Esther 4:15-17 “Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”
Throughout the Bible, fasting accompanies the Lord’s working. It was a component of the Ninevites’ repentant spirit that prevented God’s wrath from falling upon them (Jonah 3:5-10). It was a part of Moses’ receipt of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:27-28). It was even a part of the Savior’s life as he prepared himself for the tempting of the devil (Luke 4:1-14).
Interestingly, it was also a part of the Jews’ victory as they avoided persecution at the hands of king Ahasuerus in the book of Esther. In fact, immediately after Mordecai’s impassioned charge to Esther (and the PLUS theme verse) the way to success was revealed; fasting was a fundamental part of it. The faithful recognized their need to bond together in order to see God-given victory in their land and so they fasted. They saw their nation headed in the wrong direction and so they fasted. They recognized their need for salvation from abuse and so they fasted. They sensed governmental power being marshaled against the will of God and so they fasted. They witnessed manipulation of the laws by the enemies of God and so they fasted. They recognized their need for God-inspired leadership and so they fasted.
PLEASE PRAY AND FAST AS YOU SEEK NATIONWIDE REVIVAL. They fasted, and so should we.