Nehemiah 1:4 “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
In the book of Nehemiah, we meet a man of God with a broken heart because of his broken nation. He inquired and sought information about its condition from people who had been there, seen its destruction and the people who were in “great distress” living in the shadows of its rubble. His response is a model for all of us; “I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
As you read through Nehemiah there are key pieces of information and inspiration that we should be following today. Nehemiah prayed, not just once but throughout the highs and lows, decisions, and distractions. He collected and made good use of his influence and resources. He inspected the trouble and rubble for himself being careful to make sure he was acting on truth and not rumor and then he rallied the people of God to come together and work together to reconstruct the walls as well as assembling them for worship and reading the Word of God.
In many ways, America is in deep need of a “Nehemiah Response.” Torn down and torn apart by this pandemic, prejudice, politics, and pain; America is in trouble! As followers of Jesus and prayer warriors in His spiritual army, our frontline, first response should be and always will be PRAYER. We should respond like Nehemiah.
Over the next 52 days the National Day of PrayerTask Force is calling for a “Nehemiah Response” across America by inserting prayer and the Word of God into the cultural conversations throughout our day. As we pray and model our lives through the lessons of the book of Nehemiah, our hope is to change the atmosphere of hopelessness, rumor, fear, division, and injustice to that of Spirit-filled assurance, Truth, courage, and united in love.
Just as Nehemiah and the Israelites reconstructed the walls in 52 days, our mission will be to build up the people of God through prayer, God’s Word and worship from Friday July 17th to Labor Day September 7th. Over these next 52 days we invite you to join us in posting a short prayer on your social media wall and/ or a Scripture verse that you are praying over America. Please keep your prayers biblical and not political or critical; we want to speak blessings and not curses over our Country; pray, not debate and divide. We are America’s intercessors, and so we must pray fervently and biblically so we do not get trapped in empty chatter and rumors. We must commit to pray soundly and strategically from the words, commands and promises of God Himself. Our prayers will fight our real enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy us. Lifting up the name of Jesus will cause the enemy to flee.
The second step to our “Nehemiah Response” is found in these powerfully repeated words in Nehemiah 3, “and next to him…” Every family took responsibility to rebuild a piece of the wall and together this huge feat was accomplished in 52 days. We challenge you to first take your post on the wall by posting your prayer and Scripture on your social media wall and then secondly, partner with at least two other prayer partners who are participating in our “Nehemiah Response” and pray in agreement with their prayer and share their prayer. These two steps will fill heaven as well as our cultural conversation and atmosphere with prayer and the Word of God. Recruit your friends, family, church members and neighbors to pray “next to you” as we begin the process repair the broken places with prayer and from coast-to-coast.
Let’s respond in prayer together:
Lord Jesus we come to You in need of heavenly repair; torn down and torn apart but not defeated. We commit now to put on the full armor of God each day and pray the God-glorifying, Biblical foundations of America firmly back into place. We commit to daily prayer and the posting of prayer and Your Word together, shoulder to shoulder just as the Israelites worked, watched, and worshipped as they rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem. Our piece of the wall; our lives, family, neighborhood, workplace, campus, community, and church will not be left in rubble. We battle the enemy on our knees and in the power of Your Word bringing Your blessings and honor back to America.
Kathy Branzell
President
National Day of Prayer Task Force