Pray, Then Act

Our church has been going through a series called "The Story."  It's a book that takes readers through a 31-week journey from Genesis through Revelation in chronological order.  It takes selected passages from scripture and adds transitions to make the Bible read as one complete story.  As a church we have been reading a chapter a week, which our pastor them preaches on each Sunday.  Today was the final day spent in the Old Testament, as we read passages from Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi.

What struck me during the sermon today (which I didn't pick up on while doing the reading myself) was that Nehemiah spent time in mourning and prayer before approaching King Artaxerxes about returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls.  When the king asked him why he looked sad, Nehemiah prayed before he responded.  Throughout the book, Nehemiah always takes time to pray before responding, speaking, or acting.

Often today we act first and think later (or we act first and pray later).  I know that personally I rarely spend enough time in prayer before acting on something on I feel called to do.  I needed this reminder to take adequate time to pray and listen, before acting.  It is vitally important to connect with God and wait for His confirmation before acting.

Through scripture we are reminded to wait and pray.  In Psalm 46 we are told by YHWH to "Be still and know that I am God."  In Isaiah 40 we are told that "Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."  Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 that we should "Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstance."  Waiting to act and relying on God through prayer is so important and something i often forget to do.

Prayer is easily the most overlooked and underused tool we have at our disposal as Christians.  I needed to be reminded to spend time in prayer on a regular basis.  I need to make prayer a bigger priority in my life.  Prayer can't simply be something I leave for the end of the day, but it needs to be something I start the day with and dwell in throughout the day.  Today when armies go into battle, they first send in air support to bomb the enemy and survey the opposing army.  This is what prayer can do for us.

I'm going to make a commitment to make prayer a priority.  Is this a commitment you need to make in your life too?  Have you experienced the power of prayer in your life?  If you have, leave a comment and share that.