Emergency Mode
“So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:4 NKJV
In the book of Nehemiah, we see that Nehemiah’s people were in trouble. The walls of Jerusalem had been burned down and the people were in great distress. When Nehemiah heard this, he was sad and began to cry. It says he mourned for days and fasted and prayed. He went into what I call “Emergency Mode.”
When there is an emergency happening, the police, ambulance, or fire department rush to where the emergency is. They waste no time. They turn on their sirens and get there as fast as they can. They drive through red lights and move traffic out of their way to get to where the problem is. We as Christians should have that same urgency.
When Nehemiah heard of the great distress his people were facing, he began to go into emergency mode. He felt for his people with compassion, he prayed and fasted for them, and then later on in the chapter he went and made a difference by rebuilding the wall.
Here in our city we’re experiencing emergency situations. In August 2016, we were labeled the 5th most violent city in the nation. The number of murders is higher than it’s ever been with over 60 murders in the past year. Everywhere you look people are hurting, addicted to drugs, and lost without hope. Do you hear the cries of the people? Do you see the problem in our city? Where are all of the Nehemiah’s at?
It’s time to go into emergency mode. Nehemiah did these five things:
- He had compassion – We need now more than ever to feel the need of our city. Pray and ask God to give us the compassion for the lost and hurting.
- He prayed – If we want to see change we can’t just hope for it, but we need to go after it with prayer.
- He fasted – In addition to prayer, we need to fast and set aside time to really seek God.
- He repented on the behalf of the people – Even though we may not have caused the sin, we need to ask God for healing in our city. Cry out and repent and ask God to bring revival.
- He put his prayer into action – It’s time to get out of the pews and start reaching the lost.
Victory Outreach Albuquerque, this is our year to rise up! No one is going to do it for us. It’s time to go into “Emergency Mode!”
Dre Duran
