Handle With Prayer!

Nehemiah 4:9-But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night. NASB

It’s obvious to any reader of the book of Nehemiah that he was a pray-er. When he heard the news about Jerusalem, he prayed. When the king asked him what was his request, he prayed. And now we’re in chapter four, and we find that Nehemiah once again is praying.

Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews.

Nehemiah 4:1 NASB

Nehemiah and the Jews were working on the wall with such focused attention that Sanballat and company were not happy. Nehemiah states that Sanballat was actually furious and began to mock them and their work to his countrymen. And if that wasn’t enough, Tobiah joined in criticizing and belittling what Nehemiah and the other Jews were accomplishing. Sanballat and Tobiah were so persistent in their verbal attacks against the rebuilding of the wall that they stirred up the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites in the area who also became very angry at the progress Nehemiah was making.

At this point, many people would feel like they needed to confront Sanballat and Tobiah. Maybe it would be necessary to give them a piece of their mind. Or get involved in a physical altercation, or a lawsuit for slandering their name.  

Instead of handling this situation himself, and rising to the bait, Nehemiah did what was obviously his practice, he prayed.

Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. Do not forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.

Nehemiah 4:4-5 NASB

In other words, Nehemiah wanted God to deal severely with his enemies! He asked God to allow them to become captives in another land. He requested that God wouldn’t forgive them or wipe away their sins because of the grief they had caused the builders. Let me pause and say, this is not how I recommend that we pray for our enemies today! When Jesus told us to pray for our enemies, He wasn’t thinking of this type of prayer where we ask God to hurt our enemies like they are hurting us. Just the opposite! I know this to be true because He led by example:

And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. [But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”] …

Luke 23:33-34 NASB

Nehemiah didn’t have Jesus’ example, so he had an excuse as to why he and maybe others in the Old Testament prayed the “get them” kind of prayers. But as believers, that’s not how we are to pray for our enemies.

Although Nehemiah prayed, he didn’t stop working. He was there to rebuild the wall, and therefore, they continued working on the wall. As a matter of fact, Nehemiah stated that the people had a mind to work.

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:6 NASB

This means that despite the opposition, the people had a made up mind to persevere. And so they closed the walls up, making sure they had no gaps in the walls, giving them more security from the enemy.

Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. So all of them conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Nehemiah 4:7-8 NASB

Working in the kingdom of God is not always sunshine and roses. More often than not, it has a way of attracting the enemy. That’s what Nehemiah was experiencing in this situation. He was trying obeying God, and the enemy wasn’t happy. So much so, they wanted to attack the city of Jerusalem to cause confusion in it.

Can you think of a time when you or your church was busy working for the Lord, and the enemy arose to bring confusion? I know I can think of several! You start a building project, and people begin complaining and then leaving the church, placing the project in a financial bind. You are asked to the lead the children’s ministry, that no one else wanted, and all the workers quit because they felt they should have been asked to lead it. You’re working with the youth group, and then someone comes along and convinces the pastor that they can do a better job and you are replaced. No the attacks are not necessarily physical, but they do cause confusion, interruptions, and heartaches. Handle them with prayer!

But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.

Nehemiah 4:9 NASB

Nehemiah prayed. Nehemiah continued to work. But Nehemiah also had enough sense to realize that he needed to prepare for an attack! Therefore, he called a prayer meeting which led to them posting guards both day and night. However, they still faced some challenges:

And so in Judah it was said: “The strength of the burden bearers is failing,
yet there is much rubble; and we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall.”

Nehemiah 4:10 NASB

Discouragement comes with intense opposition. It’s easy to understand how overwhelmed the task before them was. In this midst of trying to keep a positive attitude about all the work that needed to be done, they also had to be concerned about their lives and the lives of their families. That can be true today. I can recall more than one building fund that we sacrificed to support, when we needed the money more than the church did. It’s hard to trust when things get personal. But prayer has a way of bolstering our spirits when nothing else can.

Ten times they were told that the enemy planned to attack and kill them. But Nehemiah was confident in the God who had sent him on this journey:

When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

Nehemiah 4:14 NASB

If you Google the phrases “fear not” and “don’t be afraid,” you will discover there are over 100 verses in scriptures that tell us that we aren’t to be afraid. God doesn’t want us to be afraid of our enemies. When fear try to overwhelm us, we are to remember the Lord who is great and awesome. We are to remember the countless times He has delivered us from the snares of the evil one. When we are attacked it’s hard to see clearly, that’s why we are to handle these situations with prayer.

Eventually Sanballat and Tobiah realized that Nehemiah was more prepared to fight than they gave him credit for. They saw that the wall was still being built and the people were willing to fight, demonstrating they were more united and tougher than they had first appeared.

This is what blesses me the most about prayer. When tough situations arise, I don’t have to be tough, I can just run to the Savior. He’s tougher than any situation and has already declared victory over the enemy. The next time Satan raises his head to bring pain, confusion or heartache your way, remember to handle it with prayer! Wonderful Jesus!