“And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him” (Est 4:13-17)

This was a spiritual emergency. Like a father to his daughter, Mordecai spoke the word to Queen Esther. He could only speak. He could not force her to fulfill her destiny. Esther knew that she has to stand and speak to the king, not as a wife, not as a mother, but as a woman of God.

Each ‘office’ comes with its own mantle of responsibility. There is a way you dress as a single woman and there is another way you dress as a married woman. There is a way you dress as a wife without children, and there is another way you dress when you are pregnant. In the same way, there is a way you behave and speak when you are on vacation, or when you relax at the end of the day. There is another way you behave and speak when the Word of God is deposited in your heart and comes on your lips. For example, it does not really matter how you say ‘good morning’ to your neighbor. But it matters the way you speak to him saying: ‘you must be born again!!!’. There is fire in the Word of God. It burns the chaff. It polishes the gold. You need to prepare your heart, mind, body and spirit for what God has called you to do. You must be ready to preach the Word in season and without season. It does not matter if you are in a good mood or not. Once the Spirit’ trumpet sounds, as a soldier, you must obey the command. There is a possibility that people will reject you and God’s Word in your mouth. There is a possibility that you will ‘perish’ trying to save the lives of others. If that is the case, it is better to ‘perish’ fighting like a soldier, than to hide under an expensive table, in a palace that cannot protect you from the wickedness of evil men outside.

Child of God, after you have done everything, taking the whole armor of God on you, the royal garments of authority provided by the King of kings, chose to stand!!! Like the way God was Moses, the same Jehovah God will be with you. No man, no woman will be able to stand against you. If anyone fights against you, that one shall fall at your feet, beg for mercy and acknowledge that God is with you and that God loves you. This day, as you enter a new year and a new season of life, I plead with you, re-surrender your heart and mouth to God! Serve God with the fruit of your lips! Offer your mouth to God! To the glory of your King who can never lose a battle! Praise God! Proclaim His name! Pray to God! Preach God’s Word! In Jesus’ name!

(Fasting and prayer day 1)