The List
“…and [Esther] said, ‘If it pleases the king and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes…’” Esther 5:8a
Morning prayers. We bring our list to God. Here we are again, with the same old requests, and maybe a couple of new ones. Heal this person. Save that person. Solve her problems. Provide for their needs. Speak to us about this thing. Give wisdom on this matter. Lead us in the way we should go today.
Of course, we should bring all our requests before the Lord. He wants us to ask Him. He wants to answer. He wants to give and resolve and forgive and show mercy and bring salvation and bless and heal. This is our God. This is what He does.
But when I read the above passage (which I read again and again because it dealt a blow to my prayer life), I got a different message. Esther was preparing to be killed, along with all her people, the Jews. Her heart was broken. Perhaps she was terrified. She knew there was only one—the king (who happened to be her husband)—who could reverse the pending annihilation.
Esther was a woman who prepared herself to ask. She didn’t just flippantly come with a shopping list. She assumed nothing. She knew the answer could be “no” just as well as “yes,” so she came with humility. Her heart was lowly. She had no expectations. She demanded nothing. She claimed no special privileges. But she knew the answer could depend on her own humility.
“If it pleases the king.”
“If I have found favor in his sight.”
“If the thing seems right to the king.”
“If I am pleasing in the eyes of the king.”
Do we bring our requests to God like this?
“Lord, if this request pleases You…”
“Lord, if I have found favor in Your sight…”
“Lord, if the thing seems right to You…”
“Lord, if I am pleasing in Your eyes…”
We know God CAN answer favorably—but WILL He? It might depend on our own heart. “Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble…. The helpless commits himself to You…. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear…” (Psalm 10:12, 14b, 17).
The list God wants to hear in prayer is our humble confession of sin. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek. My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and attentive to prayer made in this place” (2 Chronicles 7:14-15.)
Let’s be sure we come with proper humility before the One who has the power to do what we are asking.
Oh Father, give us a proper view of ourselves so that we can come before You in all humility. In Jesus’ name we pray.
I am so humbled that I/we were chosen to be one of His own! Never take that decision lightly! We serve an awesome God!
Thank you for this all too often forgotten word of instruction & encouragement 💝
God’s Timing is perfect and just prior to my “Daily Prayers for My Loved Ones”, I came to this day’s Devotional. I was about two weeks behind and as I took the time to read the past two week’s Devotionals, which were all so beautifully written and touched my heart in many ways, I finally got to April 17th! O my goodness, how valuable your words are and a great reminder of Esther and her humility in seeking God’s favor and wisdom in “a time such as this”. Thank you, and may God Bless You all.