The Role of Prayer
"When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens." - Nehemiah 1:4
When God gives you a burden, He does not expect you to carry it alone. He expects you to bring it to Him in prayer. That is what we see in Nehemiah. His heart broke for the people in Jerusalem, but before he picked up a tool or made a plan or asked the king for help, he got down on his knees. The first move was not strategy. It was surrender.
There are twelve different prayers recorded in the book of Nehemiah. Some are long and detailed, others are short and spontaneous. But they all have one thing in common. Every time Nehemiah faced a problem, a need, a burden, or a moment of decision, he turned to the Lord first. This was not a man who relied on his own strength. He relied on the presence and the power of God.
Prayer was not a box Nehemiah checked before moving on. It was the place where his burden became a calling. It was the conversation that clarified his direction and anchored his soul. Nehemiah did not just pray once and move forward. He prayed again and again, because he knew that rebuilding a broken city would require more than hard work. It would require divine help.
What about you? When God stirs your heart and puts a burden on your life, where do you go first? Do you talk about it, or do you talk to Him about it? Do you worry about it, or do you worship through it?
Prayer is where the vision God gives you gets strengthened. It is where the battle begins. So, before you try to fix the problem, fight the problem in prayer. Before you pick up the pieces, pick up your praise. Before you rush ahead, kneel down and invite God into the middle of your burden.
Because when prayer becomes your first response, you give God room to do what only He can do.
When God gives you a burden, He does not expect you to carry it alone. He expects you to bring it to Him in prayer. That is what we see in Nehemiah. His heart broke for the people in Jerusalem, but before he picked up a tool or made a plan or asked the king for help, he got down on his knees. The first move was not strategy. It was surrender.
There are twelve different prayers recorded in the book of Nehemiah. Some are long and detailed, others are short and spontaneous. But they all have one thing in common. Every time Nehemiah faced a problem, a need, a burden, or a moment of decision, he turned to the Lord first. This was not a man who relied on his own strength. He relied on the presence and the power of God.
Prayer was not a box Nehemiah checked before moving on. It was the place where his burden became a calling. It was the conversation that clarified his direction and anchored his soul. Nehemiah did not just pray once and move forward. He prayed again and again, because he knew that rebuilding a broken city would require more than hard work. It would require divine help.
What about you? When God stirs your heart and puts a burden on your life, where do you go first? Do you talk about it, or do you talk to Him about it? Do you worry about it, or do you worship through it?
Prayer is where the vision God gives you gets strengthened. It is where the battle begins. So, before you try to fix the problem, fight the problem in prayer. Before you pick up the pieces, pick up your praise. Before you rush ahead, kneel down and invite God into the middle of your burden.
Because when prayer becomes your first response, you give God room to do what only He can do.
Subscribe
If you were blessed by or directly benefited from this content, please subscribe to receive receive daily devotions to your inbox.
No Comments