It's fall so I'm sharing a back-to-school devotion. A longer version of this devotion is included in one of my devotional books, "Glimpses of Prayer". Shirley and I decided to list this book as a perma-free on kindle (meaning it is always free.) It's something authors do for promotional purposes if they have several books. It seems to be working for us as this book has been sitting at #1 in two categories for several days now.
A Simple Prayer
Read: Ezra 8: 21-23
“… to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and our possessions.” Ezra 8: 21b
A new
school year was about to begin. In fact,
it was to start the next day. I had been
asked to lead in prayer on behalf of the parents of this Christian school at
its “before the school year prayer meeting”. As I began to pray, Ezra’s prayer came into my mind.
Ezra’s
prayer is a very simple one, but it is perhaps my favorite in the entire
Bible. Ezra confessed that he was afraid
to ask the king for soldiers to protect his group on their journey because he
had told the king that God’s hand was favorably disposed towards those who fear
Him. So, instead, Ezra called upon the
people to fast and pray. They prayed for God’s protection over them, their little ones, and their possessions. This prayer is so precious to me. It shows me
that we can talk to God about everything in our lives – even our most basic
needs.
As I led in prayer that day, I recited this scripture. I reminded God that we, the parents who had gathered to pray were people who feared Him. And like Ezra, we were asking for safe journey through the upcoming school year for our “little ones” – however big they may have become!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, how thankful we are that your hand is favorably disposed towards those who fear you! Lord, thank you also for the privilege of bringing any and all of our concerns to you in prayer!
Thought for the Day: We can talk to God about anything!
