STRATEGIES FOR THE WALL

Recently while in prayer, God ministered to my spirit concerning the need to build a wall, and He reminded me of the events that took place in the blogs I wrote on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. As I reviewed those blogs, strategies for the wall became evident to me.

Additionally, the Holy Spirit ministered to me that our churches are similar to the temple built by Ezra. Our churches are erected, but the wall needed for its protection is missing. I have come to understand that we believers build walls around our churches and selves with our prayers.

A wall has numerous functions. It is a device that is used to set boundaries; it marks the limit of an area, and it makes a dividing line. It is used as a protection device, a defense, and a barrier that prevents movement and access. It is intended to block the passage and keep the undesired out.

If a wall is not strongly erected or has a breach, then the enemy has free access, and the blame for his admittance rest on me. Therefore, it is encumbered on me to pray without ceasing and have strategies for the wall for the enemy is consistently on the watch looking for a way to intervene in the lives of people.

There is a saying, “Without man, God will not, and without God, man cannot.” When God created man, He gave the man the responsibility to subdue and have dominion over the earth. Thus, our prayers invite God into the activities of this earth, and our prayers are not just for us, for our prayers can alter people’s lives in distant lands.

It is said that prayer service is the least attended service in churches, and this service, unfortunately, usually does not have men in attendance. The sad fact is that believers fail to realize that prayer is the key to our success; therefore, the prayer service should have the highest participation, and men should be the primary supporters of this service.

This is not a new problem for we find this same issue in the bible dated thousands of years ago. God said, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30). Things have not changed; the problem of old remains the same. The question then is, “What are we going to do?” Plus, if we are going to do something we need to have a strategy that will help us be successful in our endeavor.

Before I give you my strategies for the wall, let me give a short review of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. After seventy years of captivity, the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, and under the leadership of Ezra, they rebuilt the temple but not the walls that were destroyed during the Babylonian invasion. After the building of the temple some of the Israelites remained in that city; however, a significant portion of them moved out due to harassment from their enemies, not having able-bodied persons to protect the temple and city, and the broken down walls enabled the enemy easy access. Years later, Nehemiah comes to Jerusalem and rebuilds the walls. First, he had to encourage the people in this effort, and then he had to implement a strategy to keep the enemy from attacking while they rebuilt the walls. (You can find more details on these books in my archive blogs).

So here are my simple but effective strategies:
1. Remember a wall (prayer) denies access to intruders.
2. Regardless of age, all believers can participate in building the wall.
3. Have a plan.
4. Be specific in your request.
5. Don’t allow distractions to deter you from building.
6. Be armed with your spiritual weapons.
7. Be ready to stand guard for extended periods if needed.
8. Watch, hear, and pray.
9. Remain faithful and committed.