At this point, Ezra was traveling with little ones and a vast sum of possession. These plus that fact the way was paved with dangers, he sensed the urgent need for God’s protection. He did not want to rely on the king for protection, because he had told the latter God would protect them. He confidently told the king, "The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” So he did not want to be seen as if he was going back on his word.
So
instead of fretting, Ezra proclaimed a fast at the River Ahava. His purpose was
to set aside the time to seek God. Although he knew God would help them in their
journey, he did not want to be presumptuous. It is always better to be safe than sorry. So
the fast was set to seek God’s protection. And the comforting words are found in
the last part of Ezra 8:23 “…and He(God) listened to our entreaty.” Ezra
could attest to this because he had already safely arrived at Jerusalem when he wrote this. And God had indeed answered their prayers.
From
these verses, we pick up some lessons on prayer and fasting. Fasting helps to enhance
prayer. Prayer and fasting are basically entrusting oneself to the safe hand
of God. It is relying on Him and being confident in Him. In fasting we signal
the urgency of the matters at hand and that we need the attention of God in that
matter. According to Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:16-18, fasting is a spiritual
discipline to be practiced periodically. Impressing others and showing how holy we are should never be the reason for fasting. We should fast because we know we are needy people and we need God's help. Be sure to make time to fast and pray.
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