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Be Aware, Be In Prayer And Be Prepared

Be aware, be in prayer and be prepared…

By one definition, to be aware is having knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists. 

In this situation, there was awareness.  They were engaged in a good work.  But in the midst of doing the work, they heard about insults that were being hurled at them from their enemies.[1]  But it didn’t just stop at insults; threats were being made by their enemies to come to stir up trouble in order to disrupt the work.[2]

By one definition, to be in prayer is to earnestly seek help.

In this same situation, given their awareness of the potential problems their enemies could cause, they knew they would need help.  Rather than turn to other nations for help, as was typical for that day, they chose to seek help from the one source that could provide what they needed.  That one source was God and prayer was how that source was accessed.  So they prayed to God and sought His help.[3]

By one definition, to be prepared is to be ready to do or deal with something.

In this very same situation mentioned so far, they were not only aware of danger and they not only prayed but they also did what seemed to be a very wise and appropriate response to danger; they posted a guard day and night to meet the threat.[4]   

The awareness, the prayers and the being prepared (posting of a guard) ended up being effective and the work was completed.  When their enemies heard about the completed work, they became afraid and lost their self-confidence because they realized that the work had been done with the help of God.[5]

But beware, this “be aware, be in prayer and be prepared” should not be seen as a magic fixit formula.  Awareness requires careful observation and discernment and magic is not at all a factor.  Being in prayer and seeking God’s help is not formulaic but is predicated on faith and humility.  In comparison to the planning and resourcing needed in the posting of a guard, a quick fixit approach is severely lacking.

However, this “be aware, be in prayer and be prepared” can be a reasonable approach to some situations in life.  After all, it can encourage us to be engaged in what is going on.  It can keep us dependent on God.  And it can remind us that even when relying on God’s help, sometimes there are still responsibilities for us to fulfill.

  


[1] Neh 4:1-3

[2] Neh 4:7-8

[3] Neh 4:9a

[4] Neh 4:9b

[5] Neh 6:15-16

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