"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" - Matthew 18:20 (NIV).
Humility is a key to success in our Christian life, much as it is also critical everywhere. After she came to know of the plot to wipe out the Jews, Queen Esther, realised the battle was too stiff for her to fight alone. She knew she needed help.
So, she turned around and sent an instruction, "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). It is after this team effort that she finally marshaled energy to wade into the King's territory, uninvited, and changed his mind.
In this example we notice Esther had that humility to appeal for help. And that brings us to wonder, when is the last time you were in some hot soup and then called out friends in Christ to hold you in prayer! For Esther could have closed herself behind the doors and did all the prayer and fasting by herself before wading into the king"s orbit. Instead she rallied up an army of prayer warriors who together assaulted the enemy with spiritual arrows, finishing him off.
That was humility, a defining point in our relationship with God. Has it occurred to you the reason God has placed certain brethren around you is among others to call upon them to wage battle together, whenever threatened, just as it were! So, why are you shouldering all your prayer burdens alone when even Christ let Simon carry his cross alongside him up to Calvary (Mathew 27:32)! Of course he could have insisted to do it all by himself but that was not the case and for a purpose.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, I thank you for the brethren in my life and may I have the humility to seek their support as need be to fight the enemy together up to victory, this I pray in Jesus's name.
Next time around if there is a force arraigned against you, just like Esther do not hesitate to call up a band of brethren to assault the enemy.
Related upcoming events
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28/04/2024 - 29/04/2024 All day"The Lord is my shepherd!" (Psalm 23:1)
Psalm 23 of David is perhaps one of the best prayers ever written, with nuggets and inspirations, of benefit to us since and
ever before. “The LORD is my shepherd, “David begins.” I lack nothing” (vv 1). What is it that you lack? In his life David had started out as a shepherd, and he knew very well, that a shepherd’s job is to watch over his sheep, feed and water them, and since the Lord is our shepherd, we his sheep shall lack nothing.Verse 2 -3 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” This exactly what a good shepherd does; he takes his sheep to the best fodder, ensuring that his sheep are well fed and rested. When the sheep are restless the good shepherd is troubled. Our God desires and is pleased when we are at peace.
Sometimes we may all find ourselves going through a storm. In Verse 4- 5, David says, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The Christian life is not without difficulties, but here David points us to God as our comforter and deliverer. We always have the staff of prayer to lean on.
In Verse 5, he writes, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” In his tumultuous life, David had to battle with many enemies, ranging from King Saul, to foreigners and members of his own family. He knew a lot about betrayal. And, we too, may face enemies no less, from those that oppose us in our workplace for their ambition’s sake, to those who are not pleased because of the Gospel we preach. Yet here, just as David, we are assured that victory is on our side- this is why our cup overflows.
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (vv 6). The one who walks with God has a fresh smile ever, for God is with him. The blessings of God are with him wherever he goes.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham,
maker of heaven and earth, as David prayed in Psalm 23, may I not be troubled, for you are my shepherd ever watching over me and your goodness goes ahead of me!
