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"...I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."
(Nehemiah 1:4)
The final characteristic of Nehemiah in our biblical text for this week is that he was a man of prayer. This was not a one-time thing for him, because in the book that bears his name, we read multiple instances of him engaging in prayer, and God heard him and blessed him.
Men, there is simply no way you can be that man of God, that husband your wife deserves, or that father your kids need without spending both quality and quantity time with God in prayer. You may argue that you don't have time to pray, but in reality, you do not have time not to pray. There is too much at stake, like your spiritual walk with God, your family, your church, and everything that is important to you.
Nehemiah accomplished much in his life on earth. He was an employee to King Artaxerxes in Persia, he led a group of Israelites back home to rebuild the fallen wall, he became the governor of Jerusalem, and he served as a great leader. But he would tell you that all the great things he enjoyed and experienced were gifts from God, and the most important relationship any man can have is with His Creator.
As I read Batterson's book and the stories of men of courage and accomplishment, I could not help but be motivated by their examples. What man cannot hear Russell Crowe in Gladiator and not be moved viscerally when he states, "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." Reading that made my testosterone levels increase!
My favorite president, Theodore Roosevelt, was campaigning in Wisconsin when a man shot him with a .32 caliber pistol at point-blank range. The bullet lodged in his chest, but he went ahead and gave his campaign speech. He spoke for 53 minutes, and when he was done, "he was standing in a pool of his own blood." (Batterson, Play the Man, p. 37)
Men, we may never live to be conquering warriors on the battlefield, set world records, or exhibit such manliness as to speak for an hour with a bullet in our chest, but all of us can actually do something even greater: be spiritual men of God who love Jesus, our wives, our kids, and provide for and protect them with all we have. Now that is a true man.
Thank you for reading our devotions this week. My team and I realize that the title of today's devotional may have made you think it would be about yesterday's news regarding Israel's preemptive attack on Iran. Believe it or not, "Pray" was the planned title all along, since prayer is a vital trait of a godly man that I had planned the whole time to talk about today. Would all of you reading this join with me in prayer today for peace in our world? It is rather concerning, to say the least, that at this moment of mass protests, riots, and civil unrest here in the US, the Middle East stands on the precipice of perhaps its biggest and most consequential war since the establishment of the modern state of Israel after World War II–and that's saying a lot, given the numerous significant wars in that region for the past several decades. I think all Christians should be united in praying for de-escalation and peaceful resolutions to all conflicts as swiftly as possible. Would you join me in asking God to intervene in this situation?
Lord, we repent of our sins and the sins of our nation. Please have mercy on us and on the people of Israel and Iran. Please move upon the hearts of national leaders and all who do not know you, bringing conviction of sin, repentance, de-escalation of conflicts, and peaceful resolutions. Amen.
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