Authority is ordained of God thus we will often be under some form of authority-by virtue of position, governance or relationship. Should we then not cover our leaders in prayer? We reflect on the book of Esther chapters 3-10 and how she and the Jews -overturned a verdict against them in prayer. This was after the King made a decree against them.
Our lives are often influenced by decisions, could be our own or as made by others. Governments will make policy decisions for their citizens. Board of directors will always pass decisions on the direction of company often touching on human capital. Is it possible for us to influence decisions in our prayer closets that may affect us directly or indirectly? Can we also reverse what may seem as being cast on stone?
In the book of Esther, we see a decision affecting many being made just because one person felt dishonored by another man’s value system and faith. Haman had been given a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles and expected Mordecai to kneel and bow to him. In Esther 3:6 we read …Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead, Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
We will often meet a Haman at some point in our lives and who expects us to do certain things their way but never change your value system to fit in. You need not attend every event you are invited to if the same compromises your faith. Daniel excused himself from the daily banquets at the palace because the food would have defiled him-Babylonians would often offer the food to idols first before partaking of it. Not every transaction should be marred by kickbacks for it to be successful -at least not where you as a believer are involved. Aren’t we admonished in Romans 12:2 not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds?
I love David’s prayer in Psalms 31:20, relevant to everyone that has faced some politics of sorts, be it in the office or elsewhere that You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. If you are different, be ready to have a Haman spot you and start a fight. Don’t also be surprised that you are the subject of a discussion somewhere -especially if you go against the grain. Unknown to Esther and the Jews, Haman succeeds in his plot and the lives of all the Jews are under a serious threat. He commits to add to the royal treasury on killing all the Jews. A decree that even the king cannot reverse is now in place for their annihilation. See why we need to cover those in authority over us in prayer and to silence any Hamans around them?
Mordecai seeks Esther’s intervention. She however risked dying by seeing the king without an invitation- don’t mind that that was her husband. Yet if she did not, she would still risk dying together with the rest of the Jews, having successfully concealed her identity. Are there difficult choices you need to make, persons you need to face and where none of the options look favorable to you? We see the power of prayer and rallying others to fast and pray.
Several things happened when the Jews sought God’s intervention. The King couldn’t sleep and by the end of the night, he had been reminded of Mordecai’s unrewarded acts in saving his life from assassins. Tables turned for Haman and he was asked to honor Mordecai in the morning-the same man whose death he had been scheming the whole night. In disdain, he took him round the city streets praising in honor the man he had looked down upon. “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!he shouted. When it was all over, Haman’s body hung lifeless on the same gallows he had built to impal Mordecai. The King issued a reversal decree for the Jews to fight and God being on their side- they won.
If earthly systems such as court systems can reverse decisions, can we not like Esther and the Jews also reverse what conflicts with God’s purposes for our lives?
God may have placed you in a position where you can see the bigger picture than what others see. It could be it by virtue of your position, relationship with the leaders or your gift that has placed you before Kings. In Proverbs 21 :1 we read that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. Remember also that it is God who would harden and soften Pharaoh’s heart at will-when he kept changing his mind about the release of Israelites from Egypt.
Instead of watching matters unfold, or letting that master of politics in our spaces run the show, we can beforehand influence our kings or decisions in our prayer closets as we ask God to move their hearts. Perhaps you’re in that position just to push God’s agenda, no matter how insignificant your influence may seem. It is also in prayer that we can silence any Haman around our kings and thwart their conspiracies in prayer.
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