“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young woman will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law and if I perish, I perish.'”
– Esther 4:15–16
Oh, two things I want to point out in Esther 4:15–16. As Esther has heard from Mordecai that the king has made a decree to basically annihilate, kill, all the Jewish people, and Esther has a part she can play, a critical part she can play in helping avert that, by going to the king. Now she knows if she goes to the king, uninvited, she could lose her life. That’s why she says if I perish, I perish.
Are we willing to lay down our lives that others may know Christ? Father, help us to fast and pray with the heart of Esther.
Two things I want to point out here. One, she’s willing to die for the salvation of the Jewish people. There is a surrender here that I pray for in my life. I pray for in your life, that we would give our lives so that others might be saved.
Esther 4:15–16 Asks For Fasting And Praying For Salvation
That in and of itself is enough to drive us to pray but that’s the point. The thing I want to point out even before that in this verse, before that statement, if I perish, I perish, she says go and fast. Tell all the Jewish people to fast and I’m going to do the same. Seek God. Fast and pray and so I want to encourage you today, even as this text is speaking to my own heart. Let’s fast and pray for this salvation of people, and then, let’s lay our lives down so that others might be saved.
Now you just think, what does that look like? In your life, in light of people around you who don’t know the gospel, who don’t know Christ? Are you willing to fast, put aside food, so that you might pray and just plead for God to bring them to Christ. Are you fasting for the salvation of people around you? Then are you willing to risk your reputation? Are you willing to risk awkwardness? Are you willing to risk whatever God may call you to risk in order to share the gospel with them? Think about that right around you and then think about that far from you.
This Verse Prays For The Khampa People In China
Turn your attention to the Eastern Khampa people in China for a minute with me. Over 1.5 million of them, 0.01% know and believe the Gospel. Almost a million and a half people just like you who need somebody who will fast for them and then lay down their life to take the gospel to them.
That’s one people group among thousands of them that needs somebody fasting for them and somebody laying down their lives to go to them, so God, we pray. We pray you would give us, each of us, the heart of Esther here. That seeks you, willing to put aside food and fast for your salvation, for your provision, for your grace, for your glory. Say, “More than I want lunch, more than I want a meal today, I want your mercy to be made known.” In this person’s life, or this people group in the world. God, teach us, cause us to fast like this.
Esther 4:15–16 Prays For His Salvation
May that be a takeaway from this short podcast, prayer right now that we would be fasting for others’ salvation, and then oh God we pray that you would use our lives to spread your salvation, to spread your grace, to spread your mercy.
God, we pray for that, and people around us today, help us to lay down our comforts. Lay down our reputation. Lay down whatever you call us to lay down, to risk whatever you call us to risk so that people might be saved for all of eternity from their sin, from death, from everlasting suffering. God, we pray that you would raise up more and more and more people who will lay down their lives for people groups like the Eastern Khampa in China and thousands of other groups like them. Help us to fast and lay down our lives for the spread of your gospel to the nations. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
