Post the Guard!

Post the Guard!


“They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”
Nehemiah 4:8-9 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION


After reading verse 9, I had to ask myself, “Do I combat trouble with prayer?” The answer, unfortunately, is “Not all the time. . .” Nehemiah understood that even in the face of death, prayer was the first response, not a last resort. I decided to test God on this. I had a problem that nagged me day and night. Every time I thought about it, or began to worry, I prayed. All during the day and even at night, I told God that this was his battle. Though I am not accustomed to God working so quickly, I saw an answer that was very positive, the very next day. But even if it takes a while to get the answer, what is important is to be persistent. If you really want to be heard, you usually stop at nothing to get your request made. Well, do the same with God. Sometimes, He wants us to keep asking, seeking and knocking. Persistence shows that you really want help, and more importantly, it shows that you want His help.

The second thing that stood out is to “post a guard day and night to meet this threat.”
If you have a problem that seems to plague your mind and heart, post guard! That is, say a prayer. Tell God you are thinking about it again. Tell Him how awesome He is and that you need His help. Every time we say a prayer about a problem that is really gnawing at us we are posting a guard on our hearts, our lives, our families, our finances, our children, our health and our faith!

God is more than willing to meet the threat with us and sometimes for us. Place God first and post the guard!