Standing In The Gap Series

Introduction – The Call to Stand

Last week we saw Esther’s victory and Haman’s fall.

But there’s more to the story.

Before there was a banquet, before the gallows were reversed, there was a woman on her knees saying, “If I perish, I perish.”

Every victory begins with somebody willing to stand in the gap.

Somebody willing to say, “Lord, I’ll pray when no one else prays. I’ll believe when no one else believes.”

Esther is a type of the church in this hour.

We don’t need celebrities—we need intercessors.

We don’t need another spotlight—we need people who know how to get hold of the hem of His garment and not let go until heaven answers.

Scripture Reading – Esther 5:1–2

“On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, facing the entrance.

When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight, and he held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.”

She’s been fasting for three days—no makeup, no perfume, no comfort.

But now she dresses like royalty.

She walks into danger looking like a queen.

Faith doesn’t wear sackcloth to the throne—it puts on royal robes and expects favor.

>> The Garment of Royalty

When Esther “put on her royal robes,” it wasn’t fashion—it was faith.

It was her way of saying, “I belong here. I’m not a slave; I’m the bride.”

Child of God, you don’t crawl into God’s presence like an orphan—you walk in like a son, like a daughter, because the blood of Jesus has already opened the way.

You are clothed in righteousness.

Hell trembles when a blood-bought believer remembers who they are!

We’ve spent too long dressing in fear and self-doubt.

It’s time to put on the garment of praise and stand in the inner court!

>> The Inner Court

Esther didn’t stay in the outer court gossiping about the crisis—she walked into the inner court where decisions are made.

That’s what intercession does.

Anybody can complain about what’s wrong, but intercessors take it to the King.

You may not have political power or social power, but you have prayer power.

When the church steps into the inner court, hell loses its hold.

We don’t fight battles in the streets first—we fight them in the secret place.

Prayer rooms shake palaces.

Altars change nations.

And one believer on their knees can shift history.

>> The Scepter of Favor

The king held out the golden scepter.

He didn’t have to. The law said he could have her killed.

But when she walked in, something moved his heart.

That’s grace!

That’s favor!

She touched the top of the scepter, and in that moment everything shifted.

Beloved, we have a greater King, and He has already stretched out His scepter through the cross.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.”

You don’t beg for favor—you receive it.

You don’t earn access—you’ve been given access.

Illustration – The Pastor Under Attack

A young pastor once told me how radicals stormed into his house during dinner.

They beat him in front of his wife and children, poured gasoline over him, and tried to burn him alive.

But as his neighbors prayed, every match failed to ignite.

The men fled, and the pastor lived.

When I heard his story, I thought: That’s what standing in the gap looks like.

When hell tries to light the fire, prayer blows the flame out.

Standing in the Gap – Ezekiel 22:30

“I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.”

God is still looking.

Not for the talented, but the willing.

Not for the famous, but the faithful.

When the enemy builds walls of hate and fear, God looks for someone to build walls of prayer and faith.

Intercession is not polite prayer—it’s warfare.

It’s holding one hand on God and one hand on a broken world, pulling the two together until mercy meets need.

>> The Travail of Intercession

Isaiah said, “As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

Travail means labor—it’s the prayer that costs you something.

Revival doesn’t come from easy prayers; it comes from broken hearts.

Amos warned, “Woe to those at ease in Zion.”

We’ve wept over our bills more than we’ve wept over souls.

But when the church begins to travail again, births will happen again.

Salvations, restorations, reconciliations—they’re born out of travail.

Illustration – The Farmer’s Umbrella

Texas drought. Months with no rain.

Believers call a Friday-night prayer meeting.

On his way, a farmer fills up at the gas station. In his back seat—a big umbrella.