Nehemiah 1:4 “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before God.”  Nehemiah is one of the great leaders in all of Scripture who provided us an example of a spiritual leader who made tough and courageous decisions to lead others and do what God called him to do.  He always made prayer an integral part of his decision making both long term prayer and instant prayer when put on the spot.  When the king asked him what was wrong due to his sad face, he immediately prayed in Nehemiah 2: 4 “Then the king said to me, ‘What would you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven.”  Nehemiah then told the king how he wanted to lead his people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  This was a time of decision that might not come again.  He had prepared by praying in advance and then lifted an instant prayer when the immediate decision time came.

Decision making is a fundamental principle and responsibility of good leaders.  A godly leader must look ahead to see what might come in his personal life, family, work, church and community.  He must be prayed-up and prepared to make the decisions required to lead in the circumstances and situations that will come.  He must follow this example of Nehemiah which has no substitute.  Psalm 118: 8 “It is better to trust in the Lord, than have confidence in man.”  It is ironic that this is the middle verse in the Bible and placed there for good reason.

Are you a decision making leader?  If not, you may not be a leader.  Every day, we have decisions to make which will determine the kind of leader we are.  We have the decision to ask for God’s help or go our own way.  If we have regularly prayed in advance, the decision time becomes easier as the Holy Spirit and God’s Word will direct us in what we are to do.  Are you a leader like Nehemiah?