Kristi Burchfiel

Prayer in Action, Day 39 Praise and rejoicing. Read Nehemiah 12:27-43. The men have committed themselves to the Lord and now it is time to celebrate and praise God. As we read these verses, we see a massive choir presentation that can be heard for miles around. The choir is standing on top of the walls that they have just built. When we experience God moving and we see his answer to our prayers, does the size of our praise match the size of God’s moving? We have just been part of an incredible work of God. Just like these people, we are to praise Him and lift him up…

Prayer in Action, Day 38 Another list of names. Read Nehemiah 12:1-29. Do you sit through the credits of the movie? Such a long list of names of people. However, let’s think about what that list really means. It’s the demonstration of months of work of an individual. They contributed to something greater than themselves and that list with their name is the culmination of that. I never really thought about that much until I had a family member who got in the movie industry. Then, I found myself waiting through the credits and scanning through the names to find her name. Recognition and connection made the name and the…

Prayer in Action, Day 37 People person. Read Nehemiah 11:21-36. As someone who works professionally in the field of human resources, it really stuck out to me to see that the king had, essentially, a human resources person. Pethahiah was the one who helped the king deal with the people. God has gifted certain people to be able to understand and work with people better than others. We all have a responsibility to get along with and to be the best that we can be, but God just gives some people the ability to relate to others better. So many professions and things that we do everyday are a way…

Prayer in Action, Day 36 The importance of volunteering. Read Nehemiah 11:1-20. While the city wall had been completed, the city inside wasn’t in good shape. So, it took people being willing to volunteer to live there. It wasn’t a pretty, flashy place to be. In fact, no one really wanted to be there. But, part of following God’s plan involved building the wall and now the city needed people. The people volunteered to follow God and to live there. The names of those people were recorded to make sure that everyone knew their commitment to God. Do we follow our commitments to God, even if it’s difficult or inconvenient?…

Prayer in Action, Day 35 Our responsibility. Read Nehemiah 10:30-39. Now that the people have signed their names to what they are responsible for, the scripture goes into the details. This explains all that they have agreed to do. The level of commitment and the dedication that these people were giving to God was something that today’s followers don’t completely understand. The the amount of financial responsibility that the people took as well as the willingness to dedicate themselves to the church and the temple. Do we understand the level of commitment that we are making to God when we bring ourselves to Christ? We are giving Christ everything. Everything…

Prayer in Action, Day 34 Names. Read through Nehemiah 10:1-29. As we read these verses, we see a long list of names. These are the names of the men who were making a decision to commit themselves to the Lord. When I used to read the Bible, I would get frustrated by long list of names. They are typically names that are difficult or unusual to me, and I struggle to know how to pronounce the names. However, names have taken on a different meaning for me now. Names have tremendous importance to God. We seal our decisions by signing our name. That’s how we identify ourselves and that’s how…

Prayer in Action, Day 33 God is faithful. As we continue to read through the history of the people we see God’s faithfulness. Read Nehemiah 9:26-38. No matter how hard the people tried, they continued to fail God. They fell short of everything God asked of them, each and every time. Still, God was faithful to them. God made a commitment and a covenant that he would not break, even when the other people broke their side. God will always be faithful to himself and to his promises. We can always count and trust on him in every area of our life. No matter how we fail and how short…

Prayer in Action, Day 32 God’s compassion. Read Nehemiah 9:13-25. As the people are recounting all that God has done throughout their history, we see all the times that the children of Israel have failed God. We see all the missteps and misdeeds. And yet, we see all the ways in which God is faithful. God had great compassion on them and he moved in such a way that they are able to see his grace and mercy. Even when we don’t see it, God is moving with grace and mercy in our lives. God allows situations and circumstances to be part of us in order to shape us and…

Prayer in Action, Day 31 God’s covenant with his people. Read Nehemiah 9:1-12. The people of Israel have experienced the mighty working of God. Also, they have spent time in worship and repentance to him. These next verses explain what the people decide to commit back to God. They start by going through the entire history of God’s faithfulness to them. They explain that through all of the different things that God has done, he has done them because he has been keeping his covenant promise to them. The people may not have kept their promises to him, and that is why they are repenting, but God has never been…

Prayer in Action, Day 30 Joy. The people had great joy in worshipping God. Read Nehemiah 8:13-18. Now that the people had worshipped by reading and studying the word. And they had spent time in repentance, the people now have great joy. How do we experience joy? The people realized that they experience joy through the worship and repentance with God. When we are in a right relationship with God, we experience the true joy that God desires for all of us. Are we worshipping God? Are we spending time in confession and repentance? Only through these will we understand and experience true joy.