Covered in Prayer
“Esther had a plan for how to save her people, but she had to trust God with each step.”
Esther 5:1-8 (NIrV)
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes. She stood in the inner courtyard of the palace. It was in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall. He was facing the entrance. He saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard. He was pleased with her. So he reached out toward her the gold scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached him. She touched the tip of the scepter.
The king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What do you want? I’ll give it to you. I’ll even give you up to half of my kingdom.”
Esther replied, “King Xerxes, if it pleases you, come to a feast today. I’ve prepared it for you. Please have Haman come with you.”
“Bring Haman at once,” the king said to his servants. “Then we’ll do what Esther asks.”
So the king and Haman went to the feast Esther had prepared. As they were drinking wine, the king asked Esther the same question again. He said, “What do you want? I’ll give it to you. What do you want me to do for you? I’ll even give you up to half of my kingdom.”
Esther replied, “Here is what I want. Here is my appeal to you. I hope you will be pleased to give me what I want. And I hope you will be pleased to listen to my appeal. If you are, I’d like you and Haman to come tomorrow to the feast I’ll prepare for you. Then I’ll answer your question.”
Reflection
Esther’s purpose in life was to save her people, the Jews. This wasn’t an easy task because the Jewish people had been marked for death by Haman. It was going to be the hardest thing she would ever do. Esther had to confront the king to ask Him to cancel the order of death and save her people. You would think going to the king would be easy, but it was complicated. If the king didn’t want you to be in his presence, he could have you killed just for entering before you were called. Esther needed a miracle.
Before she went to the inner courtyard to meet the king, she had her cousin, Mordecai, along with the other Jews, pray and fast with her for three days (Esther 4:15-17). On the third day, she got dressed in her royal robes and went to the king. Could you imagine the way she felt? Her heart was probably beating out of her chest, knowing this could be her last day on earth. Instead, GOD INTERVENED. The king welcomed her into his court and was prepared to give her anything she wanted. She had a plan for how to save her people, but she had to trust God with each step.
Esther was covered in prayer. Even if the situation didn’t turn out the way she expected, God was still in it with her. Have you ever had a situation where your only hope was for God to intervene?
My husband and I had a time in our life when we had to completely trust God. We couldn’t have kids on our own, so God had to intervene. We had our friends and family pray for us. We prayed and fasted, too. God worked His miracle, and we adopted our son ten years ago. Each moment of that day, week, month, you could see God’s hand in everything. I don’t know what your situation is, but when you invite God into the small things, you will have learned to lean on Him when the big things inevitably happen.
Action Steps
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I can’t do life without You. Help me to come to You in every situation and trust Your plans no matter what. Thank You for always loving me and taking care of me.
In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes. She stood in the inner courtyard of the palace. It was in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall. He was facing the entrance. He saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard. He was pleased with her. So he reached out toward her the gold scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached him. She touched the tip of the scepter.
The king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What do you want? I’ll give it to you. I’ll even give you up to half of my kingdom.”
Esther replied, “King Xerxes, if it pleases you, come to a feast today. I’ve prepared it for you. Please have Haman come with you.”
“Bring Haman at once,” the king said to his servants. “Then we’ll do what Esther asks.”
So the king and Haman went to the feast Esther had prepared. As they were drinking wine, the king asked Esther the same question again. He said, “What do you want? I’ll give it to you. What do you want me to do for you? I’ll even give you up to half of my kingdom.”
Esther replied, “Here is what I want. Here is my appeal to you. I hope you will be pleased to give me what I want. And I hope you will be pleased to listen to my appeal. If you are, I’d like you and Haman to come tomorrow to the feast I’ll prepare for you. Then I’ll answer your question.”
Reflection
Esther’s purpose in life was to save her people, the Jews. This wasn’t an easy task because the Jewish people had been marked for death by Haman. It was going to be the hardest thing she would ever do. Esther had to confront the king to ask Him to cancel the order of death and save her people. You would think going to the king would be easy, but it was complicated. If the king didn’t want you to be in his presence, he could have you killed just for entering before you were called. Esther needed a miracle.
Before she went to the inner courtyard to meet the king, she had her cousin, Mordecai, along with the other Jews, pray and fast with her for three days (Esther 4:15-17). On the third day, she got dressed in her royal robes and went to the king. Could you imagine the way she felt? Her heart was probably beating out of her chest, knowing this could be her last day on earth. Instead, GOD INTERVENED. The king welcomed her into his court and was prepared to give her anything she wanted. She had a plan for how to save her people, but she had to trust God with each step.
Esther was covered in prayer. Even if the situation didn’t turn out the way she expected, God was still in it with her. Have you ever had a situation where your only hope was for God to intervene?
My husband and I had a time in our life when we had to completely trust God. We couldn’t have kids on our own, so God had to intervene. We had our friends and family pray for us. We prayed and fasted, too. God worked His miracle, and we adopted our son ten years ago. Each moment of that day, week, month, you could see God’s hand in everything. I don’t know what your situation is, but when you invite God into the small things, you will have learned to lean on Him when the big things inevitably happen.
Action Steps
- Do you have a situation in your life where you need God to intervene? Take some time right now and bring it to God. Then text a friend to pray with you.
- Have you walked through a season that you can now look back and acknowledge that it was only God’s hand that got you through? Thank God for all He has done, and will continue to do, for you!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I can’t do life without You. Help me to come to You in every situation and trust Your plans no matter what. Thank You for always loving me and taking care of me.
In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
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