Be Thou My Vision (Oh Lord of my heart)

When it comes to building, there are elements in the heart of a disciple that are at work. The first chapter of Nehemiah has these attributes:

1. Have love for one another (love what God loves)

2. Don’t be selfish or conceited

3. Be humble

4. Value others above yourselves

5. Be a peacemaker

6. Be a servant

7. Obey at all cost

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. 

Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel,  that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.  And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” – Nehemiah 1:1-3 ESV

It is here that I find the need for prayer and for making it my focus. I can praise God for what He has already done and for His promises about what He will do again. I can confess my sin and I can ask God to show me how to rebuild my part of the wall. I definitely want to pray with the same confident faith of Nehemiah.

Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned.  – Nehemiah 1:6-7 ESV

Next year I want my theme to be on prayer. Through the power of the Holy Spirit I want to strengthen my prayer life and be more grounded in it. Prayer is a foundational spiritual practice and a cornerstone to building a life as a disciple of Jesus. Prayer has the power to transform people and communities.

Alan Redpath in his commentary on the book of Nehemiah has brought out that the place where every ministry ought to begin is first in “mourning” for the current state of things.  A person sees that there is a tremendous spiritual need amongst a group of people, and he/she mourns for how the people need the Lord in their life, how the lives of people have been destroyed by their life of sin, and how that the Lord needs to raise up a work that will meet that need and draw people to salvation through Christ, and make disciples to be sent out to do the work of ministry. 

I want to ask the Holy Spirit to help me become a disciple-making disciple and I want to invite the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to make us a disciple-making Church.

As I journey in discipleship, I want to be practical and specific in my ask and keep in mind whose authority and protection I am under when I ask for what I need.