Ezra 7:6, 9, 28 This Ezra went up from Babylon…and the king granted him all his request according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him….For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon…according to the good hand of his God upon him….And hath extended mercy unto me before the king…And I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.
King Artaxerxes granted Ezra and his men permission to return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Captivity. Ezra responded to God’s will and His mercy by making such a bold request of the king, preceded by prayer and faith. He knew that his return was God’s will, and if God willed it, it would be done. So Ezra proceeded according to the hand of the Lord that was upon him.
God worked it out, through the earthly authorities, to do His will and bring His people home. With God’s hand upon him, Ezra was able to believe God to answer his request and surrender to the will of God, who was able to work things out.
Great things can be done when the hand of God is with us. Our response of faith is to pray, “Thy will be done on earth.” God will accomplish His purposes in our earthly affairs to bring us to Himself. He already did so in the death and resurrection of His Son, and He does His will in our life by bringing the Gospel to our hearts through Word and Spirit. Our response is to pray for His will to be done in our life and expect it to be done.