Have you ever been under pressure to provide a quick answer in a stress-filled situation? Your decision-strategy will affect your choices. Are you prone to firing off an impulsive answer? Do you go along with the most popular option? Do you move decisions off to capable and trustworthy others because you lack courage or don’t want to take responsibility for the result? Do you ignore as many decisions as possible because you feel overwhelmed? Do you weigh all the variables before deciding? Do you put your most energy, thought and effort into those decisions that have the greatest impact? You may use a combination of several strategies, but remember that your approach to decision-making is critical.
Nehemiah used an effective decision-making strategy under pressure. He found himself in the hot seat when King Artaxerxes demanded a quick response from him about why he had such a long face and obviously heavy heart. Nehemiah had just a second or two to pick a strategy for answering the king. The wrong answer could cost him his head! The right answer could free him to go back to the devastated city of Jerusalem and help with its restoration.
What was Nehemiah’s strategy? He chose to fire off an “arrow prayer.” The technical term for this kind of short, focused, faith-filled cry to God is “ejaculatory prayer.” Nehemiah, like an archer, placed a prayer on his bow and fired it up to heaven, followed its path, and faithfully expected it to reach the heart of God. This ejaculatory prayer was effective because Nehemiah had been praying fervently night and day for nearly four months about the ruined walls of Jerusalem. Suddenly, God provided Nehemiah a golden opportunity to voice his concerns to the king and win his permission to go home to help rebuild his devastated city.
What about you? Do your regular conversations with your Abba, your Daddy-God give you the freedom to fire your own “arrow prayers” when life gives you only one or two seconds to respond to its pressures? Arrow prayers as simple as “Lord, help me!” or “Father, protect me!” can be fired at any time and at any place, under any circumstances. These ejaculatory prayers are not wordy, but heart-felt cries that leap out of our souls. These arrow prayers can keep us from the regret we feel when impulse trumps good sense or voice our sudden joy when we are blessed. A quick prayer steadies us when temptation looms, exhaustion overwhelms, tragedy strikes, pain erupts, death threatens, or our loved ones are driving us crazy.
What about you? Is there a string in your bow because of daily prayer? Do you take time to tell God how much you love and appreciate him? If so, you can confidently fit an intense, quick, and even wordless arrow prayer into your bow of daily prayer. Just point and shoot that arrow prayer, trusting the Holy Spirit to empower its flight.
By Stephanie Murillo
Arrows for your bow:
Matthew 14:28-31 Psalm 6:9
Acts 7:59 Psalm 88:1
Romans 8:26
Grow Anyway 
Thank you for this very timely devotional! I love the book of Nehemiah and the God-filled life he lived. For the king to notice the change in Nehemiah’s countenance spoke volumes of Nehemiah’s relationship with God and his consistently good countenance prior to this. A life filled with prayer to God, and a life filled with trust and confidence in God, had to affect the king. God used this prayer and time in Nehemiah’s life to bring about incredible change for His glory.
This devotional shows the importance of sustaining and consistent prayer, so that when we are in the cross hairs of decision making we can fire off quick fervent prayers that hit the mark because of God’s faithful relationship with each of us.
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