Day 23 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Confident Craftsmen    

Jim Boyd, Director of Support Services
Nehemiah 4:15-23

Have you ever started a project at home, only to realize that you did not have the tools to accomplish the task? Then there is the lost time as you go back and forth either to get the correct tool, or a trip to the store to purchase one. This is a craftsman’s greatest frustration. Confidence is lost when we are unprepared for the task at hand.

In this passage we see that everyone was equipped as needed for their duties. Half were tasked to build the walls.  The others to stand guard. Some had tools to work; but all had weapons needed in defense of attack, vs. 17.  

This is the example of properly equipped workers. Each not only understood what they needed to do, but they also had the proper equipment for any eventuality that arose. This not only bred confidence they needed that they could complete the work in safety; it also produced the dedication and diligence with which they worked, vs. 22-23.

Prayer/Challenge

Thank you Father that you equip each believer with the gifts and talents to accomplish your work.  We are confident that with these, we can accomplish all things you set before us according to your plan.

Day 22 :: Nehemiah Devotions

A Mind to Work 

Steven Ackley, Associate Pastor | College & Young Adults
Nehemiah 4:6

Work, a word detested by much of our culture. But why? For some it comes from bad experiences such as having a father who worked so much he was absent; others because of laziness and a lack of motivation; still some have come to see work as necessary, but not meaningful. Contrary to this way of thinking, we find that Scripture teaches us that work isn’t only necessary and helpful, but good and honoring to God.  

In Nehemiah 4 the people of God found themselves in a unique position facing opposition and cultural mockery, (4:1-3). Their work was described as foolish and weak, yet unwavering was the mind of God’s people to work. So what motivated their work, and what must motivate ours?

Certainly there is motivation that comes in seeing God’s expectation of our work. Even embedded in the Ten Commandments is the assumption that, ‘Six days you shall labor and do your work’ (Exodus 20:9). Additionally, we perceive from creation to redemption to final consummation, the work of God is a marvelous motivator. Finally, I believe our highest form of provocation to work comes in our seeing clearly God’s purpose for work, ‘Do all to the glory of God…that they may be saved.’ (1 Cor. 10:31-33)

More often than not the longing inside of us is to return to Eden, the place of peace and perfection. Let us not forget, that even before Eden was tainted, work was enjoyed with significant meaning (Gen. 2:15).

Prayer/Challenge

Pray today for conviction where you’ve seen your work as an obstacle rather than an opportunity and invite Christ to rule your heart, mind and hands leading you to work as unto the Lord.

Day 20 :: Nehemiah Devotions

This Week in Review  

We have learned much from Nehemiah this week about how to go about accomplishing the plans that God lays out in front of us when He opens the door of opportunity to us.

Have you been challenged this week?

Has prioritizing people helped you better understand why God has placed you where you are?

Do you have a different view now of the power of delegating tasks to others?

Why is matching talents/gifts with tasks so important

for success?

How does coordinating our efforts with others multiply our success?

And, are you ready now to inspect what you have accomplished, looking for ways to achieve excellence in the things you accomplish in God’s plan for you?

All of these things help us when we face opposition; begin now to prepare your heart for tomorrow’s sermon from Nehemiah.

Day 21

Sunday 9.28.14

Use your Sermon Notes section as a point of learning, response and a prayer/challenge for the week ahead. 

Day 19 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Matching Talents & Tasks   

Dr. Guy Hipp, Sr. Associate Pastor | Coordination & Accountability
Nehemiah 3:1-12, 1 Peter 4:10

Years ago, our family decided to re-make the deck on the back of our house into a full screened porch.  We hired a contractor and started the process.  The plans had to be approved, the electrical went through two inspections, and every major division of the porch enclosure had to be inspected.  “Building inspectors” are necessary to insure the home buyer that the work is done according to “code.”  

Nehemiah 3 is a wonderful picture of the division of labor to rebuild the wall.  The beauty of Nehemiah 3 is the commitment of the people under the watchful eye of the Heavenly Father to do the work correctly and with joy. Spiritual leaders must oversee the work, evaluating as a building inspector as to the Lord.

