By Andrew Williams
Series: The Year of the Prophet- Month 5: The Prophet’s Mandate: To Root Out and To Plant
Week 20: The Architecture of Building (Reconstruction)
Anchor Scripture: “Then I said to them, ‘You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.’” — Nehemiah 2:17 (NKJV)
The Teaching
For many prophets, the “destructive” phase of the mandate (rooting out and pulling down) is the easiest to operate in. It is clear, it is intense, and it deals with the obvious “distress” of the ruins. However, the ultimate purpose of the prophetic office is not to leave the Church in a pile of rubble. If you only root out, you leave a hole for more weeds. If you only pull down, you leave a people without a home. Today, we look at the vital pivot: The Shift to Reconstruction.
Nehemiah is a perfect model for this shift. He spent time mourning over the ruins and “inspecting the walls” in the dark (the deconstruction phase). But there came a moment where he stopped looking at the waste and started looking at the wall. He moved from “distress” to “design.” He called the people out of the rubble and into the building process.
As a prophet, you must learn to recognize when the “clearing of the ground” is finished. There is a time to stop pointing out what is wrong and start declaring what is right. If you stay in a state of constant deconstruction, you will become a “cynical prophet” whose voice only brings heaviness. But when you shift to reconstruction, your voice brings Hope and Blueprints. You move from being the one who “exposed the fire” to being the one who “lays the new stones.”
Prophetic Insight
The enemy wants to keep you stuck in “demolition mode.” He knows that if he can keep you focused on the flaws of the Church or the sins of the leaders, you will never get around to building the new structure. A “Demolition Addiction” is a trap. You must have the spiritual agility to put down the “sledgehammer” of correction and pick up the “trowel” of construction. A mature prophet sees the “New Jerusalem” while the old one is still smoking. Your authority is not just in your ability to “see the waste,” but in your ability to “speak the wall.”
The Activation
Look at a situation you have been “prophesying against” or correcting for a long time. Today, make a “Pivot in Perspective.” Instead of talking about what needs to be torn down, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what needs to be built. What is the “God-Standard” that should replace the “Human Error”? Spend 10 minutes decreeing the Building and the Planting over that situation. Shift your language from “Stop” to “Start.”
Daily Prayer: Lord God, I thank You that You are a Builder. I repent for getting stuck in the ruins and for focusing more on the ‘waste’ than the ‘wall.’ I choose today to shift from deconstruction to reconstruction. Give me the blueprints for the new thing You are doing. Help me to use my voice to encourage the builders and to lay the stones of Your Truth. I am moving from ‘distress’ to ‘design’ for Your glory. Amen.
