We’re continuing our study of the building blocks. Have you completed your Soul Care Plan for 2016? .Soul Care Plan Link Today’s topic is building block “Q”, for Quiet Time.
Today’s Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1-4; 2:1-4; and 4:7-9 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):
There’s a story that someone asked Martin Luther why he spent so much of his morning in prayer every day. The questioner thought Martin would be able to get a lot more done if he would spend that time being productive, instead of praying. Martin replied, “I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”
I don’t believe three hours in daily prayer is a requirement for getting things done, but I have noticed that when I begin activities by grounding myself in God’s presence, those activities seem to go better. This, I think, is one of the things we can learn from the story of Nehemiah.
In today’s Scripture, we have three examples of times when Nehemiah’s first response to a difficulty was to pray. It seems that Nehemiah, in his own way, recognized what Martin Luther taught: That our business goes better when we begin it in prayer.
When Nehemiah received bad news about his relatives in Jerusalem, he spent time in prayer for them. When the King (Nehemiah’s Boss) asked him what he could do to help him, he prayed before responding. And, when he had finally returned to Jerusalem to help the people there and things began to get difficult, he again stopped to pray.
Although we’re not told so, my guess is that Nehemiah had some sort of regular practice of prayer. I say this because he reaches for prayer with the ease of someone who has done this many times before. This also fits with my own experience of regular quiet time. When things get tough, and I find I need to connect to God before moving forward, that act is easier when I’ve been doing my meditative practices. It’s like my spirit has muscle memory, and because I’ve been regularly praying, then even in a stressful situation I find it easy to move quickly into a feeling of being connected to God. This is the kind of response we see in Nehemiah, and it’s a response that comes only to someone who’s been practicing.
Thought for the day: We know our activities go better when we begin them by connecting to God. So, why not practice connecting more often? Then when we really need God’s presence, we’ll already know how to get it.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.