The challenge to us today is found in 2 passages in the New Testament. 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Find your God given place at Calvary and serve with joy.  Do everything at home, job, and at church as a steward of the grace of God.

Prayer/Challenge

Heavenly Father, show me my work for your kingdom and give me a heart that passionately does everything for the Lord Jesus.

Day 18 :: Nehemiah Devoations

Coordinating Tasks   

Al Fausch, Director of Business & Financial Administration
Nehemiah 3:1-12, 1 Peter 4:10

I like getting the job done, don’t you? That is what the Israelites did in this case. Most of the people, priests and leadership, except for a few nobles in v.5, went to work in a coordinated fashion and rebuilt their section of the wall, towers, and gates of Jerusalem.

When the task is small, coordination may not be necessary, but when you are doing a God-sized task (like rebuilding the walls of a city, or seeking God’s vision for life and ministry), the need for coordination is obvious. The work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem could not have been accomplished without everyone working together as a part of a coordinated plan.

This is also what we see in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

Each group of individuals went to work using the gift(s) the Lord had given them and faithfully administered God’s grace. As a result, the God-sized task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem proceeded in record time.

Prayer/Challenge

As we seek fresh vision for our church, as we dedicate our lives and our ministries to fulfilling our mission to make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus Christ, let’s accept the challenge, all of us, coordinated together, to “use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 

Day 17 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Matching Talents & Tasks   

Don Schmidt, Associate Pastor | Adult Ministries & Connections
Nehemiah 3:1-12, 1 Peter 4:10

Having been to Jerusalem, I have seen the walls of the city. I cannot imagine an undertaking of this magnitude: rebuilding the walls that had been left as piles of rubble. 

Nehemiah 3 is a testimony of what God can accomplish when His people work together under His direction to accomplish His purposes. Nehemiah 3 is also a beautiful example of Peter’s challenge to the church: “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s [multifaceted] grace” (I Pet. 4:10).

Not everyone uses their gifts to accomplish the purposes of God. In Nehemiah 3:5 we read, “And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.” Here was a group of men who failed to use their talents for the purposes of God. They failed to see they were serving God and not Nehemiah. They also failed to lead their team with their example. How would you like this as the legacy recorded as your epitaph?!

The commentary doesn’t end there; read also 3:27 where Nehemiah records, “After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.” The poor example of their leaders did not discourage the Tekoites from their work; instead they went on to complete a second assignment in the rebuilding of the wall.

Prayer/Challenge

Lord, thank You for the many at Calvary who are like the Tekoites, those who use their gifts to serve You. I pray that You would help all of us to be driven by the vision of what You want to accomplish through our lives as we serve You together.

Day 16 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Delegating

Luke Samuelson, Campus Pastor | West
Nehemiah 3:1-12, 1 Peter 4:10

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 

I once heard an illustration based on 1 Peter 4:10, that said to imagine that you went to a restaurant and right before your waiter delivered your meal, he dipped his fingers into your food and took for himself what was meant for you! I don’t know what you would do, but I might ask for the manger or leave the restaurant, but what I wouldn’t do is eat the food that someone had just put their hands into. 

What does this illustrate? We are simply servants in service to our King. We have received a gift that we might serve one another and display the grace of God. When we have an internal focus or a “me” focus, instead of an “others” focus we end up being a waiter/servant that takes for himself what was meant to be served to others. God is capable of doing everything without us, but chooses to use us. The reality is we all have a role to play on God’s team. No role is too minute on God’s team.

Prayer/Challenge

Father, thank you that you have gifted and commanded each and every one of us to serve one another. Help me today to see my time, talent, and treasures as gifts from you to be used for you.

