Day 4: One Thing I Ask
Bible passage: Psalm 27:4; Psalm 37:4; Ezra 7:6–10
Where Is Your Heart Set?
Today is Saturday 4th of January 2020. Welcome to Day 4 of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Yesterday we worshipped God with our whole heart. Today we ask what that heart is set on.
David could sum up his desire in one sentence. The one thing he asked of the Lord was to live in His house all the days of his life and to delight in His perfections (Psalm 27:4). He also tells us what happens to our desires when God comes first. “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” Psalm 37:4 (NLT)
A Man Who Set His Heart
A Scribe, Not a Soldier
One of the best examples of this in the Bible is a man we easily overlook. Ezra was not a king or a general. He was a scribe, a man of the Scriptures. He does not even appear in the book that carries his name until chapter 7.
Yet look at what he did. He led a large company of exiles, with their families and a great weight of silver and gold, on a journey of about four months from Babylon to Jerusalem, without a military escort (Ezra 8:21–23, 31). He was deeply troubled by the unfaithfulness of God’s people (Ezra 9). And he led them to a repentance that changed the nation (Ezra 10).
The Hand of God
Three times in one chapter we are told the secret. The gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him (Ezra 7:6, 9, 28). Ezra’s success was not down to ability or position. God was with him.
Three Decisions
Then we are told why. Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach it to the people of Israel (Ezra 7:10). He set his heart on three things, and the order matters.
To study God’s Word. He gave it his time and his attention.
To do God’s Word. He put it into practice before he passed it on.
To teach God’s Word. He gave away what he had received.
The Whole List
More Than First Place
We sometimes talk about putting God at the top of our list. He is asking for more than that. He wants the whole list. He does not want to be confined to one corner of your week. He wants to be at the centre of every part: your home, your work, your money, your friendships and your rest.
Three Steps for Today
Name the one thing. If you could ask God for only one thing this year, what would it be? Compare your answer with David’s.
Go through the list. Think of the people and things that matter most to you. Ask how you can invite God and His Word into each of them.
Set your heart. Make Ezra’s three decisions your own for 2020: to study, to do and to share.
Prayer for Today:
Lord, I set my heart on You today. Forgive me for giving You a place on my list when You are asking for all of it. I want to delight in You above everything else. Like Ezra, I choose to study Your Word, to do what it says and to pass it on. Let Your gracious hand be on my life this year. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Keep going
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