A Call to Three Days of Prayer & Fasting
A Call to Three Days of Prayer & Fasting
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Susa, and fast for me…” — Esther 4:16
Yesterday, as we continued our journey through Esther, I shared something with our church that was deeply personal.
We are in an unusual season at The Holy One Church.
We are seeing growth.
We are seeing people saved.
We are seeing families come through our doors.
We are watching God touch lives.
And yet, at the same time, we are experiencing tremendous spiritual, physical, and financial pressure.
For a long time, a relatively small group of faithful people has carried much of the weight of this ministry through their giving, serving, praying, and sacrifice. Again and again, when there has been a need, God has also used friends, family, and people outside of our immediate church family to help us.
I am deeply grateful for every one of them.
But I believe we have reached a moment when we have to ask a difficult question:
Can a church continue growing if the number of people participating does not grow with it?
Growth Has Weight
There can be an assumption when we walk into church that everything simply happens.
The lights come on.
The doors open.
Children are cared for.
People are baptized.
Ministry happens.
Events happen.
Bills get paid.
Needs get met.
And somehow everything will be there again next Sunday.
But ministry doesn’t “just happen.”
There are people behind it.
People praying.
People serving.
People giving.
People sacrificing.
People carrying.
And when the church grows but the number of people carrying does not, eventually growth itself becomes weight.
That is part of what I shared openly with our church.
I have even taken on additional work, originally intending for that income to help with personal family responsibilities, including my daughter’s upcoming wedding. Yet increasingly, some of that additional income has become another way of helping meet needs in the church.
And somewhere in this season, the Lord reminded me of something.
I cannot personally work enough hours to replace the obedience and participation of an entire church.
Even if I worked 24 hours a day, I could never personally sustain what God has called a body of believers to carry together.
Nor should I.
For Such a Time as This
That is why Esther 4 hit differently this time.
Mordecai sends word to Esther that destruction is coming against her people. Esther is living in the palace, but Mordecai essentially tells her:
Don’t assume your position exempts you from the crisis.
Then he says:
“Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” — Esther 4:14
God is not explicitly named in that statement, but the implication of providence hangs over the entire story.
Esther has been positioned somewhere where she can respond.
And position brings responsibility.
Mordecai also expresses confidence that if Esther remains silent, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place.
That phrase arrested me.
Another place.
Because there have been many times throughout our history when help has come from another place.
God has used people outside the immediate situation to provide, encourage, give, and help us continue.
Thank God for them.
But what if this is a moment when the answer is supposed to rise from within the house?
What if God has already positioned people here for such a time as this?
This Is Not Just About Money
Please hear my heart.
This is not a three-day fundraiser disguised as a fast.
I do not want anyone fasting so that we can somehow manipulate God into providing money.
Biblical fasting doesn’t manipulate God.
Fasting humbles us.
It quiets our appetites.
It exposes our dependence.
It creates space for us to listen.
It brings us to the place where we can say:
“Lord, what are You asking of me?”
For one person, the response may involve giving.
For another, serving.
For another, praying.
For another, becoming dependable.
For somebody else, it may mean finally stepping out of the crowd and becoming part of the ministry.
This is bigger than an offering.
This is about ownership.
Because we cannot continue becoming a larger church while remaining dependent upon the same small group of people to carry it.
We cannot celebrate growth without accepting the responsibility that accompanies growth.
We cannot remain consumers of something God has called us to become contributors to.
Esther Called Everybody Together
Esther’s response was powerful.
She did not immediately walk into the king’s court.
She said:
“Go, gather together…”
Then:
“Fast for me…”
And then she made it personal:
“I and my maidens will also fast the same way.”
She didn’t ask everybody else to carry something she wasn’t willing to carry herself.
And after the fast:
“Then I will go in to the king.”
There is a progression there that I believe speaks to us.
GATHER.
CONSECRATE.
RESPOND.
That is what these next three days are about.
I Am Standing at a Threshold Too
Esther was facing something far greater than anything I am facing. Her decision could have cost her life.
I am not comparing my situation to her danger.
But I do understand something about standing at a threshold and realizing:
I have to make a decision about what happens next.
I have a covenant with God, and I will not casually walk away from what He has called me to do.
But faithfulness does not mean pretending something is sustainable when it isn’t.
I cannot carry this house myself.
A handful of faithful people cannot carry it indefinitely.
