ESTHER’S PRAYER
Esther was the most beautiful young woman in the whole country. She won the beauty contest in the time of Medo-Persia and King Xerxes the Great—or Ahasuerus, as he is called in the Bible—and so he married her. Esther was a Jew, an orphan, and thus her cousin, Mordecai brought her up.
Esther’s true character comes out when trouble starts. Haman plotted against the Jews and got the king to make a law. The law said that on a certain day all the Jews will be killed. That day would be in the month of Adar on the 13th day.
Esther did not know about the law until her cousin informed her. Esther now took charge of the situation. We see her at her best. Now a special strength from God filled her. No one can ever doubt her allegiance to her people or her God.
Esther and her people were in desperate straits, in exile. She is about to challenge the decrees that put her people at risk.
What she contemplates is risky and she knows that “through my own choice, I am endangering my life.” Yet she tells Mordecai, “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink here day, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise.” Esther 4:16
She called a great prayer meeting. After the prayer and fasting she said she would go to the king, even though it is against the law, and said, “If I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:16
Even in the middle of trials we can turn to the Lord and seek help, recognizing the loving providence God has for us. Obedience to God and His people were more important than obedience to the king—her husband.
God heard the prayer of Esther and the Jewish people.
The Persian law could not be changed, so the king created a new law which said that the Jews were permitted to defend themselves against any attackers on the day that the death decree was to be put in effect.
God put fear into the Persians’ hearts, but some were foolish enough to attack the Jews. As a result, they lost their lives. The struggle took place on the 13th day of Adar. The next day God’s people celebrated a day of joyous relief, fasting and prayer.
Mordecai decreed that the celebration should become an annual 2-day event. Today the Jews observe Purim on one day; it is also called “The Feast of Esther.”
The next Purim falls on March 24. This festival continually reminds them of God’s protection.
These trying experiences that came to God’s people in the days of Esther will be repeated. The same spirit will come in the future which will lead to a similar course toward those who are loyal to God.
We must learn to pray to God for deliverance, day and night, and combine fasting with our prayers. Esther had the prayer of faith and she trusted God for deliverance. God can do all things as we see how He protected the Jewish people.
Esther was a brave and faithful woman in the Bible. May we have strength and trust in God to take care of ourselves and others through prayer, is my wish and prayer. Amen.
Tiffany Bessec
DAVID’S PRAYER
“Among the gods there is none like unto Thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto Thy works. All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy name.” Psalm 86:8–9
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts.” Psalm 139:23
We know that these Bible verses are examples of prayers by David.
I was reading a Christian web site and found the following paragraph: “Throughout the Psalms, David and the other writers poured out their hearts to God in prayer, expressing honest feelings of anguish and desperate pleas for protection. They grieved painful confessions of sin, confidently expressed their hope and trust in God, and joyfully lifted praises to Him. Many times we find ourselves in situations, especially in the many ups and downs and crises of recovery, where we don’t know how to pray or express our feelings to God. Our fears of Him sometimes keep us from saying what we really feel. It is our hope that these prayers will help you get to know God better—to see Him through the psalmist’s eyes; to genuinely cry out to Him, expressing your anguish and fears and uncertainties; to know Him as the God who loves you just as you are.”
Like the paragraph says, sometimes we are afraid to ask something from God because we feel that He will reject it. But the Bible says, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:22. “And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it.” John 14:13–14
David did not fear or feel that His prayers would be rejected. He knew God would listen to him, but God does not answer our prayers all the time in the way we want them answered. That does not mean that God has not heard our prayer; it is because He knows what is best for us.
David’s prayers were not just repetition; he was truly having a conversation with Jesus. But David’s prayers were not a small sentence; no, most of his prayers were more than 20 verses. Perhaps one of the most well-known prayers of David was when he sinned with Bathsheba. How is it that David is called a man after God’s own heart? How is it that when God is talking to David’s son, Solomon, He says, “And if thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.” 2 Kings 3:14. Then again when God was reprimanding King Jeroboam, He said, “and yet thou hast not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments, and who followed Me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in Mine eyes.” 2 Kings 14:8
David is the man who used his power to seduce a woman named Bathsheba, while her husband was at war on King David’s behalf. When she was found to be with his child, David arranged for her husband, Uriah to be killed in battle to cover up the matter. David was an adulterer and a murderer. Is this a man after God’s own heart?
Yes, God says that he is. When God was directing Samuel the prophet to anoint a new king over Israel after He had rejected Saul, He told Samuel, “For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7. So, despite his sin, God loved David’s heart. I believe we have a glimpse into the heart which God so treasured when we read Psalm 51, which is a prayer of repentance. That psalm is truly one of the great prayers of the Bible.
After David’s sin, the Lord sent him Nathan the prophet to confront him. Instead of making excuses, David comes clean. “I have sinned against the LORD.” 2 Samuel 12:13. But if that was all we were told about the incident we would have no idea how deep was the repentance that David felt. Fortunately, we can read about it in Psalm 51 where he poured out his soul before the Lord with great transparency and brokenness of spirit. “For I acknowledged my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.” Psalm 51:3–4
Sometimes we look at David’s prayers and think they are long and boring, but if you look at the songs that he also wrote, sometimes you can barely tell the difference between the two. I am not saying that our prayers should all be poetic and long, but they should be from the heart, because without love our prayers are useless to God. Amen.
Mathew Romero