A Shame That Pushes Us to Prayer

Ezra 8:21-9:15; Psalm 31:1-8; Proverbs 21:1-2

 

How much do you say you can depend on God? How much do you actually depend on God? We’re right to boast about our God, His love for us, His care for us, His ability to keep us safe and healthy—all that. But what happens when we’re facing a trial? Do we look to the nearest human for help, even if we previously told them we didn’t need their help because God would take care of us? Or do we entrust ourselves to God?

 

Ezra had told the king that God’s gracious hand would care for those who looked to Him. But now Ezra and other exiles were preparing to return to Israel—a trip that would take them several months. And they would be carrying loads of silver, gold, and precious bronze (Ezra 8:26-27). So now, after boasting about God’s care for His people, would Ezra ask the pagan king for protection?

 

No. Instead, this is what Ezra did:

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 8:21

 

Ezra proclaimed a fast. He led the people to humble themselves before God, admitting to Him their need for protection and begging Him for a safe journey. Why didn’t he turn to King Artaxerxes for help?

 

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." – Ezra 8:22

 

Sometimes we turn away from human aid not because it would be sinful for us to receive human help, but because we recognize that after boasting about our God’s great love for His children, it would be shameful not to call for His help instead of men’s. God doesn’t just want His children to tell people what a loving Father He is; He wants us to act like He’s a loving Father and ask Him to take care of us.

 

Father, may I not just trust You with my lips. May I trust You with my life, and with my wife and kids and parents and siblings and friends and church and finances and house and pets and health and deadlines and enemies and fears and pains. May I trust You for everything, because You are truly trustworthy and gracious to everyone who looks to You! May I not forsake You and find my help anywhere before You. Be my one fortress, my one rock, my one God, and help me to remember when I’m at the doctor’s office or the bank or the grocery store or the insurance agent’s that no matter how stable and supportive they seem to be, You are the only completely stable and trustworthy One I look to. May my confidence never be in men. You are God alone.