Upon learning that Jerusalem was in danger and her walls had been destroyed, Nehemiah prayed and asked God what to say to the king. In his prayer time with the Lord, Nehemiah also began to make plans. As a result of his prayerful planning, Nehemiah spoke to the king and the king chose to help Nehemiah by allowing him to go to Jerusalem to repair the city. The king even partnered with Nehemiah by granting him his prayerful planning requests for letters for safe passage and for the lumber that he would need for the project.

Because of his prayerful planning, Nehemiah was strategically prepared for the incredible project of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

How could prayerful planning help you in your ministry?

DCPI’s Asia/South East Pacific World Zone Leader, John Bond, shares of a time when the Lord powerfully spoke to him. As young man, John sat at his desk in prayer with the Lord and found himself in a time of reflection. As he prayed, John began doodling on the desk blotter in front of him which had a world map on it. As he was praying, John found himself placing one point of his drawing compass on his hometown of Perth, Australia and drawing an arc across the blotter. As he completed the arc, John heard the Lord say to him, “That is your parish.”

John thought to himself, “What is a parish?”

John was not familiar with the word “parish” and yet he was certain that the Lord had clearly spoken this word to him and it involved the arc that he had made with his compass surrounding his home in Perth.

The next day John would ask his father what a parish was and he was told that it was “the sphere of a man’s spiritual influence.”

And there it was … John had clearly heard from the Lord that his sphere of spiritual influence would be centered on this boundary that had been drawn on his blotter as he was in his prayer time with God.

John’s entire life has been dedicating to reaching his parish. John is passionately devoted to serving his sphere of influence, the nations that the Lord revealed to him within the arc that was drawn that day on his desk blotter.

What a powerful example of receiving a life-changing vison from the Lord!

At our Church Planting Essentials trainings, we challenge church planters to schedule a prayer retreat. We know prayer is God’s source of wisdom and power in each phase of church planting. Through prayerful planning, the Lord opens up doors and expands His kingdom.

When will you schedule your next prayer retreat?

Praying for you and with you.

Until the whole world knows Him,