Prayer of Esther

   “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:16, NKJV)

     I’m sure that almost everyone reading this knows the story of Esther. She was a Jewess living in Persia and had been brought up by her uncle Mordecai after her father and mother had died. When King Ahasuerus of Persia had put away his wife because she had disobeyed his command to come before his guests at a party, Esther had been selected by the King to be his new queen.  Uncle Mordecai had angered Haman, one of the important princes of the kingdom, and Haman had talked the king into killing, not only Mordecai, but all the Jews in the kingdom on a predetermined date.

      Mordecai then went to Esther and told her that perhaps she had been selected to be the queen for “such a time as this,’ and she had devised a plan to tell the king about this evil plot that Haman had devised. She was very clever in setting up a banquet for both the king and Haman and when the king was in a good mood she told the king that she was a Jewess and that the evil Haman wanted her and all the Jews killed. He wanted revenge upon Mordecai and the entire Jewish nation so he could get all their wealth.

    The king had Haman and his family hanged on the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai and the Jews throughout the kingdom were given the right to defend themselves against those who came to destroy them. They were ready and scored a great victory over those who tried to kill them. Mordecai was elevated to a position of great power and authority and the Jewish people celebrate this miracle of salvation today in the Feast of Purim.

  

   Each of us has his or her own story. We are not queens or kings but God has placed us in a job, a family, a school, a church, or town. He has placed us there for a reason and He has prepared us, and is still preparing us, for something that is part of His plan.  In the coming days He has called us to be salt and light wherever we live and work. He has prepared us for “such a time as this’ and we need to fulfill the role He has assigned to us. This week let us lift up prayer those in roles of leadership of our churches, communities, cities, states, and nation.

Pray:

1.     Let us be faithful to lift up the leaders of our country prayer daily as they seek to guide our country down the paths it should go both domestically and internationally.

2.     That Your name will be lifted up and glorified by everything we do.