Esther's Petition

(Original message spoken by Annie Abraham in Malayalam, transcribed into English text by Dennis Thomas)

I would like to share some thoughts that went through my heart when I read Esther 8:5. It is written, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.”

Praise the Lord! We all know what this passage is talking about. In this passage, Queen Esther is making a petition before King Ahasuerus (her husband). The petition is to revoke the letters Haman wrote and which the king had already signed and sealed with his signet ring. We know that the problems against the Jews have been resolved but the letters that Haman wrote still existed. Now she wants them revoked. The issue that Esther had with these letters was that these letters contain evil decrees written against her people and her uncle. The letter says to annihilate the Jews in all the 127 provinces of the king. So even though the problems were resolved, one thing is left undone. And that is, the letters have not been revoked yet, which is what Esther is asking.

We can also note in this passage that when Esther makes her petition, she does by making three conditional clauses:

1. “if I have found favor in his sight,”

2. “if it seems right to the king,” and

3. “if it pleases the king.”

Esther believes that these three clauses must be met before she can come and make her petition to the king. Apparently, Esther appeared before the king because she was sure that she met these clauses. She knew that she received favor in his sight. She knew that what she was asking will be right in his eyes. She was sure that she has pleased the king because she was selected from all the young virgins to be his queen.

If I have found favor in his sight

Let’s first think about the first clause: “if I have found favor in his sight” In Ephesians 2:5, it says, “...by grace (favor), you have been saved…” We did not do anything to deserve the gift of salvation. Likewise, Esther was a girl who was not worthy to receive any favor from the king. Her cousin Mordecai was working as a watchman. Mordecai brought Esther up as his own daughter. When the selection was being made among all the virgins to become the king’s queen, Mordecai thought, since other young virgins are also being brought before the king, why not bring his daughter also to be selected, even though she has no special qualifications that would make her worthy to become selected. But we read in Esther chapter 2 that when Esther was brought to the king the first time, the king felt to show favor towards her. In Esther 2:17, it says, “The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” So, we can see that, Esther is coming now with a petition to the king after she had obtained favor. Praise the Lord! In our lives, we can say that God gave us the grace (favor) to believe in Jesus. They are many who are hearing the gospel. But not everyone is receiving the grace from God to have the faith to believe in the gospel of Jesus. It is because He showed you His grace, you can come to His presence by faith. We who were once unworthy are now able to believe in Him and come closer to Him, only because he showed His favor towards us. So, we must remember that we are a people who have obtained favor from the Lord. Therefore, we can come boldly and ask God our needs, as it is written in Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Esther also has the same boldness to go before the king with her petition. Because she is thinking in her mind that, “I have come here after having received favor.” Esther is confident that she has favor with the king.

If it seems right to the king

The second conditional clause that Esther mentions is “if it seems right to the king.” This is a very important topic to think about. After receiving the grace of God, we became children of God, and we can pray to Him. After coming to know Him and as we live before His presence, we pray about many things every day, and we make requests and petitions before the Lord. But Esther does not want to ask anything that is not right to the king. But she knows what she is petitioning the king about will be right. When we present our petitions before God, we must ensure that what we are asking will be right in God’s eyes. We must make sure our works are righteous before God. When I pray, I ask myself if the petitions I place before God’s presence, is it righteous or unrighteous? My standard of righteousness is not His standard of righteousness. Many times, we pray thinking that we deserve our prayers to be answered. Our righteousness is like filthy rags to Him. But the Lord does everything righteously. He is a righteous Judge. In Isaiah 10:22, it says, “For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return; the destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” A large group of people had set out to go to Canaan. The ones who come to Canaan must be justified by righteousness. However, God was not pleased with their works. They did not walk forward according to His will. As a result, majority of them ended up being destroyed in the wilderness. We can ask Him to give an answer to our petitions according to His righteousness, because He is a God who judges righteously. He doesn’t deal in an unrighteous way with anyone. Praise the Lord! If anybody has dealt with you in an unrighteousness way, place that matter before God’s presence. He will judge your case with righteousness. That’s what Esther was asking the king: “I am presenting my petitions because I know they are right in your eyes, I know I have received favor from you. So, if you see it right, then please fulfill my request to have the letters revoked.” Thus, if your prayer is according to His will, it will surely be answered. If the petitions that you place before God seem right in His eyes, then you should expect a sure answer from Him.

