Scripture:
Luke 18:7
And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
Esther 3-8
Esther learns of an edict against the Jews and approaches the king after fasting, praying and asking others to fast and pray with her. She is patient and respectful and her request to spare the Jews is granted.
Observation: Will God turn away his children and not listen to their requests when they persist in going to him? And when they go respectfully to him, won’t that give him even more reason to listen?
Application: God wants us to continually go to him with our requests. He doesn’t want us to give up, but to persist.
I wonder, though, if the story in Esther isn’t also telling us to go to him respectfully, as well. Esther was patient in approaching her king. She prayed, fasted and asked others to do the same. Then she honored the king and respected his wishes about how to approach him. And once she did, she honored him some more before she ultimately made her requests.
Perhaps God wants us to give him the honor due in making our requests.
He wants us to approach him respectfully, not flippantly. And he wants us to be persistent in calling out to him.
He will listen and He will respond. Just make your requests respectfully and then don’t give up.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for wanting to hear my cries for help and cries for mercy.
Guide me in not giving up on things that don’t seem to change right away. Give me persistence in going to you as you desire.
And thank you for hearing all of my requests and responding to them in the ways you know best.
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