In this episode of Pray the Word on Nehemiah 6:15–16, David Platt asks God to help us live our lives in total dependence on him.
“So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.”
-Nehemiah 6:15–16
Oh, what a great summary. So the wall is finished. After all this work on the wall and all this opposition from inside and outside the wall is finished. And all these people who had opposed the work when they heard of it, all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and they fell greatly in their own esteem for they perceived, watch this, they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. They knew that this work was accomplished not because these Jews building the wall were amazing; wall workers were astute at this or that they knew this had only happened because God had helped them.
God, we pray you’d help us to live differently, help us to live in total dependence on you, and point people to you that others might know you as a result of our lives.
Nehemiah 6:15–16 Reminds Us of God’s Grace
And, oh, don’t you want to live your life that way. So people see your life and they think, wow, that’s only possible because God is with them. This is Acts chapter four, read not long ago when New Testament portion of my Bible reading that Peter and John were doing things, the disciples were doing things they’re in the early church that the crowds looked on and they were astonished and they took note, these men had been with Jesus.
It was Jesus’ power in them through them at work. This is what we read in Ephesians 3:20 and 21, “God is able to do immeasurably more than all you can ask or imagine according to his power at work within you.” So I just want to encourage you based on Nehemiah 6:15–16 to live today and tomorrow and every single day in such a way that people might look at your life and see God at work in and through you.
Praying for God’s Strength
God’s grace, mercy, love, patience, and kindness. God’s strength in and through you and me and God we pray for this, we pray that our lives would be a testimony on a daily basis to your grace and through us and they would point people to you at every opportunity we have. We pray Matthew 5:16 over our lives. Let our light shine before others that they may see us and goodness in us and give glory to you in heaven.
We pray this in our homes and our closest relationships, our family relationships. God, we pray that you’d help us to reflect your character, your love, your mercy in our homes to our families. We pray for this in our workplaces, that we would be a reflection of your character and the places where we work and our churches. God, we would be a reflection of your goodness to people around us and the church and to people who don’t know Jesus around us.
Nehemiah 6:15–16 Leads us to Live Differently
God, we pray you’d help us to live differently, help us to live in total dependence on you, and point people to you that others might know you as a result of our lives. God, as we pray this for people around us, God, we pray this for people around the world. We pray today for the people of Somalia who are totally unreached by the Gospel. God, all across Somalia and specifically for this people group.
God, we pray that somebody would go there. More people laborers would go to Somalia and you would bless our brothers and sisters who live in Somalia. Those who are working in Somalia. That you would raise up more workers to live for the spread of the gospel. That people in Somalia might come to the same conclusion. That was being reached here in Nehemiah 6 that God is real. God is good that Jesus is worthy of worship. As a result of people going to Somalia and proclaiming his name there.
Confessing that We Need God’s Help
God, we confess the exact phrase we see at the end of Nehemiah 6:16. We need your help in our lives in every way. In so many ways and we pray that you’d help us to live dependent on your help. Trusting in your help on a daily basis. In a way that leads others around us. Ultimately leads the nations to see that you are good, that you help all who trust in you. We pray this in Jesus’ name based on Nehemiah 6:15–16. Amen.
View the 2022 McLean Bible Church Reading Plan.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
