Pray 4 Purpose

Through out all the stories in the Bible, there is one one thing that you will never, ever find. Nope not once. Any guesses what it might be? Give up? It is [drum roll, please]-Luck.

Good Luck. Bad Luck. Dumb Luck. Random Luck. Pure Luck. Luck in any form or fashion is just not found anywhere in the Bible.

Sure they “cast lots” here and there. But that was merely a short-cut system for asking God what to do.

So, without “luck” what do you have?

Purpose.

Everything in the Bible happens for a purpose. But here is where the suspenseful, trusting, confidence-building part comes in. When things happen, you may not immediately know what the purpose is. You way not know in a month, or a year, or even in your lifetime.

Don’t believe me? Just ask the young orphan girl, Hadassah.

Hadassah won a national beauty contest of sorts, and and as part of the prize they changed her name to Queen Esther.

But why?

Five years later she got her answer.

A bad-guy by the name of Haman, convinced her husband, King Xerxes, to issue a royal command to exterminate all the Jewish people in his Kingdom – including Queen Esther. You see, Queen Esther had kept it a secret from everyone including King Xerxes that she was Jewish.

Now she had a purpose, and a pretty good one at that – to save herself and her people.

Her cousin, Mordecai recognized it. He even told Queen Esther, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

I am happy to report that through divine intervention everything worked out for the better – except for Haman – and Queen Esther and the Jewish people were purposefully saved.

So too, in your life. The day will come when you ask yourself, am I in this situation “for such a time as this?” And then you will remember, that everything happens for a purpose.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank-your for having a purpose for my life. Thank-you for putting me right where I need to be, when I need to be there. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Wikipedia: Esther, Xerxes, Mordecai, Haman, and the Feast of Purim.

Look-It Up:

The seventeenth book of the Old Testament is named after Esther and tells the full story of how Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai worked together to save the Jewish people from extinction, and how the Feast of Purim was established to celebrate their deliverance.

---

When Jesus was crucified, they cast lots for his clothes. Not only was this reported by all four gospels, but it was also prophesied in the Old Testament TEN centuries before by King David, an ancestor of Jesus.

Matthew 27:35

When they had crucified him [Jesus], they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Mark 15:24

And they crucified him [Jesus]. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

Luke 23:34

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”

John 19:23-24

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.”Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,”They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”So this is what the soldiers did.

And King David’s prophecy is found in Psalm 22:18

They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

Free Bonus:

Traditionally, the leaves of a four-leaf clover, one of the most popular good-luck charms, represent faith, hope, love, and luck. 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 talks about faith, hope and love.

---

For more information about purpose, please refer to Rick Warren’s best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Five stars. Highly recommended.

---

Old-timers may remember the bad-luck jingle from the TV show, Hee-Haw entitled, “Gloom, Despair & Agony on Me.”

PRINT THIS PRAYER

THE PRAY 4·40 LIST