10/12/2011 - WHEN PRAYING BECOMES UNNECESSARY

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Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

Nehemias 4:9

Nehemiah was called by God to rebuild Jerusalem, so in order to fulfill what the Lord had assigned to him as a mission that servant of God received authorization from the Persian king Artaxerxes, who ruled the world at that time.

Those who receive direction from the Lord to do something must be aware that the enemy will use other people to make them give up doing what they were ordered to do. Be careful, because the Lord says He has no pleasure in him who draws back!

Some people used by the devil to prevent the work from being done began to threaten Nehemiah so that he would stop working. Then he prayed to God and asked for justice. As a result, there came a time of peace and the work could be resumed. But as the enemy never gives up, the persecution started again and attacks would take place at any time. What should he do?

Because the threat was about to be fulfilled, Nehemiah prayed to the Lord again. But this time it was different because he felt what should be done and soon began executing the divine order: he set a watch against them day and night. This may seem a simple thing to do, but any actions can only be implemented if they come from God. Because we are His servants and the work is His, His guidance is of the utmost importance. After all, the Lord knows what the enemy is planning, the strength he uses and the harm his attack may cause us. Therefore, it is always advisable to abide by what God commands. So Nehemiah did not pray to the Lord about that and despite the ongoing threats and other mishaps, he continued to work, firm in his decision.

When we receive a revelation from God we no longer need to pray, but rather to keep our ears open to what He says. I\’m not saying that Nehemiah stopped crying out. We should not stop crying out – which is a most excellent way of letting God know of our petitions; however, we need not pray for what has already been revealed to us. After receiving the understanding from on High, all we have to do is to trust that the revelation of the Lord will happen. If we continue to call for help because of some new fact that might have worsened the situation, it can come across as a suspicion that the divine plan will not work.

When Joshua asked God for guidance on what to do concerning the kings who were attacking the Gibeonites, he received the divine direction and carried it out. It seemed the most unlikely thing to happen because he would have to command the Sun to stand still over Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon (Joshua 10:12), yet he obeyed God’s order and the Solar System halted. Like Joshua, your order will be full of power if it is grounded on what the Word of God says.

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares