Bulldoze Them Out Of Our Way….

Reading a prayer from Nehemiah in regards to his enemies, those opposing the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem, I can’t help but compare it to what the NT prayers were for their enemies. Nehemiah’s prayer isn’t very “love thy neighbor as myself” is it? I think modern Christians have taken the NT love to a different level. It’s more of a passive, “live and let live” mentality. If we have a job to do, and we are being harassed to the point of preventing us from completing it, then we should pray a prayer like Nehemiah. Disrespecting God publicly has consequences. Nehemiah was asking God to take care of these rascals. He wasn’t taking matters into his own hands. He was asking God to intervene. Yes, his prayer may seem a little harsh, but it was all dependent upon God. It’s exactly what He wants from us. Asking God to fix a problem is all we can do when things seem insurmountable. If it involves asking the opposition to be stopped by the natural consequences that follow rebellion, then so be it. God’s work must continue. It must continue to be done by those He has chosen to do it. Obstacles in our path need removal, or we need to be provided an alternate way around them. Sometimes we need to pray for God to bulldoze them out of our way in order to finish the job. It doesn’t mean we aren’t loving our enemies. It just means God is taking up His issue with them, while we continue to serve Him.

4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked You to anger here in front of the builders.”6 At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm. Nehemiah 4:4-6