Devotional: A Prepared Heart

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Ezra is a good example for us to follow. I see three things here that are meaningful to me in regard to coming to God's Word (the law of the Lord).

1. Preparation~Ezra prepared his heart before he sought the law of the Lord. This is convicting to me. How often do we come to God's Word or to church without preparing our hearts first?
2. Do it~Ezra sought the law of the Lord with a heart prepared to obey it. Do we come to God's Word or to church with our hearts prepared to obey Him?
3. To teach~Ezra came with a heart prepared to obey and to teach what he learned to others.

It's a simple verse and a simple outline, but it's harder to implement than it looks because our own sinful nature gets in the way and distracts us from it. We would all do well to keep this verse before us as we approach our daily Quiet Times and come to church for worship.