The night before John McCain announced his VP running mate my husband said, “He should pick a woman governor to run with him.. that would shake things up.” and in my heart I heard God whisper, “A Queen Esther.” We were shocked and thrilled the next morning when we heard that McCain actually had.
I know I can’t be the only one coming up with parallels between Sarah Palin and Queen Esther (I actually just googled it and found that I wasn’t.) but I can’t sleep any longer until I write down my thoughts and ask you to fast and pray for Sarah and her people. Like Queen Esther I believe Sarah has her people hidden in her heart. One of the first things that I learned about Sarah was that she has 5 children and that the newest one has Down Syndrome, so the first people that I saw in her heart were the unborn and the special needs children of our nation. Since, I’ve heard her speak of her heart for the people of America as a whole and her desire to make our nation truly “of the people… for the people.” As I continue to watch and pray, I am looking forward to seeing more of the people God is putting in her heart and of His unfolding plan to use our prayers to help rescue them.
Before I make more comparisons, I would like to share with you what has caused me to hope and pray for an end to abortion and a restoration of our nation. Recently, I was privileged to attend a gathering of thousands youth who are fasting and praying for an end to abortion, for revival and our nation at “The Call” (thecall.com). While I was there, I learned that not only are these teens meeting for these gatherings but that there are teenagers across our nation praying and fasting weekly on Fridays at their schools for an end to abortion (learn more at bound4life.com). Seeing so many kids give up their Saturday to fast, fervently seek and worship God taught me to hope more than any speech could have ever done. We took home a book from “The Call” called Shaping History Through Fasting and Prayer by Derek Prince. In it Derek shares the scriptural principle of praying for our nation’s government and stories of how fasting and prayer have changed history. It’s an amazing account. Don’t miss this chance to be a part of history in the making.
Before I share my comparisons between the people in the book of Esther and the modern day people of our nation know that I know that as Jesus said in Mark 10 that no one is good but God. I am not for a minute putting my hope in a person. My hope is in God and Him alone. We all make mistakes as I am sure all the people in both stories have but God loves us and uses us anyway.
In my loose synopsis of the story of Esther below I will be inserting quotes from the book of Esther. I love to learn from books, lectures, watching people, the news, and even TV shows. My favorite teacher is the Holy Spirit. No matter the source or the subject I am always looking to Him for His insight. I don’t always hear him perfectly, but I love to meditate on His Word and I’d like to encourage you to do the same.
First on the scene in story of Esther is King Xerxes (Ahasuerus). He was the king of Persia, a large and prosperous nation. He had a party to show off his riches, encouraged everyone to drink and do whatever felt good. A little like our modern day culture? Next there is his queen, Vashti, who refuses to be shown off to his drunken friends and is then banished from the kingdom by her angered king. This reminds me of the conservative people who refuse to join in the ungodliness of our culture and are treated like less than nothing… banished. The most recent term I’ve heard used was “white trash.” After banishing his queen, Xerxes conducted a beauty contest, had the contestants go through purification ceremonies and chose a queen with a true hidden beauty, Queen Esther. Sarah won runner up in an Alaskan beauty contest and I believe has the true hidden beauty of God in her life. I am sure that the trials in her life have been a kind of purification process in preparing her for her future. She has become a proven leader through her time as mayor and a governor in Alaska and like Esther has “obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her ” (an 80% approval rating in Alaska).
Next is her older cousin, Mordecai, who I believe is like John McCain (a father figure in her life) in that each were written about in the “chronicles before the king” for their heroism; John also has an independent spirit like Mordecai that refuses to bow before his political enemies. Then there is the villain of the story, Haman, who is so angry with Mordecai that he plots to destroy all his people, “both young and old, little children and women,” because “their laws are different from all the people.” Haman offered to make the kingdom treasury rich if King Xerxes would allow him to annihilate the Jews. Are the laws on written on your heart different from all the people? Many lobbyist have offered riches to those who will write laws that benefit their cause at the expense of the people. Have you heard the vicious attacks of McCain’s political enemies? It’s no secret that many have been infuriated by Sarah’s convictions and are out to destroy her and in essence everyone that holds her values. It’s been “published unto all the people”; the media themselves joining in the attacks. Like Esther, Sarah was asked by “Mordecai” to put her life on the line for her people and who knows if she has “come to the kingdom for such a time as this” to save her people.
So like Esther, I want to ask you to fast and pray for Sarah and her people. Pray that God’s will will be done in this election; that God will strengthen Sarah for the task that is at hand; that God will not allow the sacrifice of children to continue in this country; that God will restore His people to Himself and bring a great revival to our land. Pray also for the people of Israel; that God will give them peace.
Thank you,
J
