Introduction - Children’s Prayers
A mother was teaching her three-year-old the Lord’s Prayer. Night after night they practiced, and one evening the little girl said, “Mommy, I can do it myself.” So she folded her tiny hands and prayed, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us some e-mail.”
Another Sunday a family’s little boy was restless in church. His dad finally scooped him up and started down the aisle to the foyer. Halfway there the child threw his arms toward the crowd and shouted, “Pray for me! Pray for me!”
And one clever four-year-old prayed, “And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”
Children have a way of saying truth without even knowing it. They remind us that prayer is supposed to be real.
But these days, even a child’s prayer can cause a stir. Some schools try to silence bowed heads and folded hands. Some offices outlaw Scripture on desks. Yet God still has people who pray anyway—people who refuse to bow to fear, who stand up, speak up, and lift up their petitions to the living God.
That’s where Esther’s story begins—in a world trying to silence faith.
And every time the world tries to stop prayer, heaven looks for somebody who will stand in the gap.
Crisis in the Kingdom
The banquet halls of Persia were filled with music and wine, but in the shadows a decree of death had been signed.
A man named Haman had climbed the political ladder, whispering his way into the king’s favor.
One stubborn Jew—Mordecai—refused to bow before him, and that defiance exposed the hatred festering in Haman’s heart.
He plotted genocide.
Letters sealed with the king’s ring ordered that on one day every Jew in the empire be destroyed.
Fear spread like wildfire.
What do you do when hell has a date circled on its calendar with your name on it?
Mordecai’s Message
Mordecai tore his clothes and cried out in the streets.
Inside the palace, Queen Esther lived surrounded by comfort and gold but suddenly faced a summons greater than royalty.
He sent word:
“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone will escape.
For if you remain silent at this time, deliverance will arise from another place—but who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Every believer has a moment when God whispers, “This is why I placed you here.”
Maybe you didn’t choose the trial, but the trial chose you.
Before the enemy formed his plan, God had already positioned your purpose.
The Hidden Hand of Providence
God’s name never appears in Esther, yet His fingerprints cover every page.
He’s the unseen hand behind every coincidence.
The sleepless whisper in a king’s ear.
The silence of God is not the absence of God.
He’s working while you’re waiting, aligning pieces you can’t see.
When you can’t trace His hand—trust His heart.
The Fast Before the Favor
When Esther heard Mordecai’s challenge, she called for a fast.
No food, no drink, three days.
Because some victories are too heavy for casual prayer.
She said, “Go, gather all the Jews in Shushan, and fast for me.
I and my maidens will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king—though it is against the law.
If I perish, I perish.”
That’s not hopeless resignation—it’s holy resolve.
Obedience is better than safety.
Illustration – The Farmer’s Umbrella
Texas drought. Believers call a prayer meeting for rain.
They arrive with Bibles and songbooks. One farmer walks in carrying an umbrella.
“Why’d you bring that?” they ask.
He says, “Because we’re praying for rain, aren’t we?”
That’s faith—praying and preparing in the same breath.
That’s what Esther did. She fasted and then dressed in royal robes.
Faith doesn’t hide forever; faith gets up and walks into destiny expecting favor.
Entering the Throne Room
Picture marble floors, guards at attention, golden pillars, and Esther standing at the far end of the hall.
One wrong step could mean death.
The law said no one could approach the king uninvited.
But love is stronger than law.
She took that step. The king looked up.
“She obtained favor in his sight, and he held out to her the golden scepter.”
That’s our story too.
We were uninvited, unworthy, unclean—but the King extended His scepter through the cross.
Grace means the door is open and the scepter is raised.
Favor Follows Surrender
Esther’s beauty didn’t move the king—her bravery did.
Favor follows surrender; authority follows obedience.
When you put God’s purpose ahead of your position, the King leans forward.
The Enemy’s Arrogance
While Esther prayed, Haman plotted.
He bragged, “I’m the only one invited to the queen’s banquet.”
Then he grumbled, “But none of it satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai sitting at the gate.”
His wife said, “Build a gallows fifty cubits high.”
Fifty cubits—seventy-five feet of pride.
Pride always builds its own scaffold.
That Night the King Could Not Sleep
While Esther prayed, the king tossed in his bed.
No angel choir, no thunder—just insomnia.
He called for the royal records—“happened” to hear about Mordecai saving his life.
“What honor was given him?” “Nothing.”
“Then honor him now!”
Just then Haman walked in to request Mordecai’s death.
“Tell me,” said the king, “what should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Haman described a parade fit for a king.
