Fasting and Prayer

 I think most of us realize that prayer is having a conversation with God. We speak with Him about what is in our heart or on our mind. Then, we listen for Him to respond to us. As we pray in faith from a sincere heart, He hears us and answers according to His will. However, there is something else we can do as we pray that gets God's attention even more.

Ezra returned to Jerusalem from Babylon with a large group of people and many valuables for the new temple that was being built.  (Ezra 8:21) So at their encampment by the river Ahava, he proclaimed a fast, to humble them before the Lord, to seek a safe journey for them, their little ones, and their possessions. That was a great way to start their journey, and it would help us, too.

When we have a need, we should always pray to the Lord for Him to meet our need in His way.  We must not be selfish and ask for our will to be done. We must admit our weakness and inability to do God's will without His help. That means to humble ourselves before Him

Fasting shows God that we are not concerned about our own comfort and getting what we want. It shows God, we are serious about finding His will, since we don't eat our food, but we take that time to pray to Him. When God sees that humility, He is even more prone to answer our prayer.

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Tomorrow,  I intend to read Ezra 9-10 and Nehemiah 1.