SUMMARY: First response
OVERVIEW: Esther’s first response to the overwhelming challenge was to fast and pray and recruit others to join her.
BIG IDEA: The best time to pray is right now.
KEY VERSE: Esther 4:16 (Esther to Mordecai)
Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.
IF GOD WROTE YOU A LETTER
I invite you to be part of my plan. I’ve wired and gifted and prepared you for each setting and circumstance. Join me. Listen for my instructions and follow my plan. I will lead, and I invite you to follow. But don’t jump ahead of me. Don’t create a crisis by making more out of troubling times. I am not surprised by the details in any event, so your wise first response is to turn to me. Seek my will and listen to my reply. I may release you to do the very thing that came to your mind but always wait on me.
Don’t miss out on this amazing truth: you can come to me with anything. There is nothing you have seen, done, or thought about that catches me off-guard. Do not worry about my response. Bring everything to me and let me direct you. Developing a “pray first” discipline will change how you think, what you do, and what you say.
NEXT STEP
Pray first. Before responding to a need or formulating your plan, take time to pray. Seek God and his will, and listen for his reply.
VIDEO CLIP
“Now you’re praying?” from Unbroken
BONUS Music Video