The Intense Cry To Receive Favour

The verdict was already sealed. The execution plan was underway. The gallows were prepared. Haman had secured the royal signature. The Jews were going to be slaughtered. There was no court of appeal. No political rescue in sight. Time was running out. Destruction was imminent. But one woman, Queen Esther, called for a three-day fast. No food. No water. No excuses. It was not just a fast to plan better. It was a fast to obtain favour.

She had a plan. She had influence. She had strategy. She had access to the palace. She even had a dinner prepared. But she knew: if I don’t obtain favour, all of this means nothing. The king was her husband, but that didn’t guarantee her audience. Favour was the access code.

"And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near..." — Esther 5:2

Favour gave her access even before her own husband. That sceptre did not rise because of marriage. It rose because of favour. And yet today, we take favour for granted. We rely on our eloquence, our strategy, our gifting, our education, our connections. But favour is not an option. It is essential.

One of the signs that mercy is speaking over your life is when God releases favour with it. “But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison” — Genesis 39:21.

Joseph was locked up, but favour the heart of the keeper. And today, there are keepers all around you. Keepers of documents. Keepers of policies. Keepers of buildings. Keepers of lands. Keepers of contracts. Keepers of opportunities. Until you receive favour in their sight, what is being kept will remain locked.

After 430 years of brutal labour, building Pharaoh’s empire under pain and oppression, the children of Israel were still going to be sent away empty. No reward. No severance. No compensation. Egypt was ready to say goodbye with nothing in their hands. But God intervened. “"And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty." — Exodus 3:21

That’s what some of us need to realise. Just because you have worked for 30 years doesn’t mean you will not go empty. Just because you’ve been faithful in ministry for 40 years doesn’t guarantee honour. Egypt doesn’t reward labour. It is favour that ensures you don’t go empty.

And God fulfilled His word. “And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians” — Exodus 12:36. Exodus 3:21 was the promise. Exodus 12:36 was the performance. That is what favour does. It fulfills what toil cannot produce.

The early church did not grow just because of miracles. In fact, miracles brought persecution. The apostles were beaten, imprisoned, and threatened for the signs and wonders they performed. But what grew the church was not just power. It was favour.

"Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."— Acts 2:47

Favour brought multiplication. Favour brought reception. Favour brought daily addition. You want to grow? You want to be heard? You want to be received? Pray for favour.

Even Jesus—God in flesh—increased in favour. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” — Luke 2:52. If Jesus needed favour, you need it more. And even if you already have it, you need to increase in it. Favour is not static. It multiplies. It rises. And it must rise over your life.

Pray: Lord, increase my favour. Favour before kings. Favour before men. Favour before gatekeepers. Favour in this season. Favour in this land. Favour in strange places.

So rise u