If it pleases the king

The third conditional clause is “if it pleases the king.” Esther knows that the King selected her as his queen because he was pleased with her. She had to go through a lot of purification process before she pleased the king. So, Esther is very bold and confident that she is pleasing to the king. Esther didn’t deserve to be selected as queen. But because she found favor in the king’s eyes, she was able to come and stand before the king’s presence. Esther knows her petition is right, but she wants the king to fulfill her petition if the king thinks it is right. Esther is standing before the king because she knows that the king was pleased with her. Esther is very confident. Likewise, when we come before God and pray, we should also be bold and confident like Esther. And remember that we are pleasing to Him. That’s why we are asking. Jesus gave His life for those whom He loved. If I am pleasing to Him, I can confidently say that I need an answer to my request.

When I am strengthened, the enemy is weakened

Esther told Mordecai that she and her maid servants will fast to have the letters revoked. Esther is saying, “If I must appear before the king, it doesn’t matter what happens to me. If I live, I live; if I die, I die.” Esther is standing in the gap for her people. She decided to stand in the gap for this problem, because this problem is not a small problem.

There is a big enemy standing before Esther. The enemy wants to annihilate all the Jews. So Esther is praying (making request) by raising the three conditional clauses. She fasted for three days. Esther wants all the Jews to fast and pray for her. The enemy should not rise and his strength should come to an end. All the accusations and words written by the enemy against her people must be removed and taken out of my way. Esther is saying, “I and my maid servants are all fasting. You (Mordecai) and others also must fast.” We must understand the greatness of the power of prayer and fasting. Esther wanted to have the letters revoked. But it is not the right time for her to come to the king. When she goes up before him, she wants the king to show favor to her. He must stretch out his scepter before her. If he does not show favor, then her fate tomorrow is going to be different. That is her prayer. She wants her requests fulfilled when she goes before the king. So she said to Mordecai, that he and all the Jews also should pray. See the magnitude of this prayer and fasting. It doesn’t matter how big the problems are.

I am saying from my experience. When big problems arose in my life, problems that I can’t bear, nobody could bring a solution to my problem. I used to set apart a period of days to pray and fast before God. Before the period of my prayer and fasting ended, God always gave me an answer. When I fast and pray concerning a matter before God’s presence, one thing that happens is that my confidence starts increasing and I get strengthened. As I am strengthened, my enemy is weakened. That’s a great thing.

War between Amalekites and Israelites

As we increase in strength, as our hands are raised on high, the enemy is becoming powerless and defeated. Praise be to God! Let me give you an example. In Exodus 17, we read that Israel is having war with the Amalekites. At that time, Moses, Hur and Aaron went up to a high mountain. Joshua and the people are fighting in the war. Moses is holding up his arms in the presence of God. He is making petition before God. Moses, because of his weakness in the flesh, was not able to keep his arms up for a long time. “And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (Exodus 17:11)” So, Aaron and Hur made Moses sit on a stone and held his arms from falling. When his arms were raised, the Amalekites were weakened, and the Israelites were strengthened. Hence, Aaron and Hur did not allow Moses’ arms to lower down. They stood together until the enemy was defeated. Likewise, when we pray, we must become strengthened, and our hands should not be lowered until the enemy is defeated. Because Moses hands were lifted, the Amalekites were defeated. When so many problems come our way, problems from the enemy to drown us and destroy us, we must know that when we pray, we will be strengthened, and the enemy will be weakened and defeated. Our intention in prayer is thus that the enemy should not prevail, just like the Amalekites who did not prevail.

Samson and the roaring lion

Like the previous example is the story of Samson in Judges 14:5: “So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah.Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.” When Samson was on his way to Timnah, his parents are also with him. Now, there is a vineyard, like God’s vineyard. The enemy (lion) was hiding in the vineyard. We know that Satan goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). The enemy is always hiding. To win over the enemy, what did Samson do? Samson was chosen and anointed by God. The Spirit of God came upon Samson. We read later what happened to the roaring lion that charged towards Samson afterwards. The lion became so weak like a young goat. Samson tore the lion into pieces like as if he was tearing a young goat into pieces.

