Bible Study - Ezra 8:21-23
- Read Ezra 8:21-23
- Ezra was about to go on a journey - a 900 mile journey, to be
exact. This journey was full of dangers and trouble, so Ezra asked God
for help. He knew that God had promised to look after his people, but
he didn't take it for granted like some of the people of the
time.
- He and his people stopped by the canal and prayed, fasted and
humbled themselves before God. He did this because he knew this was how
God appropriated his blessings.
- This is something we need to take on board too. We are encouraged
to pray for help and protection. Ezra knew this and he asked for
God's protection for the long journey ahead of them. Thanks to his
prayers he received the protection he had asked for.
- Fasting was the main way the people humbled themselves. It was a
way of showing their complete dependence on God. It also gave them more
time to dedicate themselves to God and to pray to him.
- Too often today we pray glibly and superficially. Serious prayer,
in contrast, requires concentration. It can put us in touch with
God's will and can really change us. Without serious prayer, we
reduce God to a quick service pharmacist with painkillers for our every
ailment.
- To think about
- How often do we ask God for help in a superficial manner?
- Can we find time today to put God first and dedicate ourselves to
him?
- Prayer
- Dear Lord give us the desire to ask you for your protection,
the presence of mind to come to you when we need you,
and the serious attitude that we know is required
to treat prayer with the concentration it deserves.
Amen