You Were Made for This MomentSample

When we picture the scene of Esther appearing before Xerxes, we envision a beautiful woman boldly stepping up to the Persian throne. The king—eyes wide and mouth agape—is completely enchanted by her grace. He exclaims, “What can I do you for you? Anything you want is yours.”

The implied message is it was the good looks of Esther that softened the hard heart of Xerxes. Certainly, Esther was beautiful. Always, she is portrayed as ravishingly gorgeous. She must have been to have been selected as the queen of Persia out of a harem of lovely contenders. 

Esther was clearly also bold. Ancient historians attest to a “no approach” policy in the Persian palace. The policy was designed to enhance the king’s honor and protect him from assassination attempts. Given the plots against Xerxes life, we know the policy was enforced.

Esther faced an impenetrable wall and the possibility of death for making the wrong move. But what is often overlooked is how she responded to the challenge. She prepared for the meeting with the king not with a day in her spa chambers but with a retreat into her prayer chamber. 

As we have seen, Esther came to the point where she realized that she had been made for this moment. She understood, perhaps for the first time, that silence was a form of acquiescence. Her people, the Jews, had been declared worthy of mass murder—and she had done nothing. But the decisive moment in Esther’s story is not what happened in the Persian throne room but what happened before this moment in her chambers. She came before the king of Persia in beauty only after she had lingered three days before the King of kings in humility. 

Perhaps you can relate to Esther’s plight. Your situation seems desperate, without options, without solutions, and without hope. If so, now is the time to imitate the queen. When faced with an impossible challenge, she chose prayer. Her story urges you to do the same. Now is the time for a no-nonsense, honest, face-on-the-floor talk with the Lord of All. 

What if the only thing between you and a new season is prayer? I’m talking about heartfelt prayer. There is no greater way to partner with God. The moment you bow your head to pray is the moment God lifts his hand to help. Your heavenly Father wants to hear from you. 

Esther’s story reveals that the most seemingly insignificant events can lead to landslides that change the world. When she approached Xerxes and was accepted, all that she asked for was a dinner date that included the king, her, and Haman. It was a small request considering what was at stake—but this subtle approach caused Haman to lower his guard and allowed the next steps in the greater plan to unfold. God was clearly at work through Esther’s efforts, in Haman’s pride, and in the favorable response that Xerxes made to his queen’s simple request. 

The next time you hear people say, “The devil is in the details,” correct them. God is in the details. He works in the small moments. The insignificant becomes significant because he is ever orchestrating the day-to-day details of innumerable lives through a millennium of time to do what he has foreordained to do. In the process, you learn that divine reversals happen.

In the end, God orchestrated all the details in Esther’s story. Even in the most pagan corner of the world. Even in the heart of a hedonist king. Even in the interplay between two men who had decreed the deaths of thousands of Jews. God was at work. And he is still at work! He is longing for you to come before him in prayer. He will set heaven in motion on your behalf.

Respond

What role does prayer play in your relationship with God and your efforts to serve him?

How can prayer transform an impossible situation and your part in it?

In what small moments have you seen God at work orchestrating your life for his purposes?