Nehemiah

Nehemiah 2:17-18

Prayer

Bible Passage: Nehemiah 2:17-18

Macedonia-Hodges

September 6, 2026

Prayer

Subject:  Nehemiah 2:17–18

“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.”

SUBJECT: WE CAN DO IT

In this text, we meet a man named Nehemiah who shows how effective leadership can unite a community around a shared goal. He encourages people to see both their struggles and the chance for renewal ahead. His call to action inspires a shared vision that builds commitment and teamwork.

To everyone who has been called to leadership roles not just for a title or authority but as an agent of change in the family, community, and church. As leaders, we are called to motivate individuals to look at their surroundings and act to restore hope in places of despair.

We know that true leadership involves encouraging others to work toward a shared goal and taking clear action. Nehemiah’s vision addressed challenges, but it brought unity.

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah worked in Persia as a cupbearer for King Artaxerxes I, and during this time he received disturbing news from several men from Judah, including his own brother.

Nehemiah received news that the walls of Jerusalem were broken, the gates had been burned, and the people were left exposed and vulnerable; they were not protected; they were defenseless, exposed, and at risk of being attacked.

When Jerusalem's walls were down, the enemy could come in because nothing was protecting the city. And when there is no protection, you are open to any attack. Whenever the spiritual walls of our lives come down, things can enter that God never intended to have authority over us.

When the wall of prayer comes down, we become vulnerable because prayer is where we seek God’s direction, covering, wisdom, and strength. A church that stops praying may still have programs, music, meetings, and activities, but it can begin operating without spiritual discernment. Prayer keeps the church sensitive to God. Without it, we can start reacting in the flesh instead of responding in the Spirit.

When the wall of love comes down, we become vulnerable to bitterness, division, jealousy, offense, and unforgiveness. Love is what helps us bear with one another when we disagree. Love does not mean we ignore wrongdoing, but it keeps conflict from turning into destruction. Once love weakens, people stop seeing one another as brothers and sisters and start seeing one another as opponents.

When the wall of commitment comes down, the work becomes vulnerable. A few people end up carrying what the whole body was meant to carry. Worship becomes inconsistent. Ministries weaken. Leadership becomes exhausted. The church can have vision but no participation. Commitment says, “This is not just somebody else’s church. This is our responsibility before God.”

And when the wall of unity comes down, the congregation becomes especially exposed. Unity does not mean everybody thinks alike. It means that despite our differences, we agree that Christ, the mission, and the health of the church are bigger than our personal preferences. When unity collapses, small disagreements can become large divisions, rumors can spread, trust can disappear, and the church spends more energy fighting itself than fulfilling its mission.

But Nehemiah did not look at what was broken and say, “Somebody ought to do something.” He allowed what he saw to become a burden in his own heart. He prayed, sought God, and then said, “Come, let US rebuild.”

Macedonia, I want you to hear the Word of the Lord: this rebuilding cannot belong to the pastor alone. It belongs to US. If there is a wall to build, we build it. If there is a ministry to strengthen, we strengthen it. If there is a relationship to restore, we restore it. If there are disciples to make, we make them. If there is a Kingdom to build, WE build together!

But for us to do all of this, we must recognize our ruins. Somebody say, recognize the ruins

Recognize the Ruins

When Nehemiah got to Jerusalem, God led him to do research and plan, then to think and pray, and get acquainted with some of the people there. Then he began to recognize the damage that he was facing. How often do we come to a situation and begin to make our own judgment? How often do we miss the opportunity to see the real problem because we forgot to assess the situation? My mother told me when I was coming up that there are always 3 sides to a story. Because everybody wants to be right.

As Nehemiah assessed the ruins of Jerusalem, it was not a pretty sight. As a church, before we can rebuild, we must be willing to look honestly at the broken places. Not to wallow, but to see clearly. People often skip that step because the ruins feel painful. But Nehemiah shows us that, through faith and assessment, we can move forward.

Macedonia: Before Nehemiah asked anybody to rebuild, he assessed the ruins.

He walked around the broken walls. He looked at what had fallen. He looked at what had been burned. He looked at what had been lost.

And Macedonia, before we can rebuild, we must be willing to assess our ruins.

We have experienced death. We have experienced loss. We have experienced separation. We watched some people leave. We have experienced hurt, disappointment, and broken relationships.

But hear me: assessing the ruins is not the same as assigning the blame.

We are not looking at the ruins to decide whose fault it was. We are looking at the ruins to determine what needs to be rebuilt.

Because if we keep blaming one another, we'll keep standing in the rubble.

But if we can recognize it, God can heal it. If we can name it, God can restore it. If we can face it, by the grace of God, WE CAN REBUILD IT!

Nehemiah didn't inspect the wall to condemn Jerusalem. He inspected the wall because he loved Jerusalem enough to rebuild it.

And that's why we're looking at our ruins today—not because we don't love this church, but because we love Macedonia enough to rebuild!

Church, we can't heal what we won't name." We've walked through grief, through goodbyes, through moments that made us wonder if we could keep going. Even though we don't know how we made it through, we might have wanted to give up, but we didn't because of our faith. Our faith is to believe that if God can bring us to it, then I know He can bring me through it. Because the Word says there is nothing impossible for God. Nehemiah didn't stop at assessing the rubble. He saw possibility. We can’t stop at the ruins; we must see the possibilities. Today I want to ask you a question: Do you see possibilities?

This morning my usher gave everybody a card, and your card has a word on it.

“Everybody, hold up your card. That card represents a brick in the wall we're rebuilding. And I'm going to say, LET US!’ When I say ‘LET US,’ I want you to declare the word on your card!”

LET US! 16 times

Because we are not rebuilding with blame. We're rebuilding with love. We're rebuilding with forgiveness. We're rebuilding with unity. We're rebuilding with faith.

LET US RISE UP AND BUILD!