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"While Waiting for the Day, Plan and Pray" Nehemiah 2:1-10

by Clancy Nixon

Church of the Holy Spirit

Broadlands, Virginia

www.holyspiritanglican.org

On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright was the first man to fly under power from

level ground. He flew only for twelve seconds, and only for 120 feet on the Outer Banks

of North Carolina. That historic event represents a beginning in aviation, but for the

Wright brothers, it was the end of a long and arduous journey. A journey initiated by a

dream common to every little boy: the desire to fly. While most children consigned that

desire to the realm of fantasy or pride, like Icarus flying too close to the sun, the Wright

brothers made flying their life mission. Their vision began as boys in 1878, when their

father brought home a helicopter toy that flew on the strength of rubber bands under

torsion. That delicate toy did not last long in the hands of small boys, but it made a

lasting impression. It was twenty-five years between the initial vision and that historic

flight at Kitty Hawk.

Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on

purpose. Those are the ones with vision. They usually have other things going for them as

well, but they certainly have vision. What is vision? It is a clear picture of a preferred

future. It often begins with the inability to accept things the way they are, but that

matures, over time, into a picture of what could be, even what should be done. A vision

always requires someone to champion its cause- someone to put their neck on the line.

That brings us to Nehemiah, an exiled Jew who grew up in Persia, and worked as a food

taster in the citadel of Susa for the king. In 445 B.C., Nehemiah got a vision from God to

rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, but he had to wait for four months before he could ask

King Artaxerxes to help him.

My message today is titled, "While Waiting for the Day, Plan and Pray." I'm

indebted to Andy Stanley's book Visioneering for much of the material in this message.

Let's look at the first concern God's people have about vision: How do you know

that your vision is God-ordained? First, if your vision is from God, it will begin to feel

like a moral imperative in your heart. You can't not do it! You will sense that not to

follow through is an act of disobedience. That gives you patience to wait. Second, a

God-ordained vision is in line with both the Scriptures and with what God is up to in the

world. Nehemiah likely knew that both Daniel and Zechariah had both prophesied that

the walls of Jerusalem would one day be rebuilt. Nehemiah's vision was a biblical vision,

and Nehemiah's timing, on the heels of Ezra's mission to Jerusalem thirteen years earlier,

was in line with what God was doing in the world.

Today I want us to look more closely at that period of time many of us dread, that

time between the initial receipt of a vision and the beginning of its direct fulfillment. That

is the lag between the calling and the sending. Those weeks and months and sometimes

years when you can't actually get your hands dirty doing what you feel called to do. A

time when your vision is far from being fulfilled. Last week in my first message on

Nehemiah we looked at Moses' vision to free the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, yet he

had to spend forty years in Midian after he killed the Egyptian. How could God let his

people live in slavery for two more generations when His liberator Moses was available?

God had work to do in Moses first.

In your world, this lag time might look like this: you don't have the money right

now to finish school, or to retire, or to put on that new deck. Or, your family

responsibilities mean you can't take that new job, or you can't start that ministry that you

really have a passion for. You have debts to pay, kids to care for, and so your dreams get

deferred.

Visions often die during that stretch of inactivity. It's discouraging to keep

dreaming about something that looks like it will never happen. Besides, there is so much

in life that needs doing right now; why waste time dreaming about the impossible? We

all know people who have not pursued their dreams, and many of us are among them.

What can you do to keep the dream alive? What do you do in the meantime,

during that lag between the calling and the sending? While Waiting for the Day, Plan and

Pray. Let's say that together. "While Waiting for the Day, Plan and Pray." During his

four months of waiting, Nehemiah did two things: he prayed, and he planned.

Nehemiah prayed for two different things in reference to his vision. First, he

prayed for an opportunity. We talked about Nehemiah's prayer in chapter one of his

book last week, but let's look at it again for a different purpose, on page 472 of your blue

pew Bibles. In chapter one, verse eleven, Nehemiah prays this: "...make your servant

successful today and grant him compassion before this man." At the end of his long

prayer, Nehemiah prayed for an opportunity to share his vision for Jerusalem with

Artaxerxes, the King of Persia. Even though he was in the service of the King already as

his cupbearer, it was not Nehemiah's "place" to make such a request of the King. He was

not a royal advisor or minister, he was a royal butler and food taster. For Nehemiah to

share his vision with the King was to court a death sentence, since the king had already

decreed that Jerusalem's wall should not be rebuilt, Ezra 4, since that city might rise in

rebellion to the Persian crown as it had in the past against other rulers. So Nehemiah

prayed for a hearing from King Artaxerxes, the one man who could make it possible for

him to fulfill his dream.

You and I like to pray for miracles, and rightly so. We serve a God of miracles.

