As we look at Nehemiah and his successful wall-building project (there are not many success stories in the Bible!), it’s instructive to see where he starts. He hears the report which sets the stage for the story:

The memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. It was the month of Kislev in the twentieth year. At the time I was in the palace complex at Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, had just arrived from Judah with some fellow Jews. I asked them about the conditions among the Jews there who had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem. They told me, “The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still rubble; the city gates are still cinders.” (Nehemiah 1.1 – 3, MSG)

Nehemiah’s first response is prayer, but not just any prayer, a prayer of confession, just like Ezra:

When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God-of-Heaven. I said, “GOD, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you. “We’ve treated you like dirt: We haven’t done what you told us, haven’t followed your commands, and haven’t respected the decisions you gave to Moses your servant. (Nehemiah 1.4 – 7, MSG)

It’s a “we” confession. Ezra (Ezra 9), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1), and Daniel (Daniel 9) all prayed “we” confessions. “WE have sinned,” not “THEY have sinned.”

If…my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. (2 Chronicles 7.14, MSG)

And again, don’t miss this, of the three – Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel – only Ezra was a religious professional. Nehemiah and Daniel were both employees of a secular government, but they took their faith and walk with God seriously.

In short, none of us is off the hook if we’re not in “paid Christian employment.” We’re all in “full-time Christian service”! Here’s what Paul wrote to ordinary believers at the church at Philippi:

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing. (Philippians 2.14 -1 6, MSG)