Ezra proclaimed a fast to humble themselves before God and seek from him a safe journey for their people and possessions. He explains he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen for protection. See Ezra 8:21 and Ezra 8:22.
At the Ahava canal, Ezra announces a communal fast so the group can lower themselves before God and ask for a safe, direct route for everyone traveling with them, including children and their possessions (Ezra 8:21). This scene sits inside Ezra’s travel narrative from Babylonia to Jerusalem, where logistical details (assembling people, supplies, and leadership) mix with moments of worship and decision-making.
Ezra 8:21–23 presents a community facing real travel risk and responding with a public fast and prayer. The fast is explicitly described as a way to “humble” themselves before God and to ask him for a “straight way” (a reliable, safe route) for the entire caravan—adults, children, and possessions.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Ezra 8:21, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.