Day 15 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Praying & Planning 

Steve Hardy, Associate Pastor | Missions
Nehemiah 3:1-12, 1 Peter 4:10

People are God’s priority. In Genesis 1:27, we find that people are the only part of creation that is created in God’s image, made specifically for fellowship with Him. When the fall happens in Genesis 3, God declares that He will provide a means to restore the relationship between Himself and people. The rest of the Bible is the story of how God redeems people through the blood of Jesus, and how He plans for our eternal future with Him.  

In the Bible, God demonstrates that people are His priority in how He pursues us with His love, and how He works through us to pursue others for His kingdom.

Romans 5:8 reminds us that God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners. God highlights this relationship in Romans 8 by telling us that He sends His Spirit to dwell in those who are restored to fellowship through the blood of Jesus, sealing our salvation, having our consciences renewed, and giving us the inheritance as “fellow heirs” with Christ. No other part of His creation is granted such a blessing.

God also shows his priority for people by choosing to work through us to share the message of redemption with others.  Even as God used people in Nehemiah’s day to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, He chooses to use us as messengers of Good News to a world that is lost and dying in sin.

Prayer/Challenge

Father, help us to share your priority for people by seeing their need for you and following your leadership to share the Gospel. Make us sensitive so we may see them as created in your image.

Day 13 :: Nehemiah Devotions

This Week in Review  

While Nehemiah prayed seriously for opportunity and clear direction from God, he also obviously spent time in planning and detailed preparation in anticipation of God’s answer to his prayer.

When the open door came through the king’s offer, Nehemiah was ready; he had prepared a plan and had sought clear vision from the Lord.

What is it that you are praying about as a leader?

What do you sense the Lord preparing to open for you?

Ask Him for clear vision.

Plan in preparation for His answer.

And be ready to walk through the open doors that He will provide.

Tomorrow’s study during our Sunday morning worship, will prepare us for those open doors.

Day 14

Sunday 9.21.14

Use your Sermon Notes section as a point of learning, response and a prayer/challenge for the week ahead. 

Day 12 :: Nehemiah Devoations

Communicating Carefully with Others  

Kent Oviatt, Associate Pastor | Deaf & Multicultural Ministries
Nehemiah 2:17-20

After Nehemiah inspected the walls, prayed, cultivated a vision and developed a plan, he gave a report to the leaders for the first time (the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest who did the work).

In these brief verses, we see how Nehemiah communicated the plan which led to a response. Nehemiah was honest with the people about their testimony in the community. They were a reproach.  So not only did he describe the physical ruins of the walls and gates, he described the effect this neglect had on their testimony as the people of God.  Earlier, Nehemiah’s brother had reported that the people of God were in great distress and a reproach (1:3).  

Nehemiah’s communication then turned to the plan - rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. In doing so, the testimony of God’s people would not be in question. The Lord had been gracious and gave him preference with the King. The people of God not only responded positively at this news, but put their hands to work. It was a courageous plan and Nehemiah succeeded in his communication.

After the people agreed to move ahead with the plan, they faced opposition. Nehemiah spoke candidly to this resistance. God would give a successful outcome to the vision and to his people, but would deny the enemy any honor or reward.

Prayer/Challenge

Father, thank you for the testimony of Nehemiah. We acknowledge that our neglect of your claim on our lives will result in reproach.  Lead us to embrace your plan. Protect us from the opposition that is all around us.  We depend on you today to accomplish the good work that you have called us to do in Christ’s name.

Day 11 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Crafting a Complete Plan 

Dr. Don Mann, Associate Pastor | Stewardship
Nehemiah 2:11-16

Zig Ziglar once said, “People don’t plan to fail, but they fail to plan.”  Nehemiah had a plan. He went out at night to give himself uninterrupted time to carefully examine every detail and dimension of the rebuilding project. Without these he only had a great concept. With the details and dimensions he had a carefully crafted plan that he could share with others to begin and complete the work. 

He brought others and met others there in Jerusalem, but didn’t share what he was being called to do until the time was right. Only then would he challenge others to join in. He shared his heart with the king. He recruited the keeper of the king’s forest to supply him with timber. He took a few men with him as he surveyed the walls. He spoke to the Jews, the priests, nobles, officials, and others about the situation. Most importantly, he kept praying in humility and faith to God.

