Wherever and whenever you see the Lord moving forward, working out His plan through His obedient servants, you are going to see some kind of opposition. Nehemiah was absolutely committed to God’s call upon him to lead the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. These were walls that were essential for the security and the blessing of the city of God, Jerusalem. When Nehemiah started the work, they were opposed by enemies from the North, East, South and West. The opposition mostly came in the form of anger filled ridicule and mocking. They hoped that by mocking the people of God they could make them embarrassed, ashamed and discouraged to quit and give up!

What did Nehemiah do to fight against the discouragement from outsiders and insiders? Two things, he was resilient in his prayers and strategic in his work. When we seek the Lord in prayer, leaving it in His hands, we must remember that those prayers then will include us in direct, strategic, participation in the work. Our prayers do not replace action, they make our actions effective for God's work. By prayer and action, Nehemiah lived out his declaration, “Our God will fight for us” (Neh. 4:20).