend quality time with God in prayer! Apostle Paul tells us: (1 Thessalonians 5:17) ”pray without ceasing!”
Confession: Revival starts with conviction of sins, followed by confession, that should end with consecration! The sincere confession of Nehemiah is truly touching, he said:”….even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments..”(Nehemiah 1:6,7) He reminds God of His promises: “Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses..”(v 8) His passionate prayer reached the throne room of Heaven and God unravels His plans for Nehemiah.
Doors open: When you walk out from the presence of God, His grace would shield you and favor flows. I repeat favor flows! Nehemiah did not have to do 100 salutes to the king, but the king himself asks him” what are you requesting?” (Nehemiah 2:4) Again Nehemiah prays and then places his project before the king: ” "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it." There, it was said! When you have started your project from His Presence with lots and lots of prayer, then you don’t have to worry for the results. Favor would flow! Did I not say that earlier?
God would give you wisdom: The king agreed and Nehemiah did not take his suitcase and leave, look how wisely, thoughtfully, proactively he acted:
a) Nehemiah requested the king for letters to be given to him to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let him pass through until he reaches Judah.
b) letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple.
Friend, living in an era of ‘rush and push’ this message surely has to be read and preached; we have profound lessons from the book of Nehemiah, who was a great leader: astute, perfect and committed. Rare commodity to find these days! I have watched young Engineers forget important, relevant documents while they attend an interview, there are few who even forget their passports during their travel; an utterly careless generation is dangerously growing. No wonder there are failures, disappointments because of lack of careful planning and preparing. The meticulous planning of Nehemiah is laudable!
Then we have an awesome line that says, “the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.” ( Nehemiah 2:8) Is this not wonderful? Things prosper when you start from His feet! This statement actually got stuck in me when I heard it from my spiritual mentor several years back, he actually said, ‘ anything not birthed from the presence of God would never prosper’. I still fearfully and faithfully follow his instructions to cling on to God.
Protection and Provision: Friend, when God gives you a vision, He would also provide protection and also necessary provision for the fulfillment of the vision. The Bible says that the king had sent with Nehemiah Offficer’s of the army and horsemen. (Nehemiah 2:9) Protection as well as transportation was also provided for Nehemiah. Friend, when you sit at His Feet, God would start moving for you! I’m excited as I write this on a day of fasting and prayer!
Discretion and understanding: Nehemiah uttered not a word and spoke to none about his plans of building the walls of Jerusalem, he silently went about inspecting in the night and planning it in his heart before speaking wisely to the people. Today, we have ‘everything’ posted on the facebook wall! Right from personal quarrels and relationships are on the wall for everybody to watch and mock! Whatsup status reflects the mood of the day! We have forgotten to be discreet and wise like Mary who kept the news about her Son Jesus buried in her heart without tom-toming to the whole town.
Words of encouragement: The anointing on you would make people abide with you and also listen to you! Your imperious diktats would not work with people! If you are a team leader or a Manager, spending time at the Feet of the Lord is most important than reading 1000 books on people management. More than ability and capability, we need tranquility and serenity to handle tough situation which we get only and only in the presence of God! Are you listening?
Explain your rationale regarding your project in detail leaving no room for doubts! I hear many people say: ‘they don’t listen to me, people do not respect me, or they ignore me ;‘ through this message, analyze and examine yourself today! Have you equipped yourself like Nehemiah and prepared like the way he prepared? Think! Nehemiah speaks cautiously with the people, encourages them for the work and wins their hearts and confidence. Glory to Jesus! They all said: "Let us rise up and build."
Friend, behind the success of Nehemiah is the invisible Hands of God that made all things work in his favor!