If this is God’s house, then I believe the people God has placed in this house must ask:
If this is my house, what is my part?
That is the question I want us carrying into these three days.
Not:
“What is everybody else doing?”
Not:
“Who has more than me?”
Not:
“Why doesn’t somebody fix this?”
But:
“Lord, what is my part?”
Three Days
For these three days, I am asking our church family to join me in prayer and fasting according to your ability, wisdom, and circumstances.
Esther’s extraordinary situation involved three days without food or water. That describes what occurred in Esther 4; it is not an instruction that everyone in our congregation should undertake a three-day dry fast.
The purpose is not for everyone to fast identically.
The purpose is for us to seek God together.
Pray for this house.
Pray for its leadership.
Pray for its families.
Pray for those who are being saved.
Pray for provision.
Pray for wisdom.
Pray for direction.
Pray for courage.
But also pray something much more personal:
“God, show me my part.”
From Consumers to Contributors
Something must change if we are going to walk faithfully into what is next.
We are experiencing growth.
Now we need participation.
We are seeing salvation.
Now we need discipleship.
We are gathering people.
Now we need people who will carry.
Not everybody can contribute the same amount.
Not everybody has the same time.
Not everybody has the same gifts.
But everybody has a part.
The body works when the body participates.
So for three days, we are not asking God merely to rescue us.
We are asking Him to search us.
If something in us needs to change, change us.
If something needs to be surrendered, reveal it.
If somebody needs to step forward, awaken them.
If we have become comfortable consuming what others sacrifice to provide, confront us.
And if You have positioned us here for such a time as this, give us the courage to answer.
Because perhaps the answer we’ve been asking God to send from somewhere else…
is already sitting in the house.
Our Prayer
Lord, this house belongs to You.
We don’t want to manufacture what You are not breathing upon, and we don’t want to abandon what You have called us to carry.
Search us during these three days.
Consecrate us again.
Break the spirit of spectatorship.
Awaken generosity.
Awaken servants.
Awaken intercessors.
Awaken leaders.
Awaken ownership.
Show every person what their part is.
And give us the courage, when these three days are over, not merely to have fasted—
but to respond.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Pastor Ruben Cortez
Senior Pastor
The Holy One Church
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Susa, and fast for me…” — Esther 4:16
Yesterday, as we continued our journey through Esther, I shared something with our church that was deeply personal.
We are in an unusual season at The Holy One Church.
We are seeing growth.
We are seeing people saved.
We are seeing families come through our doors.
We are watching God touch lives.
And yet, at the same time, we are experiencing tremendous spiritual, physical, and financial pressure.
For a long time, a relatively small group of faithful people has carried much of the weight of this ministry through their giving, serving, praying, and sacrifice. Again and again, when there has been a need, God has also used friends, family, and people outside of our immediate church family to help us.
I am deeply grateful for every one of them.
But I believe we have reached a moment when we have to ask a difficult question:
Can a church continue growing if the number of people participating does not grow with it?
Growth Has Weight
There can be an assumption when we walk into church that everything simply happens.
The lights come on.
The doors open.
Children are cared for.
People are baptized.
Ministry happens.
Events happen.
Bills get paid.
Needs get met.
And somehow everything will be there again next Sunday.
But ministry doesn’t “just happen.”
There are people behind it.
People praying.
People serving.
People giving.
People sacrificing.
People carrying.
And when the church grows but the number of people carrying does not, eventually growth itself becomes weight.
That is part of what I shared openly with our church.
I have even taken on additional work, originally intending for that income to help with personal family responsibilities, including my daughter’s upcoming wedding. Yet increasingly, some of that additional income has become another way of helping meet needs in the church.
And somewhere in this season, the Lord reminded me of something.
I cannot personally work enough hours to replace the obedience and participation of an entire church.
Even if I worked 24 hours a day, I could never personally sustain what God has called a body of believers to carry together.
Nor should I.
For Such a Time as This
That is why Esther 4 hit differently this time.
Mordecai sends word to Esther that destruction is coming against her people. Esther is living in the palace, but Mordecai essentially tells her:
Don’t assume your position exempts you from the crisis.
Then he says:
“Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” — Esther 4:14
God is not explicitly named in that statement, but the implication of providence hangs over the entire story.
Esther has been positioned somewhere where she can respond.
And position brings responsibility.
