First Response Not Last Resort

 

So I prayed to 

   the God of heaven.

      Nehemiah 2. 4

Caught in a difficult situation,

   Nehemiah's first response

    not his last resort,

                     was to pray.

This was not his first rodeo, 

            nor his last.

Praying was Nehemiah's pattern

 of approaching problems

  and His practice in responding.

When the trouble arose,

Nehemiah knew exactly

      what to do.

               He prayed.

He knew that God does

          not just show up.

God is already there,

          ready and waiting.

God shows us

   not just the first step,

but how to navigate

         all the way through,

    one step and then another.

And the first measure is praying,

in which

God changes our hearts

and sustains us for the next.

Not just when we pray,

      but while we pray,

something always happens.

O LORD,

We come before You

with our difficulties,

emergencies,

rocky roads, and ambushes,

but also with our joys and grateful hearts.

Thank You that You intercede,

You intervene,

You make possible

         the impossible,

You give us Your strength

  to see not just an outcome,

but to see us through           

           this journey.

Bind our blisters.

Heal our hearts.

Show us that there is

    not hope in circumstances,

    but our hope is in You.

You see.  You hear.

  You, Almighty One,

                act.