In this post, I will be discussing about the power of faith and prayer using Nehemiah as our case study
Nehemiah was the man who led the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.
This task seems impossible, but what seems impossible was made possible by one man named Nehemiah.
I believe he dared to rebuild the walls because God gave him the vision.
When God gives you a vision, you will have the confidence and peace that it will be done.
What I want us to learn from the story of Nehemiah is holding on to God’s word.
When God gives His word, it is as good as done. God does not lie instead whatever God says comes into existence even though it wasn’t related before.
Whenever the word of God does not come to pass in your life, it is because you didn’t do your part.
The things you need to do includes, believing the word, praying about the word and taking action.
Every successful leader needs to pray regularly because they will be faced with challenges and the only way to overcome those challenges is to pray to God.
Steps Nehemiah used in overcoming challenges.
Faith in Action
Nehemiah had a vision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem when the resources were not available.
He didn’t have the human or financial resources to rebuild the wall but because of the vision God gave to him, he took actions of faith.
Those actions include telling King Artaxerxes what was bothering his mind. He said “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favour in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it ” and the king granted his request.
He also travelled to Jerusalem when he could have given excuses for lack of resources.
Giving up on building the wall was the easiest thing he can do when he was faced with opposition but he had faith that God had sent him, God will strengthen him to rebuild the wall and also protect them.
Prayer as a Source of Strength
A lot of people depend on their physical and mental strength. They allow their strength to limit them.
The strength every leader needs is spiritual because we are supernatural beings.
If we are supernatural beings, it means there is something that controls our physical state.
The point I’m making here is that the spiritual controls the physical.
Spiritual strength does not have a limit. It works according to our faith.
From the story of Nehemiah, you will notice that he prayed about every step he took.
He prayed to God asking for mercy before he went to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.
He also prayed to God when he experienced challenges from opposition and he kept praying till the rebuilding of the wall was completed.
Most importantly, Nehemiah prayed to God for direction. He did not depend on his wisdom or experience instead he depended on praying to God to get instructions.
As a leader, you need to pray to God daily so that you can get instructions on how to live a successful life.
God is the beginning and the end, so he has the best plans for us.
He gives us the best instructions, all we need to do is trust God and follow his leading.
Inspiring Others through Faith and Prayer
One of the main duties of a good leader is to inspire others to follow their lead.
A leader will find it hard to lead others if he cannot inspire them to follow in his direction.
Nehemiah had a vision to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and he was able to inspire the people of Jerusalem to join him in fulfilling that vision.
No matter how intelligent or strong Nehemiah could have been, he couldn’t fulfill that vision all by himself. He needed to work with other people to achieve that vision.
The best way to do that is to inspire them. Nehemiah was able to make the people of Jerusalem also seek God.
The people of Jerusalem confessed their sins and renewed their covenant. This was one of the best things that Nehemiah achieved.
I have also noticed over the years that people are easily influenced by leaders that are sure and passionate about their vision.
You need to be passionate about your vision and know what you want. This is the first step in inspiring and influencing others around you.
Conclusion
From the story of Nehemiah, you can see that faith starts by hearing from God. Then your faith grows as you pray and meditate on the word of God.
For faith to manifest and work you need to pray and meditate on the word that God has given you.
You also need to take action based on the word you have heard from God. This is the principle behind the story of Nehemiah.
My charge to you, as you read today, is to meditate and pray about the word God has given you.
You should also take action in addition to your faith because faith without works is dead.