Do the same with whatever it is the Lord has placed on your heart. Survey the landscape, ask the diagnostic questions and take stock of what you need in order to reach the goal. Share with others whose help you need at just the right time and then put the plan into action.  

Prayer/Challenge

Heavenly Father, giver of hope and vision, and giver of faith to follow, give us the challenge and grace to craft and follow a plan that accomplishes your purpose in our lives and brings you glory and honor. 

Day 10 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Casting Clear Vision 

Larry White, Associate Pastor | Music
Nehemiah 2:1-11

During the Great Depression, the government put a group of Irish peasants to work building roads.  At first the men worked with great excitement, singing as they worked because they felt that they we assisting their country.  In time, the men learned that the roads they were building went nowhere and that the government was only giving them busywork.  Before long, their work became sluggish and they quit singing.  Roads leading nowhere are hard to build.

After Nehemiah had heard the news of what was happening to his people in Judah and the state of the walls of Jerusalem, he began praying and seeking God’s direction on how he could be used in rebuilding the walls.  Nehemiah had a clear vision that he had gotten from God after spending much time in prayer.  After months of prayer, Nehemiah was ready to share his vision with King Artaxerxes; he was ready with facts, figures, a timetable, and a materials list.

As a church family, we must answer the call to extraordinary prayer as we seek fresh vision from our Father in heaven.  Together, we commit to approaching the Father with praise and thanksgiving, humbly confessing our sins and asking for His clear vision.   As we discern His vision, may our plans be as clear, and may our goals be as concise as Nehemiah’s.

Prayer/Challenge

Father, place Your hands on the leaders of Calvary and put prayer on the hearts of Your people here so we can hear clear and specific vision for Your church.  Give us boldness to follow your vision with eagerness and with joy. 

Day 9 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Plan for God to Work! 

Truett Williams, Associate Pastor | Students
Nehemiah 2:4-8

Nehemiah was the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes. The cupbearer tasted the wine before the king drank it, tasted the food before the king ate it. If someone tried to poison the king - no more cupbearer - but, “long live the king.”

It was a position of intimacy and trust. The cupbearer had to be with the king during confidential discussions. He had access to the royal presence in a way that would have been death for anyone else. It’s even been suggested that, apart from the queen, the cupbearer had the greatest influence on the king.

Nehemiah had a burden for his people.  After three months of planning, thinking how he could accomplish rebuilding the wall, and developing a strategy Nehemiah had his opportunity.   When the king asked Nehemiah how he could help, notice the response,  “He prayed to the God of Heaven.” Nehemiah knew the king could help but he recognized that God was the source of help.  

Nehemiah made bold requests - for time off work, for protection, and for supplies. The importance of planning and careful preparation has been modeled for us. Planning and preparation are not contrary to the working of the Holy Spirit; they are a means that the Holy Spirit uses to further his work. Work in the church is to be planned, well organized, and thought through. But, we must be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We prepare, but God opens doors.

Prayer/Challenge

Take a few moments and think about what you have to do today. Whatever you have prepared to do today, take those plans and bathe them in prayer. Watch God open doors!

Day 8 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Praying & Planning 

Gary Byrum, Associate Pastor | Pastoral Care & Sr. Adults
Nehemiah 2:4-8

“As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” (Neh. 1:4)

“Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.” (Neh. 2:4)

Months had passed between Nehemiah’s response to the news from Jerusalem (mourning, fasting, and praying) and his silent prayer now before answering the king’s question about his future plans.

What was Nehemiah up to in the time between learning of the great need in Jerusalem and this open door to access the king’s resources and journey back to his homeland?

Certainly he had continued to fast and pray, and lead others to do the same. But his ready answer to the king’s question reveals other wise activity in Nehemiah’s life in conjunction with his praying and fasting.

Nehemiah had been planning; he was ready with a sure and detailed accounting of what he would be eager to do if/when God opened the door in answer to his prayer.

