“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).
TEXT — Esther 4:10-17
Message
There is a tale about a small town that had historically been “dry,” but a local businessman decided to build a tavern there. A group of Christians from a local church were concerned and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. Shortly after that, lightning struck the bar, and it burned to the ground. The bar owner sued the church, claiming that the congregation’s prayers were responsible, but the church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not accountable. After his initial review of the case, the presiding judge stated, “No matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer, and the Christians do not” (Family Times, 2023). In reality, the Christians asked for God’s intervention because they believed in prayer.
From our text, the responsibility of saving the Jews from imminent extermination and genocide fell to Queen Esther. Faced with a terrible decree that threatened the entire Jewish population, Mordecai, her guardian and uncle, contacted Esther to go to the king and make supplication for the Jews. Esther knew the protocols and the punishment attached to those who breached them. Yet, she asked the Jews in Shushan to pray and fast with her as she prepared for a historic ‘rescue’ mission.
Such challenges as life-threatening disease, terrible business losses, or natural disaster can threaten our peace. Help may not come from friends and families as expected. But when all else fails, we should remember to pray to the God of heaven, who alone does wondrous things. Sometimes, we need national prayer and fasting involving believers of precious faith to get the situation under control. Our God hears prayers and He cannot fail us.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
2 comments
This is the day I was waiting for.. I really missed my God.. Now I have found Him… Thanks for the message and for our daily manna…. GOD BLESS YOU UBUNDANTLY
Sometimes we pray but there’s delay and you know in your heart you have truly prayed; it gets to a point that you are OVERWHELMED for not receiving answer to your prayers; so what next??
This is the day I was waiting for.. I really missed my God.. Now I have found Him… Thanks for the message and for our daily manna…. GOD BLESS YOU UBUNDANTLY
Sometimes we pray but there’s delay and you know in your heart you have truly prayed; it gets to a point that you are OVERWHELMED for not receiving answer to your prayers; so what next??