Steadfast

She approached the throne with a nervousness that had escalated to deep physical stress.  She was scared.  No one had ever approached the king without being summoned and lived to tell about.  And even as the queen she knew it was risky.  But she remembered her words to her uncle.  She remembered she said, "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
With this heart, Esther approached King Xerxes knowing that she was going on behalf of her people.  So that they might have justice.  And she found favor with the king and eventually won justice for her people.
Fasting is living with a steadfastness in order to invoke God's closeness and power.  When we search scripture we see fasting that causes kings to change their mind, God to respond, and justice to prevail.  In the old testament, whenever there is a severe problem, God's people usually engage the discipline of fasting.  Going without food or drink, or both, for a certain period of time.
But it is not the discipline of fasting that causes change.  When fasting, it has to be sincere, it has to be from a contrite heart, it should come from a life that pursues Jesus-centered justice(not just want it).  Isaiah(58) warns about fasting with a insincere heart.

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.

 In InterVarsity at SPC, we don't claim to be experts on fasting but we do know that it is an ancient discipline that we have seen used as novelty.  We want to find the righteous center between the tension of fasting because of tradition and fasting as novelty.  And so we invite you to fast and pray for the next 2 weeks for Jesus to move on our campus.  

Our King is one whose throne we can approach boldly and freely.  We approach like Esther, accept the threat of death is not our greatest hinderance, it is often the idols in our lives, anything that we give more time to God.  And so fast from one thing that gets more attention than God and use the extra time to pray that God would move on campus and in our lives.  Pray that we are able to reach every campus and every corner of campus with the Gospel of Jesus.  Pray and expect God to honor our steadfastness with his steadfast love.