As we seek fresh vision for fulfilling our mission, pray for our leaders who are counting the cost, developing plans, and equipping the saints so that we are ready, like Nehemiah, when God opens the door.   

Prayer/Challenge

Count the cost, consider your preparation, pray for open doors, and be ready to give an answer for the sure hope that is within you. For the glory of God and the salvation of the lost!  

Day 6 :: Nehemiah Devotions

This Week in Review  

God’s Blueprint for Leadership

As we have embarked on our journey with Nehemiah this week:

What personal impact do you anticipate from God’s Blueprint for Leadership?

As we join together in 52 Days of Extraordinary Prayer, what will you plan differently in your daily prayer life?  

Will you accept the challenge to fast as we seek God’s face together?

Remember, fasting is to intentionally focus on Christ while giving up something of normal importance, whether: 

•  Food (a meal, a category, a season)
•  Technology (social media, television, internet)
•  Activity (replacing the activity with focused time in prayer)

Record your fasting commitment in the space to the right.

As we look toward tomorrow’s sermon, begin to pray now that we will all embrace what God has to say to us about leadership through Nehemiah, that each of us will consider what it means to be a leader, and how God wants to equip us as leaders in our church and in our community.

Day 7

Sunday 9.14.14

Use your Sermon Notes section as a point of learning, response and a prayer/challenge for the week ahead. 

Day 5 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Prayer: Supplication

Ramon Vielza, Campus Pastor | Southside
Nehemiah 1:11

In 2004, my family and I relocated to pastor a church in Jatibonico, Cuba. The church was in ruins physically and spiritually; the church building was crumbling and the devil had consumed many of the families of the faith.

God had given me a vision, one very far from my own abilities, to begin a church planting movement. Hundreds of cities and towns needed the gospel and I knew that God had sent me, but how would I be able to accomplish this?

Following the actions of Nehemiah completely changed my life. I challenged the church to begin praying and petitioning God, every day at 5:00 am. Roughly 40 brothers from the church gathered with me to pray every day for the entire year; the events that followed were the miracles we had been praying for.

The heavens were opened:

• The communist Cuban government gave us permission to reconstruct our church. We also constructed a Missionary Training Center and a house for the pastor.
• We trained and sent missionaries to more than 170 towns and cities, to plant new churches, and to win souls in the name of Jesus Christ.

I come from a place where you can learn about the challenges of life and where the challenges we face are like doors that seem impossible to open, but we serve the God of the heavens and the earth! 

Prayer/Challenge

Lord, teach us to pray.  We want to understand the unknown and we ask that you raise up men and women in our church who seek you in order to open every door you place before us.

Day 4 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Prayer: Thanksgiving

Dr. Guy Hipp, Sr. Associate Pastor | Coordination & Accountability
Nehemiah 1:8-10

Today, our devotion is on the third component of effective, powerful prayer – thanksgiving. Am I the source of my own success? Or is Christ in me the source of my success?  Christians are not self-made persons, they are made in the image of God and then become new creations in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). As a new creation in Christ, prayer with our Heavenly Father with thanksgiving will determine your focus. Prayer without thanksgiving is self-centered, while prayer with thanksgiving is God-centered.  

Nehemiah focused on God, and gave God thanks even before receiving the blessing of returning to his homeland. Wow! A man who saw his home in ruins saw God’s hand in the future of Jerusalem and gave thanks to his God for the new opportunity before him.

The challenge for us is to do the same. Thank God before any expectation of blessing. A warning to all: Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” – Honor God as God and give thanks, if you do not, you are living just like the unbeliever.  

Prayer/Challenge

Take a prayer walk today, honor God, and look everywhere with eyes to see God’s blessings. Look and hear for God’s blessing in nature, see God’s blessing in your home with your family, and remember God’s greatest blessing through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, your provision for eternal life.

