God is the great and sovereign creator of the universe. He accomplishes the extraordinary every day with beautiful sunrises and sunsets, not to mention saving and sustaining lives. With the recent move of God among college students at Asbury University and other campuses along with the recent release of the movie Jesus Revolution, we may be witnessing an extraordinary, unusual movement of God. In Mark 2: 10-12 we read:

But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Mark 2:10-12

We enjoy talking about the promises of God and what Almighty God can do. But Ezra was willing trust the Lord to do what He promised. The Babylonian King Artaxerxes authorized Ezra to return to his homeland in Jerusalem along with any of the Jewish people willing to return. But before they set out on that long dangerous journey, read below what Ezra did before heading out for Jerusalem.

And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:21-23 NLT

Ezra called for a time of fasting and prayer so they could ask for God’s intervention and assistance and the Lord answered their prayers. As we face troubling times in our world, nation, and communities, let’s call on the name of the Lord and ask for His intervention.

-Art Groomes