A remnant army of wall builders

We are in 2019 and the United States government is still in shutdown. There is a thick fog of uncertainty in the air as we said goodbye to the year 2018. As a result of shutdown lots of government offices are not in operation. It affects millions of peoples’ and their daily lives. Many government employees are not getting paid.

It is interesting that during this time there is also a deep uncertainty in the stock markets which is due to other factors and not directly caused by the shutdown. It is hard even for the market experts to figure out which way the markets are going to turn in 2019. All the above factors cause us to pause our daily grind and rethink what is wrong and how to reposition our strategies for 2019.

This is not the first time that President Trump raised the issue of building the wall. Since his inauguration as the president in 2016 it has been a concern that he repeatedly raised and also has seen tremendous opposition.

The Nehemiah project in the Bible started with rebuilding the broken walls. They had no borders. Enemies could easily come in and go out.

Is it coincidental that intercessors are often addressed as the ones standing on the wall? But what if the walls are broken down from decades of organized ruin? Whatever political affiliation one sides with, we can all agree that it is time to build spiritual walls in our nations. Building the wall is about securing the borders. We may not have to agree with President Trump’s decision to build the border walls. However one thing we can agree.

President Trump calling out to build the wall is a clarion call for the remnant to be engaged in building the broken spiritual walls. The remnant needs to rise up and take this responsibility like Nehemiah did before it is too late. This is a clarion call for remnant across all nations to rise up and build not just for the United States.

The repeated connotation about building the wall is a clarion call for the intercessors to recalibrate as a new movement in 2019. Nobody fully knows what this looks like in years going forward. But one thing is certain, it is not going to look like what we have seen or known in the past. It is a big learning curve to many believers. We are not in usual church business anymore. Church as a social or non-profit club or doing some good deeds or having a religious experience is over. The wall building in the Bible was also not fun. It started with a cry and burden for the broken walls from a marketplace believer called Nehemiah. He was passionate about God’s heart while he could have lived a comfortable life minding his business. He had no clue as to what God had in store for him and ask him to do in the next few years to come. It was also a huge learning curve for him.

This is a dilemma the remnant church faces from time to time even today. When we think we have achieved or gotten somewhere, there is a new assignment or hurdle waiting for us that we have no clue. That is the exciting part of the prayer journey because it keeps us wanting to depend on Him always. Many wonder how Nehemiah who had no experience as a general contractor could rally a whole bunch of remnant who were exiles to do such a fantastic job in 52 days as the Bible says. One of the main reasons for his success was that he depended on the Lord every step. The biggest enemy that each of us fights every moment is our own self. If we can win the war within us the external enemies are not as bad because He has us covered. But He will not interpose our free will unless we allow Him. Apostle James put it well. Submit to God first then resist the enemy; otherwise he will not flee from you. This new era is a season of intercessors recalibrating as an army-they are part of the remnant church that will take their rightful stand to support and help build the walls.

PRAYER LEADS TO DUE DILIGENCE AND ACTION

Plans are nothing; planning is everything said Dwight D. Eisenhower. What made Nehemiah and Esther heroes is that they were willing to use their small opportunities and influences to go forward even at the cost of their career and lives. They pushed through the risks as they faced them.

Breakthroughs come when we make the step by faith in obedience than wait for the right opportunity and influence to come to us.

Nehemiah had thousands of reasons to wait for someone else do the job. He was not skilled enough to take the job of a wall builder. He could have sent someone else to inspect the walls. Instead he was willing to do it himself. Perhaps the Lord gave Him grace as he prayed just to take the action. At the same time he also made sure not to do things in his own way. He was willing to ask God for each step of the way and confirm before he asked the king (Neh 2:4). During the window of opportunity that is still before us we need to ask Him for His strategy than going ahead with our own strategy.

His interaction with king required some basic homework about his leave of absence and his proposed trip to inspect the walls. When God has some assignments for us we indeed need to do some goal setting and planning as well. “How long will your journey be and when will you return?” the king asked Nehemiah (Neh 2:6). Nehemiah applied wisdom along with his due diligence in every step (Neh 2:7). Nehemiah made an evaluation of what he was getting into before he started building. He inspected the level of ruin before rebuilding (Neh 2:13, 15). Sometimes the work has to be done in stealth mode because of the many enemies around determined to stop us moving forward. Nehemiah was prudent and did the inspection of walls at night. Ezra, a Bible scholar and his team mate also did all that God of heaven had commanded them with diligence for the house of the God (Ezra 7:23).

Don’t sit on plans, rather be plan-ing. Make sure that your plans are in motion.

Will the true intercessors please stand up to build?

The praying folks mostly remain hidden in every community and church. What is special about them is their prayer ‘cellphones’. Need to make sure that our prayer cellphones have great reception with the Master. Prayer is a ministry that can be done in the closet and public. However prayer has many levels of communication. Prayer is not just a one way communication with God. The Bible says that the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16). For the prayers to be answered the pray-er need to meet certain criteria. It is not just enough that God hears our prayers. Like Nehemiah we also need to be willing to do what He commands without hesitancy. He probably had no clue that the assignment would fall on his own shoulders. The sound of the harvest can only become a reality when the remnant is prepared. The harvest can only be ushered in with prayer and action as we are willing to listen carefully for His strategy and then act on it.