The 'Power of One' to Produce Change

Week 3- Day 3

"...for The LORD is not restrained to save by many or few." 1 Samuel 14:6

     Nehemiah is a 'power of one' example. He didn't just hear the bad report about the state of his people, that they were in great distress and reproach and unprotected because the walls of Jerusalem were down, and lament saying, 'It's all over and hopeless." Instead, even though he was in NO position to do anything about it (he was probably approximately a two months journey away from the problem, 600 miles away serving as cupbearer to Artaxerxes), he prayed with a broken heart over the state of the people. 

In answer to those prayers, he eventually found himself orchestrating and overseeing the rebuilding of the broken down walls. 

That rebuilding project began with a broken heart, prayer, and the power of ONE heart on fire and dismayed at the conditions in which God's chosen people were living in, leaving themselves is disarray and unprotected. 

If your heart is currently broken over discouraging news, take the encouragement of 'the power of one' message of Nehemiah's life, who built up a team and allowed God to accomplish the impossible through them 'suddenly'. *  

Just as Nehemiah did at the report of overwhelming, discouraging news, bring it before God in prayer and obey what He tells you to do. Pray and see how He may even use you. 

Nehemiah had no place to be of any help to the people of Jerusalem, or to be any answer to his own prayer, yet God used him as part of the solution.

Don't settle for the 'truth' of the bad report. But in prayer, seek for His truth, His direction, and watch Him use even you to 'produce change'- to bring about the change that you are tempted to even give up hope for.

Do not be discouraged. Look to Him and see if He does not pour forth mountain moving faith.

*(The walls had been down 141 years. The people had been back in the land with the temple rebuilt and just walking around the rubble of the walls for 71 years, and Nehemiah and the people completed the walls in 52 days after starting the work.)

-What ‘breaks your heart’? This is a good indicator of a possible calling on your life.

-There are ‘walls of protection’ that are broken down all around us in our society.  And we do, in a sense, just daily ignore and walk around the ‘rubble’, thinking that there is nothing we can do. Make a list of what those are and begin to pray for those areas if you are not already doing so. Don’t miss jotting down any instructions or ‘wild ideas’ of what you can do to be an answer to those problems. (I have a page in my notebook for those ‘ideas’ so that I will be able to go back and pray over them.)

-Are you currently walking around some ‘rubble’ in your own life? What ‘walls of protection’ need to be built back up?

-Ask God today to break your heart with what breaks His. Ask Him concerning His people: how does He see their welfare? Pray through Nehemiah Chapter 1, confessing sin, and ask Him what part He would have you play in ‘rebuilding’.

“Come, let us rebuild the wall.. …so that we will no longer be a reproach.” Nehemiah 2:17

May we be moved towards a heart completely His (loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength- Luke 10:27) and walking ‘in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called’ Eph 4:1. 

(This is part of a 6 week prayer strategy series. To return to 'watch the ramparts' homepage: click here).