AFTER YOU HAVE PRAYED

• DAY 202
• FAITH FILE: NEHEMIAH
• SCRIPTURES: NEHEMIAH 4

So we went on rebuilding the wall, and soon it was half its full height, because the people were eager to work.

Nehemiah 4:6

Prayer is very effective and powerful, prayer cannot be exchanged for anything. Praying according to the Word of God guarantees that you have your prayers answered, especially if it is in alignment with God’s timing and you are walking according to God’s purpose. When we pray the right way, it makes tremendous power available. 

However, after we have prayed and our faith has been released and we believe that God is working, we ought also to be working. James says that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-17). So when we release our faith in prayer to God, works should accompany our faith. In our text today, we discover that after Nehemiah and the Israelites had prayed about the mockery they faced, they added works to their faith. They didn’t just sit and do nothing, they continued their work.

Fear can cripple us and make us stop in our tracks, prayer sends fear away. However, it can be so tempting to pray and do nothing with the excuse that we are trusting God. Nehemiah could have paused the project,  But they went ahead to do what it is that they were there for. They didn’t sit down or stop and say, uh oh, no, we can’t do that, or we can’t go on anymore until God destroys all our enemies. They prayed and they moved on. KJV says they continued to build. And when their enemies graduated to threatening them, they prayed and set strategies in place for their safety (this we will examine tomorrow).

Continue

Moving on or continuing is not as easy as it sounds. So many times people change their lives because of mockery, threats, or issues. They were mocked for being too good at their jobs and they decide to be the bad boy, they were dragged for being different and they decide to blend in. Mockery has a psychological effect on the brain that makes us do whatever is necessary to stop it. So, chances are, that after such an event, withdrawal, readjustment, or regression will occur.

But Nehemiah and his team kept building. That was their work of faith. They showed up the next day and did what God said. They believed that God was working on their behalf and handling their enemies, and their act of showing up proved what they believed.

Do Something

Beloved, what are you doing after your prayer? As your shop is about to be closed down, what are you doing? Your business is slowing down, what are you doing? As you are about to drop out of school what are you doing? I know it can be hard be come up with ideas in difficult situations but part of your faith is trusting God for ideas. You can’t let fear affect your ability to act unless God actually instructed you to do nothing.

I know your last two pregnancies miscarried but that doesn’t mean you stop trying because you are disappointed. That doesn’t mean you don’t try to do what is right to keep this 3rd one even though what you did didn’t work before, keep doing it if it is the right thing. That, my dear, is faith mixed with work.

And in case you missed it, they built with all their heart. They were eager to work. They didn’t just show up to fulfill righteousness they poured themselves into it. That’s faith.

What do you need to continue doing? What way do you need to show? Do so today. God is with you.

Shalom