What do you see when you look around our valley? Maybe the better question is, do you see what God sees?

“Developing a heart that’s in tune with God’s heart is still life’s highest achievement.” -Frank Tillapaugh

I love that quote. Being in tune with God’s heart, seeing what He sees, the way He sees it is all a key part of this Epic journey. We are learning to be more and more in tune with our Father’s heart.

Take a moment and read Nehemiah 1:1-4.

Why was Nehemiah so torn up? Why was he so broken that prayer and fasting were his immediate response?

Simply put, the city of his people lay in ruins. It was an embarrassment, a disgrace. This was God’s holy city and it sat there, a mess and vulnerable.

As you spend time in prayer, search God’s heart and begin to see what He sees as He looks across this valley.

Prayer thought:

It is going to take a heart aligned with God’s to respond like Nehemiah to a town that has fallen. It is natural for us to see a disgrace and complain in frustration. It is natural for us in our selfish flesh to somehow see that a mentally insane addict walking down the street and talking to him is somehow unfair to us. Very recently the Lord laid on my heart to pray for every stranger I see walking down the street. On my way to grab milk, I might see a half dozen people. I lift my hand in their direction and pray simply, “Lord, save their soul, bring them to Your Son”. It is weird how quickly that became a burden. It is not physically demanding, it is not taking any time out of my schedule, it is the simplest task, but yet it feels like it weighs a ton. That is exactly what I confessed out loud to God the last time I didn’t want to do it. I haven’t been at it very long and I already wanted to be released. But I won’t pray for that, I continue the task and pray for refreshment and a heart like His every day. He quickly revealed my weakness and my dependence on Him, and I won’t be able to keep this up without His strength, His heart, His Spirit, and His grace. Let’s look one more time at how Nehemiah responded to a town in disgrace. And pray for his response to become our own. 

“..I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” (Nehemiah 1:4 NIV)