Nehemiah: A Model Prayer WarriorSample

I am guessing the idea that someone in the world might not be in total agreement with all your thoughts, efforts, and ideas is not completely foreign. From the time we enter kindergarten, we figure out quickly that some other kid has firmly held opposing ideas of how to line up, color, dress up, or walk down the hall. What we learn a bit later is that when the stakes are raised - so is the opposition.

I’ll take it further and say - if there is a kingdom calling upon your life (and I’ll really go out on a ledge and say - that isn’t an exception in the Christian life, but rather the rule) there will be spiritual opposition. Sometimes that opposition can look like well-meaning, nosy family members. It could possibly show up as a friend giving backdoor criticism framed in sarcasm or mean humor. Or sometimes it’s just straight-up fiery darts aimed straight at the heart of what you are trying to accomplish.

In chapter four, Nehemiah deals with opposition in the natural and in the supernatural. For sure, the Enemy of our soul did not want that wall rebuilt. And he had at least 3 people willing cohorts ready to do his dirty work.

The enemy tries to stop us too. He doesn’t want us to succeed in carrying out God’s plans. So when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired (HALT), that is the moment the Enemy will choose to strike. He is intentional and strategic. Recently, I heard a family therapist share that success is another feeling that can make us prime for an attack. We are vulnerable when we think that we have peaked, or we can’t get any better than this.

So as Nehemiah pressed on and pressed on, the people following him followed his lead - his enemies Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem worked hard to undermine him.

What I want us to let simmer in our minds and in our hearts is that Nehemiah’s enemies were actively trying to intimidate, mock, and derail him. But the plans given to Nehemiah were plans straight from the throne room of heaven. He was clothing all his efforts in prayer and depending on God for the outcome.

What are you facing, battling, or working toward? When you feel opposition, ask yourself if your work is God Honoring. Has He called you to it? If the answer is yes, then you can bet that the opposition you feel is there to take your eyes off the prize.

Whatever you're facing - if it is a marriage on the rocks, a prodigal child, or a transition in your work or personal life - dig in - hold fast to the God who has called you to it. If He has called you, He will equip you. Just as He did for Nehemiah - He’ll do it for you!