“Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?””

Nehemiah 6:1-3 ESV

http://bible.com/59/neh.6.1-3.esv

All,

This stands out because Nehemiah says, “But they intended to do me harm.” Evil loves to make its intent seem like it’s for the greater good. However, it never aligns with God’s Word. Watch for the issues that the world says are for the common good, but are against God’s Word. Please pray that we and our friends ensure our actions align with God’s Word in all we do. Please pray for John as he is building his group.

“Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired.”

Nehemiah 3:28-29 ESV

http://bible.com/59/neh.3.28-29.esv

All,

This stands out because Nehemiah says, “each one opposite his own house.” Nehemiah encouraged everyone to rebuild part of the wall and helped them understand how it’s in their personal interest also. When we serve God’s purpose, we receive the fruit of the Spirit. Please pray that we and our friends seek to serve God’s purpose today. Please pray for Stacey Kessler.

“In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.””

Nehemiah 2:1-5 ESV

http://bible.com/59/neh.2.1-5.esv

All,

This stands out because Nehemiah says, “Then the king said to me, ‘What are you requesting?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven.” I love how Nehemiah prayed at that moment for strength even though he had already prayed and planned out this moment. We can do nothing worthwhile in our own power and there is much peace when we rely on His power. Please pray that we and our friends say a silent pray today every time we are concerned about a situation. Please pray for Stacey Kessler.

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.”

Job 40:6-11 ESV

http://bible.com/59/job.40.6-11.esv

All,

This stands out because God says, “I will question you, and you make it known to me.” Every time I think I’m certain about a situation and then go to God, He gives me a perspective that was impossible for me to see. This change in perspective that happens when we spend time with God is nothing short of amazing every time. Please pray that we and our friends seek God in all situations today and let Him give us His perspective and purpose. Please pray for your friend who doesn’t seem to know Christ well.

“Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

Ezra 4:1-5 ESV

http://bible.com/59/ezr.4.1-5.esv

All,

This stands out because the writer says, “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose”. How often do roadblocks come out of nowhere to prevent you from doing something God has put on your heart? I think spiritual warfare is alive and well and will always try to threaten the plans God has for you. However, God’s power is greater than any other power. Please pray that we and our friends pray for God’s power to carry forward when we sense resistance to His plans. Please pray for a friend of mine contemplating changing careers.

“So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

2 Chronicles 35:16-18 ESV

http://bible.com/59/2ch.35.16-18.esv

All,

This stands out because the writer says, “No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet.” A main purpose of the Passover is for every generation to memorialize how God delivered them from bondage in Egypt. The people of Israel struggled to keep God first in their lives without celebrating the Passover. Many people today are treating Christ’s birth and resurrection as just secular events without celebrating the true meaning of Christ delivering us. Please pray that we and our friends pass on to the future generations the true meaning of Christmas. Please pray for Wes as he is considering starting a group.

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images.”

2 Chronicles 34:1-3 ESV

http://bible.com/59/2ch.34.1-3.esv

All,

This stands out because the writer says, “in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images.” Even though a good King would tear down idol worship, the people would still resort to it later and build alters. No one has to teach a toddler to be selfish and no one has to teach humans to “worship” something they can control because it’s human nature to be selfish. Please pray that we and our friends recognize this and still chose to worship God with all of our heart. Please pray for John as he is building his group.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”

Psalms 63:1-4 ESV

http://bible.com/59/psa.63.1-4.esv

All,

This stands out because David says, “Because your steadfast love is better than life”. God’s love endures forever and this life is maybe 120 years. Many things are tempting to put above God in the world, but they are temporary. Please pray that we and our friends put ALL our trust in God who gives us abundant life here and everlasting. Please pray for Hunter as he builds his group.

“And his servants said still more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.

So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side.”

2 Chronicles 32:16-19, 22 ESV

http://bible.com/59/2ch.32.16-19,22.esv

All,

This stands out because the writer says, “And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them”. The enemy will always try to frighten and terrify us so that we put our trust in earthy things instead of God. Jesus answered satan with God’s Word and so should we. Please pray that we and our friends seek God in tough times and see how He provides. Please pray for the foster children needing a home in Georgia.

“Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.”

2 Chronicles 31:20-21 ESV

http://bible.com/59/2ch.31.20-21.esv

All,

This stands out because the writer says, “seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.” God wants ALL of our heart. A divided heart creates unrest and confusion. Please pray that we and our friends have His peace and that comes with seeking Him with ALL our heart. Please pray for the people who have lost their loved ones this past year.