Title Who to ask for help?
Contents
Hymn: 484 (New Hymn 365) 'A man with worries in his heart'
Meditation: What is the biggest challenge I have right now? How do I solve it?
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: “Hear, our God, for we are despised… ” (Nehemiah 4:4-14)
Nehemiah hears that the city of Jerusalem, his homeland, has been burned down, the walls have been demolished, and that the people are being humiliated during the great tribulation. While weeping and fasting for the ruined country, he makes a great decision to 'rebuild the ruined walls'. However, many difficult problems awaited the rebuilding of the wall. How did Nehemiah solve these problems?
Nehemiah turned to God for help. He repented of the nation's sins and prayed day and night (1:4-7). Even when he was ridiculed by his enemies while building the wall, Nehemiah prayed like this. “Hear, our God, for we are despiced.” Nehemiah prayed whenever he had a problem. He had confidence in the power and authority of prayer. The countless people of God who moved history all worked with the power of prayer. Prayer is the driving force behind great things.
With God's help, a helping hand was opened. One of the keys to overcoming all kinds of difficulties is getting help from people. Nehemiah received help from King Artaxerxes of Persia, his leaders, and the people (3:1-32). Without the help of the people, the rebuilding of the walls would not have been possible. So how did Nehemiah get help from people?
He prayed to God to move the heart of man (King) (1:11). King Artaxerxes saw Nehemiah weeping, fasting and praying, and seeing Nehemiah's haggard appearance, he said, "You are not ill...because your heart is troubled" (2:2). It was through God's grace that he received the king's trust and help.
Nehemiah did his best to work with the people while praying. When the enemy was about to invade, he worked with a sword and spear in one hand and tools in the other (4:17). In this way, Nehemiah and the people of Israel were able to overcome this difficult problem and successfully build the city by praying to God and doing their best.
Prayer is the key to solving problems. When you encounter problems, pray and do your best. At that moment, God's work will proceed through us without interruption.
Prayer: Help me to experience God's wonderful grace like Nehemiah by praying and doing my best in the face of difficult problems in life. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.