A proper appeal requires planning

Scripture Read: Esther  5:1-8 Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. ² When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. ³ Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.” ⁴ Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” ⁵ Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. ⁶ As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” ⁷ So Esther replied, “My petition and my request is: ⁸ if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do what I request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king says.”   

Application: Again, Esther shows us a very important lesson here on making an appeal in this section. Many times we just rush into a request and because we did not take the time to plan our appeal, the request is lost because of the way we made it. Why didn't she just tell the King what she wanted? Remember, the King favored Haman. Esther, though Queen, was still a woman in this culture, which was not a strong position on it’s own. Esther had been married to the King for at least 4 years by this time, but the King had not called for her in over a month. So the faith she showed to even approach him is a testimony to her character. In this section she continues to show her wisdom that she received from You Lord. She plans her appeal to make sure that the King is ready to listen. That is what we need to do when we are going to make a request that might be a difficult one or might have great ramifications. Making an appeal, the right way takes strategy. Timing is important. When we think through our appeal we need to ask ourselves some important questions like: What do I want? What is my goal? What am I willing to accept, what is my flexibility? What other options are there? What is the bottom line, where must I say no? So often we do not even get to our requests because our approach is so quick that we do not give the person a chance to really listen. I am not talking about “smoozing”, or “buttering someone up”; I am talking about seeking God for wisdom of how to best present the request one may have. Even Jesus did that, notice

Luke 24:13–25 (NASB95) And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” ¹⁹ And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. ²¹ “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²² “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. ²⁴ “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” ²⁵ And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

Jesus knew the “things” that had happened, but by planning how to answer these two, He led with a question so they could open up and contemplate their real feelings on this matter. This prepared them to hear and receive what He would say. Father, we need to slow down and seek Your wisdom when we are trying to get someone’s attention. We cannot just walk up and “vomit” our thoughts on them and expect them to receive it. You can guide us to how to approach individuals in a way that they will at least listen. Lord, help us to commit ourselves to seeking You first before we speak.

Meditation Questions: When you share a request to someone: How much time did you spend planning it? Did you consider all options? Did you consider how the other person would feel? When someone “surprises” you with a request, how do you feel? Have you ever not listened to a request just because the way it was presented? What does that teach you?