Fasting Enhances Prayer for Divine Guidance (Ezra 8:21)

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions.

So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Do you fast as a spiritual exercise? For ancient Jews and Christians, fasting was almost exclusively used in conjunction with prayer—petition, to be precise. This story of Ezra, fasting, and prayer demonstrate why fasting and prayer go together.

Background

The author of Ezra then lists all the people who returned to Judah from Babylon with Ezra (8.1-14). The total number was probably more than 5,000 men, women, and children. They gathered and camped for three days by a canal that ran into Babylon. Ezra took stock of the people and realized that there were no Levites among them. He sent messengers back to Babylon and found some Levite families willing to join the group.

Ezra then ordered everyone to partake in fasting and praying to God, to ask for a safe journey and protection along the way back to Jerusalem. Only then did they set out. Once there, they offered sacrifices to God for keeping them safe.

Meaning

There are three themes emphasized in this passage. While all three suggest that Ezra was fulfilling King Artaxerxes’ edict, they also demonstrate that he was only able to do so with God’s help.