Year of Realization - Day 64: Persist!

"Then Esther went again before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop the evil plot devised by Haman the Agagite against the Jews. Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him.”

‭‭Esther‬ ‭8‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There’s a story in the Bible concerning an incident that happened when the king of Israel went to see the dying prophet, Elisha. While he was there, Elisha had him shoot an arrow out the window and told him that that arrow was an arrow of victory; Israel would have victory over the enemy. Then Elisha instructed him to beat the arrows on the ground:

“Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Aram until you had destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.””

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭13‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭AMP‬‬

In some of Elisha‘s last words he expressed to the king of Israel the importance of persisting.

Now, we might ask why Elisha didn’t say to take the arrows and beat them as many times as he could. Well, it seems as though the Lord was seeing what was in the king of Israel; would he just do the bare minimum? Or would he keep on until the prophet said to stop?

It’s not that the Lord was trying to trick the king; it was a visual example of why the king would not have total victory over the enemy.

In the book of James we are told that prayer is powerful when it is fervent and persistent.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].”

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Jesus expressed the importance of not stopping until you get what the Lord has promised.

“Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭AMP‬‬

We have used the Amplified version here because it expresses what the original hearer of these words would have heard. It’s not a matter of just going through the motions of asking, or seeking, or knocking; it’s a matter of being committed to ask, seek, and knock, until you receive, find, and gain entrance.

In our opening scripture we see that Esther is again putting everything on the line and beseeching the king for the lives of her people. Now, she knows that she is safe, as well as Mordecai. In fact, they are not only safe, they are now in the ruling class. But, the answer she seeks is for all of the Jews to be saved; and she’s not about to stop until she sees that happen. Yes, she’s all in. If her people are not saved, it won’t be because she failed to be persistent.

Friend, if there are promises from the Lord that you’re still waiting on, rather than just waiting, become persistent in your prayer, persistent in your expectation, and persistent in your obedience. Believe me, the promise will be well worth the effort.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#yearofrealization