Seeking Official Favour

Seeking Official Favour O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer Nehemiah 1 v 11 We must first seek the mercy and grace of the Lord. When we humble ourselves with the heart of a servant, the Lord will listen to our prayers. He will lift us up in due time. He will prosper us in all our ways. It is the Lord who enables us to gain official favour or goodwill in the sight of those who are placed above us in this life. Nehemiah first repented of his own sin, the sin of his father’s household and the sin of his people. Then he sought the attention of the Lord to his plea and asked the Lord to prosper him in his mission to ask the king’s permission to re-build the walls of Jerusalem. Many people take pride and have confidence in their proximity to the persons in power and authority. They derive their influence and aggrandise themselves based on that proximity. In course of time they would find that their proximity only proved to be a deadly liability to themselves even as Haman did. But Nehemiah did not place his faith or trust in his proximity to the center of power. Nehemiah could have taken confidence in the fact that he was quite close to the king being his cupbearer. He could have boasted in his heart that the king’s very life depended on his loyalty. But instead he first took recourse to the Lord and sought His mercy and favour before he sought the king’s favour. Before we enter the presence of some earthly power or authority, it is best we prepare ourselves as Nehemiah did. The Lord will give us wisdom to choose the right moment to speak, the apt words to speak and the apt request to make such that it is not turned down but not only is our request granted but our esteem in the eyes of that authority increases even more. When we humble ourselves and pray, the Lord will turn the minds of the authorities above us like He turns the course of a river- in the direction He wants their thoughts to flow, in favour of His servants, His children. Esther asked Mordecai and the Jewish people to fast and pray before she made bold to enter the king’s presence and make known her request to cancel the edict to execute all Jews in the entire empire. The Lord gave her wisdom not to straightaway broach the subject but to first invite the king and Haman to a feast prepared by her. The Lord will create an opportunity or favourable circumstance to cause to happen that which we pray for or seek. This is the manner in which the prayers of the faithful servants of the Lord can affect the destiny of nations. Jesus moves as a local, national and global Mordecai and rushes to the rescue of His people to this day. Prateep V Philip