Jesus said, "...with God all things are possible." (Mark 10:27) While it's great to pray

for miracles, we should also pray for opportunities for God to use us to accomplish his

purposes. Many times, we think we need miracles, when all we need is an opportunity.

If you are a parent, you probably have a vision for your children. Instead of

simply praying that they would become kind, pray also for opportunities to build

kindness into their lives. Your vision involves you. You have a role to play. If you have

a vision to see your friends or family come to Christ, you need to go beyond praying that

they will be saved. Pray for an opportunity to speak to them about Christ.

If you pray for an opportunity, it is far more likely that you will recognize it when

it comes along. Notice that Nehemiah does not pray to God that the wall be rebuilt. He

prays for an opportunity to go and rebuild it himself. Andy Stanley says that is the

difference between a dreamer and a visionary. Dreamers dream about things being

different. Visionaries envision themselves making a difference. Dreamers dream about

how wonderful it would be, how cool, if things were different. Visionaries look for an

opportunity to do something.

In addition to an opportunity, Nehemiah prayed for favor. Remember Nehemiah's

prayer: "...make your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this

man." He prays that the king feel something when he hears about the plight of the Jews

in Jerusalem. The word translated compassion from the Hebrew also means favor or

mercy. Nehemiah knew that the King was not known for his compassion, and he also

knew that if the King were to do cold calculation about the matter, he would not grant

him the favor he needed. King Artaxerxes needed a strong Jerusalem like he needed a

hole in the head. Yet that is exactly what he got not a hole in the head, a strong

Jerusalem! The King of Persia's geopolitical interest in a strong Jerusalem in that day

was about as great as that of the President of Iran today, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (ah-

mad-in-uh-ZHAAD)

If God can sway King Artaxerxes to pay for the rebuilding of the wall around

Jerusalem, he can certainly change the heart of whoever is standing between you and the

vision God has given you. Humanly speaking, there was no way that King Artaxerxes

was going to support Nehemiah's vision. But as Jesus reminds us, "with God all things

are possible!" Nehemiah prayed for the people who have the power, the resources, and

the influence to make the vision possible. Pray that God would give you favor in their

presence. Then start planning your speech! "While Waiting for the Day, Plan and Pray."

We said earlier that Nehemiah did two things to accomplish his vision while he

waited: he prayed and he planned. We see the extent of his plans in his requests to the

King in chapter 2. Nehemiah did not sit on his hands in those four months since he got a

burden for Zion. He took the time necessary to plan well what resources he needed in

order to accomplish his mission, and which people he needed help from in order to do it.

During the lag between the calling and the sending, while you are waiting, the

thought of planning a strategy might seem like a waste of time. Don't let the

improbability of your vision keep you from crafting a strategy! Besides, as this point,

what else can you do? Go ahead and pray that God will give you His plan. Don't' plan

first, and then pray that God will bless it. Pray first, and keep praying throughout the

planning process. Plan your work, then work your plan. Assuming you had the resources,

what would you do? Assuming you had the time, what would you do first? Second?

Third? Plan as if you knew someone was going to come along and give you an

opportunity to pursue your vision. If you think this is foolish, Nehemiah did not think so.

Let's look at Nehemiah's strategy for rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem: (from Stanley)

· Step 1 convince the King to allow me to leave his service in order to

rebuild the wall around a city that in years past has posed a military threat

to this area.

· Step 2- Convince the king to lend financial support to this project.

· Step 3- Procure letters from the king to the governors in the surrounding

areas asking them to provide me safe conduct along the way.

· Step 4- Work out a deal with Asaph, keeper of the kings' forest, to get

enough lumber to build the city gates, as well as a home for me (now

that's chutzpah!)

· Step 5- Ask the king for the title Governor of Judah.

· Step 6 Organize and equip the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

· Step 7 Begin construction.

Compared to Nehemiah's plans, your plans probably don't look quite so extraordinary.

When the opportunity presented itself, Nehemiah would be ready.

Some Christians seem to think that the only way to be truly spiritual is not to plan

at all, but to do everything spontaneously. While there is real value in spontaneity,

friends, planning is not unspiritual. God plans! Remember Jeremiah 29 "for I know

the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you

hope and a future?" Not only does God plan, God calls us to plan. Proverbs 13:16 says,

"A wise man thinks ahead, a fool doesn't and even brags about it." (Living Bible)

Do you have a plan? If the right opportunity came along, do you know what you

would do? If that lost friend you were praying for were suddenly to ask you about your

faith, do you have any idea what you would say? You probably have a vision for how

you want your children to turn out. Do you have a plan?

In many cases, opportunity without a plan results in missed opportunity. There are

many opportunities you won't be able to take advantage of if you have not done your

homework. Nehemiah would have missed his. Don't miss this opportunity. "While

Waiting for the Day, Plan and Pray." Let's begin by praying now.