Nehemiah was trying to rebuild Jerusalem's broken walls. His enemies — Sanballat, Tobiah, and others — did not want the wall built. They mocked first. When that did not work, they threatened violence. When the threat became serious, Nehemiah did not stop building. He reorganized. Half the workers held spears, shields, and bows while the other half built. The builders themselves kept their swords strapped to their sides as they worked. They built and they guarded at the same time.

That image is one of the most honest pictures of the Christian life in all of Scripture. We are always doing two things at once — building and guarding. Building a life of faith, building a family, building a ministry, building character. And guarding — staying alert, holding the weapon ready, not pretending the threat is not there. The people who get into trouble are usually the ones who put the weapon down because the building is going well. That is precisely when the enemy shows up.

Nehemiah also did something else worth noting — he prayed and posted a guard. Not one or the other. Both. "We made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night." Prayer is not a substitute for vigilance and vigilance is not a substitute for prayer. The spiritual warrior who only prays without staying alert is naive. The one who only stays alert without praying is relying on their own strength. Nehemiah understood that the battle required both hands — the hand that builds, and the hand that holds the sword.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to build and guard at the same time. Keep us from the naivety of forgetting there is a battle, and from the fear of being so focused on the battle that we stop building. Give us Nehemiah's wisdom — prayer and watchfulness together. Amen.