Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 216
TRANSCRIPT
Have you ever found yourself pondering, “What has happened to our nation? This isn’t the country I used to know.” If so, you’re not alone. Across the globe, we are witnessing a profound shift. Common sense seems to have vanished, replaced by ideologies that reject God, weaken the family unit, and endanger the freedoms we once held dear as Christians. I urge you to stay with me for a crucial message today.
This is Cindi Whitman with Restoring the Foundations. I’m addressing a matter that affects us all, and I encourage you to remain with me until the conclusion. This is a message of Hope, Healing, and Freedom!
As we reflect on the 250th anniversary of the United States, we must recognize that the heart of this message is universal. No matter what country you are from, these principles are timeless and rooted in Biblical wisdom.
Take a few minutes sometime today and read Nehemiah 1-7. These insights are taken from that passage. The abbreviated Cindi version of the story is that Nehemiah recognized that the walls of Jerusalem were broken and in need of repair. It grieved him to see the city he loved in such disrepair. He recognized how vulnerable they were to enemy infiltration. He fasted and prayed, and God gave him the strategy for the rebuilding of the walls. Nehemiah gathered the people, and together they rebuilt the wall in an astonishingly short time. The rebuilding took only 52 days to complete. It was miraculous to accomplish this in such a short time. It wasn’t an easy task. Everyone had to do their part. The wall would not have been built if the people hadn’t committed themselves to complete their section of the wall. They faced great opposition. Their lives were endangered, and they had to work and watch for enemy attacks. They were prepared to fight and defend the city they loved. Each family took responsibility to complete their portion of the wall.
Doesn’t this sound familiar? The walls of our nation are crumbling. They need rebuilding. As you look at your city and nation, do you see walls that need rebuilding? Let’s dive into the story a bit deeper.
1. Nehemiah recognized a problem and prepared to act. Effective leadership is crucial for identifying problems and taking decisive action. While leaders lead and guide, people must follow. We may not always agree with our leaders, but we are called to support them in prayer and action rather than curse them.
2. Fasting and prayer were vital to their strategy, and they can be for us too. These practices empower us to seek God’s guidance and strength in rebuilding.
3. Repentance is essential—not only for individual sins but also for the transgressions of previous generations. Humbling ourselves and praying opens the way for God’s healing. 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Repentance starts with us! This is an IF-THEN statement. IF we do our part, humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, THEN He will forgive their sin and heal their land. We do our part and THEN God will do His.
4. The task was too immense for any single person; it required every family to come together to rebuild the walls around their homes. Scripture states that each individual repaired a section in front of their own house. In Nehemiah 4:6, it says, “So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” Rebuilding our nation takes a united effort from all of us to restore our families, cities, communities, and nations. We must have, as the people building the wall, “a mind to work and rebuild that which is right in front of us, our families, our neighborhoods, our communities.”
5. The workers encountered mockery and ridicule, and their efforts faced hindrance from others’ negative voices. They faced reproach, which means shame, disgrace, or contempt. Despite this, they remained steadfast in their commitment to rebuild the walls. Verse 14 reminds us, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” They reminded themselves of God’s greatness. From that point on, one half of the people worked while the other half stood ready with spears, shields, and armor to protect those who were laboring. Regardless of how loud the opposition may be, our God is bigger and more powerful! Let me say that again, regardless of how the opposition may be, our God is bigger and more powerful! We must remind ourselves that nothing is too great for Him.
We may not fight with literal shields and swords, but we engage in spiritual warfare with the blood of Jesus, the sword of the Spirit, and the Word of God through our prayers. As we pray for those doing the work—our President, our members of Congress, Senators, and local leaders—our prayers are powerful in tearing down strongholds and countering every negative word spoken against them! God will give them the strategy our country needs!
In Restoring the Foundations ministry, we apply these principles to our personal lives. Through repentance, reminding ourselves of the greatness of our God, and listening to Him and His strategies, our individual lives are rebuilt. Marriages and families are restored. Communities and nations are transformed. Let us draw inspiration from this story and commit to rebuilding our own walls together, as the future of our nation depends on it.
The Lord has given leaders a strategy modeled on the story of Nehemiah. It includes fasting and prayer for 52 days, beginning at sundown on September 10, the first day of the Jewish celebration of the Feast of Trumpets, and ending at sundown on November 1, which is All Saints’ Day.
I want to invite you to join the Nehemiah Alliance 52-day REBUILD PRAYER INITIATIVE. It is 52 days, the same number of days that it took Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Pray a simple prayer that I’m going to give you at the end of this podcast. Fast for three days sometime during this 52-day time frame. The initiative is “Rebuild our walls, Restore our homes and Renew our hearts through unified prayer, repentance and fasting”. This is right in line with what Restoring the Foundations is about at the individual level. We repent for our sin and the generational sin in our bloodline. We pray. We fast. We rebuild, restore, and renew lives, families, and marriages. When families are restored and renewed, cities and nations are transformed!
Will you commit to pray for 52 days? Will you be a part of unified prayer to change our nation? Will you fast as a part of your commitment? You can choose what you fast from. Fast entertainment, fast food, social media, sweets, or whatever you feel led to fast! Repent for your own sin and the sin of our country.
I want to encourage you to go to www.na52.org for more information on how to pray for your nation. This isn’t only an initiative for the USA; it is worldwide! Join us now and in Washington, DC on October 31 – Reformation Day – for unified prayer together. You can join in person or host a watch party and live stream.
Daily Prayer for 52 days: UNITED PRAYER FOR THE NATIONS!
Our Father, we, Your people, humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, repent, believing that You will hear from Heaven, forgive, and heal our land. Cover every soul, every sphere, and all in authority with Your banner of blessing and canopy of protection. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in our Nation and America, as it is in heaven. May the Gospel be proclaimed, disciples made, and laborers sent into His harvest. May we have oil in our lamps, not be deceived, be delivered from evil, and be ready for Your return. May the hearts of the fathers and children be turned to one another. May we be one as Jesus and the Father are one. May we be a shining city on a hill that brings You glory. As Scripture urges, we pray for the peace and prosperity of our Nation and for Jerusalem. In Your great mercy for Your name’s sake, answer our petition as we come boldly before Your throne of grace in our time of need. As in Nehemiah’s day, rebuild our walls, restore our homes, revive our hearts, renew liberty and justice for all. We pray with one voice, by one blood, as one nation under God in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Don’t forget to sign up today at na52.org. Subscribe. Like and share this podcast with others! Let’s go out there and rebuild our walls together!
