In light of the Israelites disobedience and erring from God’s purposes for them Ezra is faced with a choice. He could have condemned the people responsible, banishing them from the community, confiscating their wealth and possessions leaving them ruing in their failures. But instead, Ezra chose to be a man of prayer. Therefore, he didn’t preach a sermon, or call out the guilty immediately. Instead, the first thing he did is he went to the temple, sat on the ground, and poured out his grief before the people and before God. Perhaps he had in mind the promise from God found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that: ‘If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’
And what happened when Ezra responded this way? He transformed the culture from one of pride to one of humility and confession before God, the perfect conditions for God’s healing and restoration to come.
I wonder where the first place you turn to is when people disappoint or hurt you? Perhaps you bite back with just as much force as them? Or maybe you shy away and bottle up the frustration until it explodes later? Ezra shows us a different way, the best way in fact, for us to respond to disappointment both for the good of ourselves and our community. The answer: Bring it to God in prayer. Why? Because he promises that he will hear, he will forgive, and he will heal (see 2 Chr 7:14).
The Irish poet Joseph Scriven puts it best when he says:
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Bring it all in prayer… the joys, the sins, the frustration, the hurt, the brokenness, the thankfulness. He is ready to listen, ready to take our load and exchange it for a peace and a hope for the journey ahead.
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Take a moment this morning to bring what might be weighing on your heart before God in prayer.