At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God. (Ezra 9:5)
Have you ever committed a sin that was so bad that you convinced yourself that God would never be able to forgive you? The heavy weight of your sin pushes you down and consumes you. Satan tries to fill your head that your sin and shame is too big to be overcome by God’s forgiveness through Christ’s death on the cross. Maybe that is how Ezra felt in Ezra 9 and we can learn a lot about God’s grace and forgiveness and that no shame is too big to keep us away from a reconciled relationship with God.
In verse 5, Ezra knew there was a time to mourn for his sin and he did that for a long time. Ezra also knew that there was a time to pray and repent, and that is what he did in verse 5. Did you notice the way that Ezra prayed? It said he fell on his knees and spread out his hand to his Lord. In the Bible, there are numerous examples of people who prayed on their knees. Yet, the Bible also has numerous examples of people who prayed that were NOT on their knees. So a deep and heartfelt prayer does NOT require falling on one’s knees, but studying the Bible characters who did pray on their knees based on their circumstances and desire to draw close to God should be a good warning to us that falling on your knees in prayer is a good thing.
This verse also said that Ezra spread out his hands to the Lord. This was the most common posture of prayer in the Old Testament. For us modern day Christians, we pray with our eyes closed, heads bowed, and hands folded, but in Old Testament tradition the norm was spreading out your hands toward heaven in a gesture of surrender, openness, and ready reception.
The way we posture ourselves in prayer, worship, and live each day tells a lot about our understanding of God and His grace, love and mercy towards us. Don’t let the shame of your sin keep you from humbly worshipping our Lord and seeking His forgiveness. Remember what Jesus did on the cross for us. God’s ultimate display of love was shown by His Son, Jesus. The way we respond and receive God’s love also shows that we believe God and His word is true and that with Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then no sin or death can keep us away from being reconciled with our Heavenly Father. If you have shame, don’t worry, just go to God and receive His grace and mercy and love today.