So, it does not matter how big the problem is. In front of God’s anointed people, every problem that looks like a lion, can be made into a problem that looks small like a young goat. We are people who were separated and anointed by God. If God’s anointing is on us, we must remember who our God is. The One who called us is faithful. The enemy comes like a roaring lion in the midst of God’s people, in the church. But for God’s children (His anointed ones - those who are led by the Spirit), when the enemy comes, the Spirit of God will perform His work at the right time. That’s why, Jesus said, “for the Holy Spirit to be with you always, I will give you the Holy Spirit.” When we are in a situation where there is no escape, when the problems look like a mountain or like a roaring lion that cannot be overcome, like Zerubabbel faced, we wonder what we should do or where we will go. There is no need to be anxious for anything. The Spirit of God will strengthen us.

Gideon and the Midianites

Again in Judges 6, we read that an angel of God appears before Gideon during a time when the Midianites were ruling over the Israelites. They used to come and destroy the crops of the Israelites and Israel didn’t get any of the harvest. Whenever the children of Israel walk in the ways of sin, God used to deliver them into the hands of the enemy. Here, Israel is in the hands of the Midianites. When the angel of God said to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor! (Judges 6:11), ” Gideon replied, saying, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. (Judges 6:13)” Gideon is saying that “if you are with us and if we are mighty people, then why we must go through these problems. We are going through very big problems during these times.” But the angel replied saying, “Gideon will defeat the Midianites as one man (Judges 6:16). That is, you will not see the Midianites as an army that comes to fight against you; instead, you will see them as one man whom you will defeat. Even David says in Psalm 27:3, “Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.” That’s because, it is the Spirit of God who is leading his steps. It is the Holy Spirit who gives David good counsel. Therefore, David will not fear if a huge army comes to make war with him. When Gideon heard that he would defeat the Midianites as if he would defeat a man, he was strengthened.

Truly speaking, I completely rely on these scriptures. Jesus is sufficient for me. I was greatly strengthened when I read about how a roaring lion was torn into pieces like a young goat. When problems come, I can cry, I can feel sad, I can talk to people; but none of these can help me. I just need to sit in God’s presence. I need to take a step forward. I should not go backward, which is the enemy’s intention. He wants to destroy me and get rid of me. While I pray and lift my hands towards heaven, the enemy will be brought down and defeated. The lion will be defeated and made powerless like a young goat. This is the power of God. This is the power of the Holy Spirit in my life.

In our life, normally no army is coming against us for war. But our Christian life is in a battlefield. The enemy is fighting against us with all his power. If possible, even to deceive the elect. How many might servants of God, prophets, preachers of God’s unchanging word, ones who did mighty works, are being defeated by the power of the enemy. Satan is very powerful. But if the Spirit of God dwells in you, the Spirit will lead you in a straight path and save you. Why many people fall at the time of great adversities? Even though the Spirit of God is powerful to save us, there are things that people need to forsake. If people do not forsake their fleshly desires, they will be defeated. Some men fall to sin due to women. Some fall due to riches and wealth. Many great preachers and prophets of God are falling into temptations and sin today, because of some things that they did not forsake in their life. Some want high positions, name, and glory and they fall into that. Jesus did not want any of these. His apostles did not want any of these. Paul had good position and name, but he left all these to follow Jesus. One thing we must remember is that, only if we stand in the grace of God, we will not fall. If we run with all the fleshly desires, we won’t know when and where we will fall. It is possible that we can fall. So, we should do what is needed to not fall when we face and stand against the trials in our life. Satan will take advantage of us if we have a fleshly desire or sin, however small it is. Those who are led by the Spirit of God will be no means be put to shame or be defeated.

In Hebrew 11, we read about many heroes of faith and what they did. As children of God, we should be like them. When they fell into the lions’ den, they escaped. When they were made to walk through fire, they put out its strength by the power of the Spirit of God. In the face of trials, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Then it is possible for us to overcome the trials.