“Perfect,” said the king. “Do it for Mordecai.”
The man who built the gallows is now leading the parade!
When God turns it around, He does it publicly.
When God Reverses the Plot
Sometimes He doesn’t remove your enemy—He reverses the roles.
He makes your test your testimony.
He blesses you in front of your critics.
The Second Banquet
At the banquet Esther stood and said,
“The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!”
The king stormed out, returned, and shouted,
“Will he assault the queen in my house?”
They covered Haman’s face.
A servant said, “Behold, the gallows he built for Mordecai.”
“Hang him on it,” said the king.
And they did.
The rope he twisted became his own noose.
The wood he raised became his judgment.
That’s the gospel!
Satan built the cross thinking it would destroy Christ, but it became his defeat.
What the enemy meant for evil, God turned it around for good.
The Ring of Reversal
Haman’s gone, but his decree remains.
The law of death still stands.
So the king says,
“Write another decree in the king’s name and seal it with the king’s ring.”
You can’t erase the old law, but you can override it with a higher one.
Romans 8:2: “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Grace didn’t delete justice—it fulfilled it.
Jesus nailed the old decree to the cross and wrote a new one in His blood.
Authority of the Ring
When Jesus said, “All authority is given unto Me,” and then, “Go therefore,”
He handed us the ring.
Every prayer of faith bears the royal seal.
The signature of heaven overrides the signature of hell.
The Couriers Ride
“The couriers rode out, pressed on by the king’s command.”
They didn’t wait for better weather.
Each scroll they carried meant life instead of death for a village down the road.
We are those riders now.
We carry the gospel—the new decree.
It’s time to ride!
Every testimony, every act of courage spreads the news: the decree has changed.
From Fear to Joy
“The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor.”
One day they were trembling; the next day dancing.
Joy is not denial—it’s deliverance.
It’s knowing that what was meant to kill you can’t touch you anymore.
The Feast of Purim
The month turned from sorrow to joy.
They called it Purim—because God turned the lots around.
He wants you living not in survival but in celebration.
The cross took care of your past; the resurrection secured your future.
From Gallows to Glory
The same gallows meant for Mordecai became Haman’s end.
The same cross meant for shame became our salvation.
Hell always underestimates heaven.
When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He wasn’t defeated—He was declaring victory.
Mordecai’s Parade
After the decree went forth, Mordecai came out wearing royal robes and a golden crown.
The city rejoiced.
That’s the picture of the church triumphant—
once despised, now dignified; once in sackcloth, now clothed in praise.
When God turns it around, His people shine.
Living Under the New Decree
The enemy whispers the old law: “You’ll never change.”
Grace answers: “You’re forgiven. You’re sealed.”
You can live by what hell wrote—or by what heaven decreed.
If Jesus erased it, stop reading it.
Standing in the Gap Today
God still looks for people who will stand between mercy and judgment.
Mothers praying for children.
Pastors weeping for cities.
Students bowing heads when the world says no.
Every prayer warrior is an Esther in their generation.
Modern Faith
A little boy in a cafeteria bowed his head to pray.
His teacher scolded him, “We don’t do that here.”
The next day he prayed anyway.
By week’s end, his story was national news—and believers everywhere started praying again.
God still turns it around through one heart willing to pray anyway.
The Testimony of the Turnaround
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
The blood signs it; your testimony delivers it.
Tell it—home, workplace, street, pulpit: “God turned it around for me.”
Three Signs of a Turnaround Life
New decree in your mouth – you speak faith, not fear.
New direction in your walk – you move forward, not backward.
New delight in your heart – you live rejoicing, not surviving.
Final Appeal
Maybe tonight you feel like you’re still under the old decree.
But the King has written something better.
The ring is extended.
The scepter is raised.
The decree has changed.
He can turn addiction into freedom, brokenness into beauty, shame into song, weeping into worship.
Before the ink dries, the whole kingdom will know—God turned it around!
Altar Call
If you’re standing between fear and faith, this is your moment.
Come touch the scepter.
Come stand in the gap for your family, your city, your soul.
The King is in the court.
Favor is in the air.
Grace is riding fast.
Come believe again.
Come rejoice again.
Come live again.
Because what the enemy meant for evil—God turned it around!
Benediction
Go forth in peace and power.
Walk under the new decree of grace.
Let joy be your banner and faith your song.
May the God who turned it around for Esther turn every sorrow in your life into strength,
every defeat into testimony,
every gallows into glory.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—
Amen and Amen.
