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Day 8 – Open for Business Nehemiah 7 If you’ve been around for a while, you might remember when businesses opened at ten in the morning and closed at five or six at night, and were closed on Sunday. Things have changed greatly from those days. With the walls of Jerusalem finished and the gates in place, it was time to set some rules regarding the city. Nehemiah set two people in authority over the city, his brother Hanani and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, both honorable men who loved God, and told them they were not to open the gates of the city before the sun was hot or sunrise and they were to close the gates at sundown. They were also to appoint watchmen for the walls during the night hours. In some places in the world today that policy is still in place. However, such is not the case where I live. Times have changed and policies have changed. Business is conducted at any time of the day and night. You might have heard the statement – the devil never sleeps. Satan is always open for business. He will do all he can to bring harm our way. As Christians we need to set a watch over our lives whether we are awake or asleep. We do that through prayer. When we wake, we pray, and before we sleep we pray for the Lord’s protection day and night. Without that protection Satan can come at us with trouble during the day and troubling dreams at night. We need to be like Nehemiah and set a watch over our lives, and keep the gates barred when the sun goes down. Those gates are the eye and ear gates. What we see and hear has a great effect on what we do and even how well we sleep. Have you set the watch over your life? Let’s pray: Father, help me set the watch over my life so Satan cannot come against me at any time of the day or night. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 3 February 2016 by Valerie Jean Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay