Council of Fears

I have been praying Nehemiah 1:5-11, a bold prayer that reminds us that we can be completely confident in God even as we are completely surrendered to Him. As our team has been looking at Nehemiah to appropriate lessons for leading worship, I have been reminded by one of my prayer partners that Nehemiah did not take the council of his fears. He did not fold under very real justified fears. He was not reckless, but instead he was resilient, trusting that he was called by God to do a "great work". How often the church is handicapped by the council of our fears. Even in the seemingly mundane details of the day, fear is often at the helm. I have been asking God to help me to live and pray and walk boldly in full confidence of who He is - the great God.
As I have been considering these ideas, I am reminded of another scripture that contains a bold prayer - 2 Samuel 7:27-29. In boldness we cannot take a posture of demanding anything of God, but maybe too often we pray with more confidence in our fears than confidence in our God. Let's consider who we pray to when we pray, the Sovereign Lord whose words are Trustworthy!

2 Samuel 7:27-29

27 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. 28 O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."