The Israelites and the Egyptian army

In Exodus 14, we read about a big test in the life of the Israelites. After escaping from Pharaoh, they came and stood in front of the Red Sea. Then a big miracle took place – the world has not witnessed such a miracle. The Israelites received a great deliverance from that test. It was a very big test, and people ask has anyone faced a greater trial than this. The more severe the trial, the more powerful and big will be the deliverance of God. The testimony will accordingly be more powerful in magnitude. The deliverance and the testimony Israel had was so great as the severity of their trial. That’s what also happened to Joseph, Daniel, Mordecai, and to the apostles of Jesus. They all went forward after winning their battles. Exodus 14:24 reads, “Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.” Note it says, God looked at the army. After God looked, it became difficult for the Egyptian army to pursue the Israelites. In Exodus 14:17, God had said, “I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.” That is what God is going to fulfill here in Ex 14:24. Praise be to God. This was the time when God was going to be honored. He troubled the Egyptian army, and they all got destroyed. God got rid of the Egyptian army to the extent that Israel will never have to face them again. This was also Esther’s prayer that the enemy would be defeated and finished (destroyed).

Belshazzar and the gold vessels

Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was a very great kingdom. But he took many of the gold vessels from the house of God in Jerusalem and put them in the treasure house of his god. But he did not take them for his personal use. But his son, Belshazzar, after becoming king, gave a huge feast, where all his servants, his ministers, concubines, wife gathered. While they were celebrating their time together as a festival, a thought came to Belshazzar’s heart. He thought to take the gold vessels that his father brought from the house of God in Jerusalem and drink wine from them. The moment he took that one of the vessels in his hand, a handwriting appeared on the wall. His father, Nebuchadnezzar, had a fear of God and he only brought the vessels to the house of his god. But Belshazzar took the vessels and used them for his pleasure. Belshazzar does not recognize the greatness of the God of Israel and of the vessels that belonged to the temple of God in Jerusalem.

Let me tell you one thing. We are all vessels in the temple of God. In Zechariah 2:8, it is written that, the one who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. Because of his authority, power, and position as a king, Belshazzar became arrogant and touched the vessels of God. When the enemy touches you and me, our Father is not going to sit idle. He will make his handwriting on the wall and come to save us. Belshazzar saw the handwriting and he was troubled. His hips loosened and his knees started to knock against each other.

We must remember that we are not inferior people. We are people who received the mercy of God, the grace of God. We are His beloved. We are His people whom He redeemed by His own blood. If we stay faithful before His presence, if the enemy touches us, the Lord will not keep silent. Belshazzar’s kingdom got divided and given to the Medes and Persians. He died that very night. His kingdom was destroyed.

Pray with confidence

These days, when you pray, you must always be confident and think to yourself: “I have been brought to this position because God as shown be grace (favor). If the things I am praying for is right in God’s eyes, the God who is in heaven will perform His work. Because I am His beloved.” We were brought to a position where He gave us His grace and made us His dear children. If we obey Him as His dear children, God will reward us and answer our prayers. If we live and obey Him as His dear children, who were redeemed and received His grace, if we are confident that what we ask for is right in His eyes, He will hear us and answer at the right time. He is a righteous judge.

Even if the enemy writes down anything against you, God can revoke and destroy them. Esther asks for the letters to be revoked. However, in Colossians 2:14 it is written, “He wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Here Jesus was not revoking the handwriting of requirements (as Esther requested), but totally wiping them out. The enemy may write and keep records against me to accuse and to destroy me. But if I am a child of God, if His anointing is upon me, God will wipe them all out and make the roaring lion powerless as a young goat. He will give me victory over over my trials.

So you must be fully confident before God’s presence. Christ has given you so much assurance by wiping out all the handwriting of requirements against you. When you pray, fast, or sit in the presence of God during your trials and problems, you must have with great confidence. Because you are His beloved. When the devil brings problems against you to destroy you, when there is so much warfare in your lives, you will wonder how to live and stand. At the time of weakness, you must remember that it is Christ who called you. You received His anointing. You have been given His strength. You are serving the God who wiped out forever everything that was written against you. He will give an answer to your problems. He is the God who helps you in all matters that are right in His eyes. You just need to give ourselves into the hands of the Lord Jesus.

May God bless us.