“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:16
Not being able to communicate is tough, even brutal. Our first weeks in Mexico have been just that. Our limited grasp of Spanish, at times, does ever so little. Standing in front of someone and deeply desiring to communicate with them and not being able to, deals a blow, it strikes at the heart. Communication breakdown. And it's especially tough when the message you hold is the salvation of Jesus Christ.
In Esther chapter 4 we see a different kind of communication breakdown. The book of Esther is odd in that it never mentions God or prayer. And as the Israelites face total extermination at the hands of evil Haman, you’d think that this would be the fist place they would go…to their knees to cry out to Almighty God. But during this period the Israelites have lost sight of just how close God is. They have lost the belief that you can merely raise your voice and be heard by the very God that created all and rules all. We see that as Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai face imminent edict-empowered death, instead of prayer they go to religion. They go to rites. They go to ritualistic customs instead of going to God. Mordecai prompts queen Esther to appeal to the king, but to walk into the royal throneroom without an invitation, means certain death. But go Esther will. And as she prepares to do so, she ask for an Israelite wide fast. A fast that she and her court of young handmaidens will observe as well. But notice the strange omission of prayer. There is a physical act to appease God, but nary a word of prayerful plea is uttered.
Today whatever you are facing, God is bigger. Whatever life can and will deal you, God is not surprised. In fact, God in His unlimited power and providence can and will use everything for your good and His glory. The key? Get Him involved. Utilize one of the single most powerful tools that God has gifted us with…the power to petition Almighty God through His Holy Spirit that lives within those that have called upon Christ. Don’t look to religion. Don’t look to rituals. And don’t just assume that God already knows and therefore you don’t need to talk to Him about your situation. For all relationships are based on communication and that communication must be fostered, grown, and built over time. Whatever you’re facing today, take it to God in prayer. He has the answers you are seeking…talk to Him.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
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