Building Walls

The Jewish people had been in captivity for seventy years in Babylon, but in the year 530 B.C. the power of the Babylonian Empire was broken by the power of Persia, and the king of Persia encouraged the Jewish remnant to return to their own country and to the city of Jerusalem. The Persian king had no power to send them reinforcements, and so for more than ninety years after the first Jews returned, the walls of Jerusalem remained desolate and the people of God lived in affliction and shame.

It was at this juncture, in the year 445 B.C., that God spoke to Nehemiah, and called him to serve the Lord in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Let’s look at the immense spiritual lessons for all of us in Nehemiah’s life.

Nehemiah’s Preparation

One day Nehemiah’s brother and some other Jews returned from a brief visit to Jerusalem and reported to Nehemiah the situation there. The story of failure, set against his own knowledge of God’s real purpose for the people in Jerusalem, changed this man’s whole outlook on life. He sat down and he wept, and he mourned, and he fasted, and he prayed. Ever since, the Lord’s people have found that their work for God has only begun when they have wept and mourned and fasted and prayed over the conditions as they really are.

It was after Nehemiah’s weeping that he began working. It was after his despair that there came determination. If we would mourn over the ruin that exists, we would find ourselves cast in utter dependence upon our God. That was Nehemiah’s secret and that is the beginning of all Christian work.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

When we have a vision of ruin and brokenness and need, we are tempted to say, “We’re helpless to do anything about it.” Observe carefully, now, Nehemiah’s prayer in chapter 1, verses 4-11. Quite clearly, this was a man who had fed his soul on the word of God. His prayer in this chapter is based on God’s revelation of Himself, and that kind of prayer can never fail.

Nehemiah’s prayer moved on to confession. He included himself in the confession of the sins of his people, and in acknowledgment that they had not obeyed God, and that their troubles were the result of their own disobedience.

Notice also that this prayer was rooted in the past. Nehemiah looked back hundreds and hundreds of years, and dared to remind God of the great deliverance from Egypt, the protection of the blood, the successful, triumphant journey into the land of blessing and victory. He dared to remind God of the covenant that God had given to His people.

When we pray, we can look back to when Jesus shed His blood and died and rose from a tomb and ascended into Heaven. Certainly He did not do all that to leave us living as we are today, or to leave our churches weak and inadequate in their impact and insufficient in their witness. Take a long look at the cross and the blood flowing from His side, and then you will know something about this effective way of praying.

Nehemiah’s Purpose

Notice Nehemiah’s determination of purpose as he ended his prayer: “give success to Your servant today” (1:11). Can you picture Nehemiah as he rose from his knees and took a deep breath and went into the presence of the king? He started the task. He had the ear of the king, and thanks to God he had obtained favor from the king. Nehemiah, firm in his purpose, went out in the power of God and set about the task.

The principles of Christian service are just the same today. We are prepared to serve the Lord only by sacrifice. We are fit for the work of God only when we have wept over it, prayed about it, and then we are enabled by Him to tackle the job that needs to be done.

There is a wall to be built around your soul. There is a wall of testimony to be built around your church. There is a wall of witness to be built in all the world. No matter which of these walls you are burdened about building, you will discover that there is no winning without warfare; there is no opportunity without opposition; there is no victory without vigilance. For whenever the people of God say, “Let us arise and build,” Satan says, “Let me arise and oppose.”

May God give to us hearts that bleed, eyes that are wide open to see, minds that are clear to interpret God’s purpose, wills that are obedient, and a determination that is utterly unflinching as we set about the tasks He would have us to do.

—Condensed from Victorious Christian Service: Studies in the book of Nehemiah by Alan Redpath