Prayer Reveals a Plan

***Series Title Slide***

Let’s continue our series from the book of Nehemiah with a series titled Pray, Plan and Persevere.

The first two sermons were titled a Holy Burden leads to prayer. While the overall theme of the book is the rebuilding of Jerusalem, a major sub-theme is prayer. We’ll see that today as we cover Nehemiah chapter 2.

Before we read, I want to give you a quick recap and a picture of what is happening.

The people of Israel were in a season of returning from exile back to the city of Jerusalem. For 80 years prior to the events in this book, a remnant of the Jewish people had trickled in and rebuilt the temple. As we read in Nehemiah 1, large areas of the city were still in shambles at the time of the report to Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 1 ends with a beautiful prayer, where Nehemiah is seeking the help of the Lord with what to do in the city.

Have you ever had to face something big in your life where you weren’t sure how it would all work out? Perhaps it’s a major change coming like a new job or a move to a new place. Perhaps a major challenge with your health or a relationship. It might even be something like Nehemiah was facing in taking on rebuilding the city walls.

In my own life, I’ve seen how I’ve responded in one of a few ways to these big things and also how others might respond...

We might shrink away from the challenge. It all seems just to big. We give up before too much thought is put into it. We resign to the way it is.

We might react quickly and jump in without much thought. It’s an impulsive action and we just want to get-r-done.

We begin planning and scheming. We make deals where we have to, but it is up to us and we’ll stop at nothing to make it happen. We play out each scenario in our minds and we work up a way to make it work.

Hopefully, we learn at some point to stop and pray. To seek God’s favor and guidance. To inquire about timing and resources. We enlist others to pray with us. The focus is not how to make it happen, but to see how God is going to make it happen.

That last one is what Nehemiah started as we finished chapter 1. We see that Nehemiah prayed day and night for days. In fact, the report came at the end of November/beginning of December and in chapter 2, we’ll see it is now end of March/April.

For four months Nehemiah we to God with this request on what he is to do about the report he got about the city. God placed a burden within Nehemiah and Nehemiah didn’t want to do anything with that burden without God leading the way. Let’s read the first few verses of chapter 2.

Nehemiah 2:1–3 NIV

1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

In these four months of prayer, God prepared Nehemiah to speak to the king. As we’ll see shortly, a plan was formed in the mind of Nehemiah during this time as well. But what Nehemiah needed the most was God’s favor with the king. This was the last request as part of his prayer in chapter 1.

Nehemiah was just waiting for the right time. Notice that he was very much afraid. The butterflies, the nerves, the anxiety of speaking in the moment never went away, but what came was a confidence that God would take care of him.

Let’s keep going.

Nehemiah 2:4 NIV

4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven,

The king could sense a request in Nehemiah’s report of the city and asked what Nehemiah wanted. Nehemiah quickly prayed before he answered. We don’t know the words of that prayer, perhaps there weren’t any. It may have been as simple as “Lord, Help me.”

Then Nehemiah answers in confidence...

Nehemiah 2:5–6 NIV

5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” 6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

So much of the result in this moment is all about the 4 months of preparation before. Without seeking God’s help and being ready for the moment, this doesn’t happen.

Perhaps you’re still at the early part of this great thing that God is calling you to…pray. Seek God. I know you’ll be tempted to rush into things and not be patient, but let me encourage you that through your time in prayer, you’ll be ready for that moment to speak up when it comes.

That’s not all that happened though…let’s keep going.

Nehemiah 2:7–8 NIV

7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.

Nehemiah had waited for the right moment. He spoke up and made the request. Not only did he make the initial request, he knew the next step in what would be needed. Protection and materials to complete the work.

Notice Nehemiah gives credit to God’s gracious hand and not to his own planning. Certainly there was some of that. Nehemiah had to spend some time planning and know who needed what letter and where materials would come from.

But it wasn’t just on Nehemiah to accomplish - God made it so the king would grant Nehemiah’s request. Even with that, it wasn’t all smooth sailing...

Nehemiah 2:9–10 NIV

9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.

Even with God’s hand on this, there was still some opposition. I think sometimes we can mistake opposition to something as God’s speaking to us about something. Anytime God’s people get going on something, there is always an enemy who would like to foil those plans. Let’s read the rest of the chapter and see this play out...

Nehemiah 2:11–19 NIV

11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. 13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. 17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

Nehemiah prayed for 4 months and a plan began to take shape. He had the courage to ask the king for what he needed and by God’s grace, he got it. He then travels to the city and sees the ruins for himself before he enlists the help of those who had already returned to the city.

He then gets the commitment from those in the city to begin rebuilding and they just got to work.

Notice the opposition that comes. Please take note of this. It will always come, and the playbook today is no different than it was then.

When they can’t attack from legitimacy, they mock and ridicule. Today is no different. When we stand on truth, the truth is met with mockery and ridicule. This type of attack is typically effective because it makes those who are being attacked feel bad in one way or another. It is meant to cause someone to shrink back.

When that doesn’t work, twist the truth. They asked if they were rebelling against the king. Certainly not because Nehemiah had letters from the king. What we don’t see here, but is present in Ezra, is that the same king had denied work on the wall not too long before this at the request of these same guys. This was a fear tactic meant for them to question what they were doing. Rebelling against the king was not something people did and lived to tell about.

We see these same tactics today when we try to do something that in contrast with the culture around us. May we meet those challenges in the same way as Nehemiah did…let’s read the last verse.

Nehemiah 2:20 NIV

20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

First, Nehemiah places his confidence in the God of heaven. Our confidence needs to be in Him, first and foremost. Anything that God wants done will get done. We have to do the work to get our hearts and minds in line with Him. This may require an extended time of prayer. Four months may not even be enough.

Once we have confidence in God being the source of success, we can just get to work. Do the next thing in front of us. In their case, lay the next brick. Anytime we do something big, the bigness of the thing can overwhelm us, but if we just keep our focus on the next thing and then the next thing after that, the big thing becomes manageable.

Lastly, Nehemiah excludes them from laying any claim to the work they are doing or the city they are in. He is really speaking about what others had done up to this point that allowed Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem to have influence…the Jewish leaders had been willing to compromise and allow these pagan god worshipers to influence them in their worship.

It’s ok to make peace, but there are times in which we need to keep our Christian work separate. I know of an organization in Central Vermont that was started by area churches to be a help to those in need in the community. Today this organization has removed nearly all references to Christ from the work that they do. That doesn’t mean they aren’t still helping, but the biggest help people need is a savior. Those coming for help don’t get that there anymore.

***Title Slide***

Closing remarks, invitation