Nehemiah didn't stop with fasting, confessing, and praying. He went on to remind God that even though he and his people were sinners, they were sinners who belonged to a great God who had great and glorious plans for his people. He acknowledged that God had led them out of captivity and he finished his prayer by asking that God grant him favor as he spoke to the king:
"Neh. 1: 10....'They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.'"
Some of the lessons we can learn from him:
- There is a time to repent and there is a time to quit groveling and get to work.
- It is OK to remind God of his promises to you and to his church.
- We often have to ask powerful people for help and we need God's help to prepare the way for us.
What enabled Nehemiah to go beyond the negatives was the recognition that it was not because of Nehemiah that changes could be made. It was because of the promises and power of God.
This balance between our work and relying on God is a challenging balance and each one of us has to find it in our own heart and mind. We are responsible to get up off our faces and work and often to work incredibly hard. But we can't do that relying on our own strength for either our work or our results. To keep that balance in mind, pray and acknowledge in your heart and mind continuously that it is always "not by might or by power, but by His spirit" that we accomplish any church communications work of value.
Then get specific and ask for the help with the people you need to make your church communications effective.
