Praying and fasting is definitely spiritual warfare and it’s easy to give up. Daniel prayed for 21 days before he was given angelic assurance that his prayer had been heard onteh first day, but had the angel had been fighting the Price of Persia. Don’t give up!

I remember the day my wallet and cheque book (remember those!) was stolen by a walk in burglar from a charity flat I had only minutes before arrived to volunteer for two weeks. It was a pain to sort and I felt violated,compromised and upset. That’s the devils tactics in life John 10:10 tells us he comes to steal, kill and destroy.

When we pray and fast we are in battle to take back what the enemy has stolen from us.

Ezra was bringing back a lot of gold and silver (among other things) to Israel from Babylon (Ezra 7:22,8:26-27) He knew that there were robbers and thieves on the journey. So he called a fast…

Ezra 8:21-23 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” ²³ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

An Ezra fast is about taking back what the devil has stolen from us. How?

Turn your face back to Him.

I love the way the NLT put it in Zechariah 9:12 Zechariah 9:12 (NLT) 

Come back to the place of safety,  all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.

Let’s be praying in the authority of the name of Jesus, the power of the cross and the authority of God’s Word.

Don’t forget tonight’s (2nd Jan 2025 at 7pm) Zoom prayer meeting!