In the wake of tragedies like school shootings, terror attacks, and growing hostility toward faith, we hear the sneers: “Thoughts and prayers won’t stop evil.” But as Modern-Day Esthers we know better.
Prayer is not empty words. Prayer is calling on the God of heaven, who hears, who moves, who shakes the nations.
William Carey once said, “Prayer, fervent, believing prayer, lies at the root of all personal godliness.” Samuel Chadwick warned, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying… he trembles when we pray.”
Our culture laughs at prayer, but Satan fears it. Why? Because prayer is how God’s people lay hold of His power. E. M. Bounds wrote, “Our prayers lay the track down which God’s power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, His power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails.”
Do we believe this? Do we pray as if it is true?
Andrew Murray told us, “Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do. Expect great things!” Corrie Ten Boom said, “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.”
Prayer does not replace action. It fuels it. Leonard Ravenhill once wrote, “What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use… men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.”
If we are not praying, we are powerless. When we pray, the Spirit of God pushes back against evil, comforts the broken, and strengthens the weary.
As Modern-Day Esthers, let us not be silenced by a mocking world. Let us be the ones who pray when others scoff. Let us carry the hostages before the throne of God. Let us intercede for grieving families. Let us cry out for revival, believing that when we bend our knees, God moves His hand.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Do we believe it? Then let us pray.
Scriptures to Strengthen Your Prayers
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“Pray without ceasing.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:17
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“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face… then I will hear from heaven.” — 2 Chronicles 7:14
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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” — Philippians 4:6
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“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” — Jeremiah 33:3
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“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” — 1 John 5:14
Quotes on Prayer for Modern-Day Esthers
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“Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.” — Sidlow Baxter
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“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.” — Robert Murray McCheyne
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“Prayer breaks all bars, dissolves all chains, opens all prisons, and widens all straits by which God’s saints have been held.” — E. M. Bounds
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“Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-loving Christian.” — Andrew Murray
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“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” — Corrie Ten Boom