Mordecai also expresses confidence that if Esther remains silent, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place.
That phrase arrested me.
Another place.
Because there have been many times throughout our history when help has come from another place.
God has used people outside the immediate situation to provide, encourage, give, and help us continue.
Thank God for them.
But what if this is a moment when the answer is supposed to rise from within the house?
What if God has already positioned people here for such a time as this?
This Is Not Just About Money
Please hear my heart.
This is not a three-day fundraiser disguised as a fast.
I do not want anyone fasting so that we can somehow manipulate God into providing money.
Biblical fasting doesn’t manipulate God.
Fasting humbles us.
It quiets our appetites.
It exposes our dependence.
It creates space for us to listen.
It brings us to the place where we can say:
“Lord, what are You asking of me?”
For one person, the response may involve giving.
For another, serving.
For another, praying.
For another, becoming dependable.
For somebody else, it may mean finally stepping out of the crowd and becoming part of the ministry.
This is bigger than an offering.
This is about ownership.
Because we cannot continue becoming a larger church while remaining dependent upon the same small group of people to carry it.
We cannot celebrate growth without accepting the responsibility that accompanies growth.
We cannot remain consumers of something God has called us to become contributors to.
Esther Called Everybody Together
Esther’s response was powerful.
She did not immediately walk into the king’s court.
She said:
“Go, gather together…”
Then:
“Fast for me…”
And then she made it personal:
“I and my maidens will also fast the same way.”
She didn’t ask everybody else to carry something she wasn’t willing to carry herself.
And after the fast:
“Then I will go in to the king.”
There is a progression there that I believe speaks to us.
GATHER.
CONSECRATE.
RESPOND.
That is what these next three days are about.
I Am Standing at a Threshold Too
Esther was facing something far greater than anything I am facing. Her decision could have cost her life.
I am not comparing my situation to her danger.
But I do understand something about standing at a threshold and realizing:
I have to make a decision about what happens next.
I have a covenant with God, and I will not casually walk away from what He has called me to do.
But faithfulness does not mean pretending something is sustainable when it isn’t.
I cannot carry this house myself.
A handful of faithful people cannot carry it indefinitely.
If this is God’s house, then I believe the people God has placed in this house must ask:
If this is my house, what is my part?
That is the question I want us carrying into these three days.
Not:
“What is everybody else doing?”
Not:
“Who has more than me?”
Not:
“Why doesn’t somebody fix this?”
But:
“Lord, what is my part?”
Three Days
For these three days, I am asking our church family to join me in prayer and fasting according to your ability, wisdom, and circumstances.
Esther’s extraordinary situation involved three days without food or water. That describes what occurred in Esther 4; it is not an instruction that everyone in our congregation should undertake a three-day dry fast.
The purpose is not for everyone to fast identically.
The purpose is for us to seek God together.
Pray for this house.
Pray for its leadership.
Pray for its families.
Pray for those who are being saved.
Pray for provision.
Pray for wisdom.
Pray for direction.
Pray for courage.
But also pray something much more personal:
“God, show me my part.”
From Consumers to Contributors
Something must change if we are going to walk faithfully into what is next.
We are experiencing growth.
Now we need participation.
We are seeing salvation.
Now we need discipleship.
We are gathering people.
Now we need people who will carry.
Not everybody can contribute the same amount.
Not everybody has the same time.
Not everybody has the same gifts.
But everybody has a part.
The body works when the body participates.
So for three days, we are not asking God merely to rescue us.
We are asking Him to search us.
If something in us needs to change, change us.
If something needs to be surrendered, reveal it.
If somebody needs to step forward, awaken them.
If we have become comfortable consuming what others sacrifice to provide, confront us.
And if You have positioned us here for such a time as this, give us the courage to answer.
Because perhaps the answer we’ve been asking God to send from somewhere else…
is already sitting in the house.
Our Prayer
Lord, this house belongs to You.
We don’t want to manufacture what You are not breathing upon, and we don’t want to abandon what You have called us to carry.
Search us during these three days.
Consecrate us again.
Break the spirit of spectatorship.
Awaken generosity.
Awaken servants.
Awaken intercessors.
Awaken leaders.
Awaken ownership.
Show every person what their part is.
And give us the courage, when these three days are over, not merely to have fasted—
but to respond.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Pastor Ruben Cortez
Senior Pastor
The Holy One Church
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