Spiritually Prepared

Nehemiah 2:4-6 “Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of the heavens and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.” The King, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me." ~CSB

Quick story. A man, with a great business idea, was sitting in the stands of a baseball game. Next to him was a stranger who, unknowing to him, was a wealthy businessman looking for something new to invest in. As they talked about the game, the opportunity came up where the man told the wealthy businessman about his great idea. The businessman never told the man who he was, but simply asked him, “How long do you think this will take to build and how much do you think it will cost?” 

The man with the plan responded, “Well, I haven’t gotten that far in my plans, but I’ll write it all down one day.” The wealthy businessman heard this and thought to himself, this may not be a good investment. If this man was sincere about his plan as he should be, he would have the knowledge of what he needed for his plan. So since he did not, the businessman changed the subject back to the game and chose not to bless the man by investing.  The man just missed a blessing because he was not prepared.

In the text above, Nehemiah was sad. The King saw this and asked what was wrong. Nehemiah was sad because his home, the home of his ancestors, was in ruins and he wanted to do something about it. He was afraid to address the king, so he prayed to God and then answered the king. The text says that he answered the king by giving him “...a definite time…” and the king was ‘pleased to send him”. You see, his heart was so wrapped around his home that he had thought the whole ‘request’ through. When Nehemiah had the right answers, God, through the king, made Nehemiah’s request come true. 

When we pray in Jesus' name, we must be spiritually invested in that prayer enough to have the basic answers for God when asked. This way, in our hearts we are prepared not only to receive from God, but prepared to move where He tells us to go. Prepared to answer God’s call to move, speak, stand and even be still for a while. Prepare ourselves for what will come after our prayers and requests. 

Do not miss the blessing because of ‘spiritual unpreparedness’. When our hearts are in sync with God’s will for our lives, our prayers will be answered. Let us not be afraid to have the answers needed for the questions to come from Him. Let us not be afraid to move in the directions the Holy Spirit guides us as God will have us covered in answering our prayers. 

May God keep you in His peace as you continue to walk the journey in Jesus’ name.

Amen

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