Ezra 8:21-23 (NIV)
There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so
that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey
for us and our children, with all our possessions.
I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect
us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious
hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against
all who forsake him." So we fasted and petitioned our God
about this, and he answered our prayer.
Emphasis Mine
Ezra was a leader with
authority, positive influence and direction. They were about to go on a journey
and Ezra’s approach was this – let’s fast and humble ourselves before God. An
attitude of full dependence on God. In this text, we see that the purpose of
the fast was to seek help from God and ask for a safe journey. Our human
intellect is very limiting and we saw earlier that the physical strength of a
male can only go so far. So, in every way, we need God’s help and direction.
Our point of emphasis here is that of a man who knew the value of fasting. Now,
I must say here that fasting is a decision to go without food for the purpose
of seeking the Lord on a particular issue and fasting is only complete when
accompanied by prayer and study of God’s Word. Meaning that if you go for a day
without food, you merely starved not fast. Amen!
If you are not the man who has made studying the word and praying a lifestyle,
it becomes challenging to incorporate fasting. It is only through studying
God’s word that you get to know that fasting and praying is the way of life for
a believer. And if you are not able to study the Word and pray consistently on
an individual base, how do you even consider gathering people together to fast.
As a male, it is important that you lead by example. Do not demand from the
people around you what you are not already doing/practicing.
Examine your life and see how you can incorporate studying, praying and fasting
so that you can be the example of the change you want to see around you.
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