Nehemiah 4:9 — “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”
At our Men’s Nights this year, we’ve been studying Nehemiah. He returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall — and immediately faces opposition. Enemies threaten, intimidate, and scheme. Nehemiah’s response is one of my favorites in all Scripture: “We prayed to our God and posted a guard.”
That’s it. Prayer and action. Dependence and responsibility. They didn’t choose between spiritual and practical. Instead, they did both. Some people only pray. Others only act. Faithful believers do both.
Recently, I had a small (but instructive) reminder of this. I get a daily preview email showing what mail should arrive. In January, I began to notice that letters weren’t showing up. At first, it wasn’t anything important. But then tax forms. And bank statements. Then checks. On top of that, DMV documents. Not small stuff.
For three weeks, I tried to solve it. I talked to multiple mail carriers. Next, I stopped by the post office. I also made calls. The answer was always the same: “Be patient.” Obviously, my frustration grew.
Finally, I prayed. “Lord, I would really like my mail.” I told my wife I had prayed. She said, “That’s great. Why don’t you try catching the mailman?” So I sat by the window one afternoon. An hour later, he pulled up. I walked out and explained the situation. “Oh,” he said casually, “there’s a hold on your mail.” A hold? I never requested one. Sure enough, at the post office, there was a bin with our name on it. It held every missing letter. Problem solved.
Dependent On God
Here’s the lesson: for three weeks I acted without praying. Then, I prayed and acted again. Prayer humbles us. It reminds us we’re dependent on God. Not to mention, it helps us see the next steps.
Some of you are facing real opposition — stress, conflict, and uncertainty. Plus financial pressures and parenting challenges. Maybe you’ve been trying to fix everything yourself. Pray.
Others of you are praying—but you already know the next step of obedience. Post a guard.
God calls us to always trust Him completely — and to act faithfully. Pray. And post a guard.
Praying and posting,
Posted in A Word from the Pastor