Ezra Prays to God

PRAYER PRACTICE

Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.

 

DAILY READING

Ezra 8:21-23

 

DEVOTION / REFLECTION

Praying for Deeper Faith

by Pr. Dave Mann

A grandma was pleased to be asked to say bedtime prayers with her granddaughter.  After a conversation and praying for specific blessings, together they recited the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven …. and deliver us from evil.” At this point the young girl interrupted the prayer with a raised hand.  “Grandma, now comes the good part.”  “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.”  And she flashed a big smile. 

Do we really believe it?  Do we really believe that God hears and answers prayer?  The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer is the bold assertion that God has everything in his hands – the kingdom, the power, and the glory!  And not just in the past in Bible times – not just for a brief moment in the present – but forever and ever!  All that we prayed so far in the Lord’s Prayer has no chance of coming to be UNLESS God has the power to do something about it. If He does have the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, that realization will bring a smile to everyone’s face.

Ezra was living at the time of the return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem.  As a leader of those soon to be returning, he was in something of quandary.  He had already announced to the Persian king that Yahweh, the God of the Jews, was powerful to protect them during this dangerous journey, fraught with wild animals and highway robbers.  But after having boasted of God’s power, was Ezra now going to ask for a band of soldiers to protect the convoy?  What was the basis for Ezra’s confident statement? What does he do now?  What do you do when you find holes in your bucket of faith?  What do you do when you discover that your prayer is riddled with doubts?  You pray even more!  “I believe; help me in my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).  So, Ezra called the people for a fast prior to the departure, and God heard them, gave them faith, and provided more protection than what military could provide.

Sometimes, the Lord uses the unexpected to move us forward.  Sometimes it is an awkward situation of feeling caught in our own words, as with Ezra.  Sometimes it is the joyful faith of a young child.  In either or both of these, God can lead us into a deeper faith.

Thank you, Lord, that I do not need to pretend in my prayer life.  Thank you for walking with me where I am.  Too often my faith wavers, but you are always there to provide what is needed to strengthen my faith. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever.  Amen!