Ezra 7: 6, 9, 10
. . . the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. [T]he good hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to practice it….
Some years ago I heard a speaker tell his audience that if they wanted to be successful to observe successful people, find out what they did and then emulate them. That sounds like pretty good advice. Here we have an example of a very successful man. He had great favor with the king. Because of that favor he was able to be successful in what he did. But it was the favor of the Lord that brought him favor with the king. King Artaxerxes saw that the hand of the Lord was upon Ezra and because of that he granted all of Ezra’s requests. It all began when Ezra turned his face towards his God. Ezra set himself to studying and practicing the word of God. The rest followed from that. So, do you want a formula for success? Pick up your Bible and start studying it. Then do what you find in there. Let the Lord speak to you through those pages. You will have favor with the Lord and good success in whatever you set your hand to.