LaunchPad Prayer & Fasting

A Willing People Get the Wall Halfway Up Nehemiah 4:6; Exodus 35:21, 29  Our God is a God who does great things! He is all-wise, all-powerful. And yet, when our God does these great things, He works in and through people.  In the story of Scripture, we don\'t hear about God reaching a giant hand…

Taking Our Insults to God, Not Into Our Hearts Nehemiah 4:4-5; Romans 12:19  Picture the builders up on the wall. The mortar is still wet on their hands. And they hear the voices of Sanballat and Tobiah saying things about them. Not words covertly whispered behind their backs. These guys want to be heard. They…

When Mockery Tries to Shrink the Vision Nehemiah 4:1-3; Psalm 123:3-4  Have you ever started a home project and part of the way through started hearing voices in your head about how maybe you\'ve taken on more than you can handle? I don\'t know what I\'m doing. I\'m not really qualified to do this. I\'ve…

Expect Ridicule When You Start Building Nehemiah 2:19-20; 1 Peter 4:12-14  Have you ever been bullied or mocked because something made you different? Being mistreated is painful, but have you ever faced opposition specifically because you were following Jesus and attempting to do God\'s work?  That is what Nehemiah experienced in Nehemiah 2:19-20:  \"But when…

Testimony That Moves People to Action Nehemiah 2:18; Acts 4:31-33  As we continue in this period of seeking the Lord through fasting and prayer, this study through Nehemiah has been giving us a glimpse into the life of a man and a people who put their trust and hope in the God of heaven to…

Naming the Trouble to Rally the Team Nehemiah 2:17; 1 Chronicles 12:32  When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, the walls remained broken and the gates burned for more than a hundred years.  By the time Nehemiah arrived, the destruction was no longer fresh. People had returned from exile. The temple had been rebuilt. Worship…

Private Conviction Before Public Plans Nehemiah 2:16; Luke 2:19  Have you ever heard of a problem and had an idea for resolving it? An idea you thought was the right thing to do, because you had sought the Lord and done everything you knew to do to get to that solution? It\'s a great feeling.…

Looking Closely at What\'s Broken Nehemiah 2:13-14; Proverbs 24:30-32  It is a strikingly human instinct to want to fix things quickly. When we encounter pain, disorder, or a system that is failing, our minds immediately leap toward solutions, strategies, and timelines. We want to skip the discomfort of the damage and move straight to the…

Assessing Before Announcing Nehemiah 2:11-12; Luke 14:28-30  When something matters deeply to us, there can be a strong desire to move quickly—to identify what is broken, make a plan, and begin acting. But Nehemiah gives us a different picture. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he didn\'t immediately announce what he intended to do. Instead, he…

The Hand Behind the Favor Nehemiah 2:8b; Genesis 39:2-3  So far, Nehemiah is on his journey to restore Judah. He has prayed fervently, asked humbly, and sought God—first for what was on his heart, and now for what actions to take. He makes a clear ask of the king\'s forest keeper for timber for the…

Asking for What the Mission Requires  Nehemiah 2:7-8a; Philippians 4:19  I\'ve had the opportunity to travel to Indonesia a few times over the last 15 years. The people are wonderfully gracious, the landscape is beautiful, and the food is delicious. But one of the things that I loved so deeply about my visits there was…

Being Ready When the Door Opens Nehemiah 2:6; Colossians 4:2-6  When I went away to college at seventeen, I was pretty certain I knew what my life would look like. I was going to be a professional soccer goalkeeper and tour as a Christian musician in the off-season.  It seemed perfectly reasonable to seventeen-year-old me. …