Ezra 8:21 - 21 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.
Ezra had left Babylon with 15 subclans of Israelites. He had stopped at the river to count and
organize the people who would be traveling with him. He had noticed the absence
of Levites….and sent to Eliezer… the high priest to send him some Levites to
help be in charge of the gold and silver items they would be carrying back to
the city….and help the worship when they arrived.
Before Ezra left on his 900 mile journey…he stopped for
three days…and proclaimed a fast…to pray and seek God’s direction and
protection on the lives of all involved in the trip. He did not want to ask the king for help…he
had already bragged on his God’s ability to protect and provide for their every
need.
So Ezra did what Moses did and recorded in Exodus 34…he
fasted…and focused his complete being on God and what he would have this group
of people do as they left Babylon. Moses
fasted 40 days….while he received the 10 commandments…the presence of God so overwhelming
to his being that he did not even think of eating. But Ezra purposed in his heart to fast…to do without food or water
for 3 days…so he could spend more time praying and seeking direction from God.
Fasting seems so out of place in our hurry up world of fast
food and a restaurant on every block. The last thing most of us think of… is
doing without food or water…just to pray.
Most people who share their testimony about this biblical concept have
watered the true concept down to giving up one item in their life.
I will admit that I have never completed a period of fasting
where I gave up all my physical needs….food and water….in a situation where I
had separated myself even from the busy world.
I sure never went off in a wilderness for 40 days…just to pray and seek
God….like Jesus. I am guilty of watering
down my fast choice of no coffee for a time…or no sweets for a week….or no
facebook for three days…with the support of other physical pleasures that made
up for the thing I might have given up.
Maybe it is unrealistic to take this scripture literally…and
stop everything for three days…and just pray. But I can’t help but think God is
trying to help me understand the next level of letting go of the world…so we
can better understand the way his heart thinks.
I just bet there are some pretty great testimonies of blessings that
came from the ones who have tried it…the way Ezra …and Moses (Exodus 34)…and
Jesus(Matthew 4)…and David(2 Samuel 12) …and Hannah (1 Samuel 1)…and Elijah (2
Kings 19)…and Paul (Acts 9)….completely and entirely set themselves in a place
of quiet …where they could concentrate on nothing but God…for a period of days.
Perhaps this scripture is a reminder that Jesus supported
and even modeled for us the need to separate ourselves from time to time to
concentrate on nothing but God’s will for our life. Perhaps we are not to
justify ….NOT fasting...because the world thinks it is too radical or crazy….but
rather really pray for God to open up a block of time that we can experience
this spiritual concept for ourselves…in its pure sense…without the interruptions
of life and a busy world of work and family.
Maybe we should as Ezra did….even take our families and close friends
with us …so they can see what the spirit is able to do when we concentrate on nothing
but God.
Father….I thank you this day for the reminder that I need to
stop occasionally and inquire of you what direction I need to go. I am sorry that I have never truly grasped
the concept of what a full fast is…or allowed you to speak with me in this
intense way. I ask this morning for you
to help me find a block of time when I can experience a full fast…the way you
explained it to your disciples in Matthew 6.
Show me the time that I can give all my time….energy and love to you…so
you can show me a bigger…clearer picture of your will for my life. Amen.
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