Day 3 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Prayer: Confession

Ryan Showalter, Associate Pastor | Family Ministry (West Campus)
Nehemiah 1: 6-7

“I have sinned against you. Please forgive me.” Words that are easy to hear, read, and even think, but are often some of the most difficult to speak. They are especially difficult to give voice to when we are caught in a pattern of self-justification. The self-justifying Christian, like the Galatian believers, starts out by grace but then trusts in religious effort for their ongoing good standing before God (Gal. 3:1-5). 

Like Nehemiah, we are to be people who are quick to confess. When Nehemiah hears of the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem and the disgrace of its people, his heart and mind immediately cry out in confession to God. Nehemiah wasn’t depending on the good performance of God’s people as the basis for God’s kindness toward them. Instead, Nehemiah reminds himself of God’s gracious promises toward the people as the basis for his hope. 

When you have failed, what is the basis for your hope? Are you quick to confess to God, throwing yourself on his mercy and grace, or are you crushed by the feeling that you aren’t doing enough to keep God happy? Whether you are trusting in God or are caught up in self-justification, there is good news for you today: nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God that is yours in Christ! No matter your response to your last failure, your next response can be a faith-filled confession, freely admitting your sin and fully relying on the grace of God for your good standing before him!

Prayer/Challenge

God, I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. Help me rely on your grace and not my religious works for my good standing before you.

Day 2 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Prayer: Adoration 

Lee Chewning, Associate Pastor | Worship
Nehemiah 1:5-6   

As we look at the first part of Nehemiah’s prayer today, we see a very pointed focus. Though Nehemiah felt he had a vision and a very clear task before him, he genuinely approached God and displayed an attitude of humility for those around him, and even us today. 

In vs. 5, Nehemiah begins with an acknowledgment of who God is. Jesus himself modeled this for us in Matthew 6:8. He speaks of our God’s might and greatness. He even goes on to acknowledge the faithfulness of God. His belief that God is who He says He is, was critical to the request and action that was to follow. He believes God can accomplish anything and that He will keep His word when commissioning his servants. And then... Nehemiah acts on it. He believes God will do what says He will do.

After making it known that he, Nehemiah, was bringing a request before the Lord and that he desired to be heard, he reveals another critical step to us. He acknowledges his sin and comes before the Lord in confession and repentance. He remembers the commands of the Lord and brings his sin before God, requesting forgiveness. Again, Jesus models this perfectly in The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:12). 

Prayer/Challenge

Today as we pray, would you consider approaching God in this same manner? Let’s not just bring our lists, but first acknowledge the greatness and might of our God. Then we bring before Him our sin in confession and repentance. Because of His complete forgiveness and redemption of our souls, we fall before Him in true adoration.

Day 1 :: Nehemiah Devotions

Fasting & Prayer (Personal) 

Steven Ackley, Associate Pastor | College & Young Adults
Nehemiah 1: 1-11

It was a great reunion. Nehemiah had reunited with one of his brothers yet showed that his concern went far beyond family.  When Nehemiah asks about the condition of the people of God who continue to reside in Jerusalem after the exile, his heart is stirred deeply.

The tragic reality of the situation shook Nehemiah to his core: the people of God were suffering and the Kingdom of God was under siege. What then is his response? Deep emotional pain coupled with the disciplines of prayer and fasting. Nehemiah’s great passion, the Kingdom of God, was under attack and he knew only to fast and pray.

Imagine for a moment how you would respond if the people of God were outnumbered in our community; the Church was struggling to gain traction among the influencers of our day; the spiritual climate around us was fading. Would you be reactionary and go to war against a culture that knows no better? Or instead pause, painstakingly recalling the fate of those without Christ, then fast and pray, seeking to hear from God about how to display and describe His great and compassionate love?

Oh that we would pause in our pain to fast and pray firmly believing that our God keeps His covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him!

Prayer/Challenge

In the coming days, I challenge you to three things. Observe your culture, observe your response, fast and pray. If what you see doesn’t break your heart, ask God for spiritual eyes to see spiritual needs as you fast and pray. If what you see breaks your heart, fast and pray that God would lead you to address the great need of Christ in your community.