Prayer and Fasting

12 Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. 13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews–young and old, women and little children–on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.

15 Spurred on by the king’s command, the couriers went out, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.

Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help
1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. 2 But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Esther 3:12-4:3

When the power of an empire is used to accomplish something, how can individuals stand in the way? The empire has workers and an organization to get things done. In the Persian Empire, an order was written and translated into the many languages used in the empire. The orders are signed and sealed by the king himself, and then handed over to the highly-developed system of couriers who carry the orders throughout the empire. The orders could be about taxes, or about building roads or schools, or many other things. These particular orders, however, are for the killing of a race of people.
How can this be stopped? The empire has weapons and wealth. It has the power to makes laws and the ability to force people to obey. Even when people don’t agree, there seems little that they can do. So the king and his advisor can sit down to drink, while everyone else is bewildered.

However, ordinary people are not powerless. In fact, they are far more powerful than any empire, as long as they are committed to God. Mordechai put on sackcloth and people fasted and prayed. How God will answer, we do not know. But we do know that He loves us, and that He hears our prayers.

Prayer:
• Are you in a situation that seems hopeless?
God loves you. Turn the situation over to Him, and let Him deal with it in His way.