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The Story of Esther
(Based on Esther 1-10)

by Nancy I. Sanders




King Xerxes held a beauty contest among all the young women in the kingdom. When King Xerxes saw Esther, he knew he’d found the perfect queen. Not only was Esther beautiful, but she was kind, good, and wise.

King Xerxes announced, “I choose Esther to be the new queen!” He put a royal crown on her head.

Every day, Haman, a man almost as powerful as the king, walked past Esther’s adopted father, Mordecai. Everyone bowed down when Haman walked past. But Mordecai didn’t bow down to Haman because Mordecai only bowed down to pray to God. This made Haman very, very angry.

“How dare Mordecai not bow down to me?” Haman shouted. Then he thought of an evil plan. “I’ll kill Mordecai! I’ll kill every Jew in the kingdom!”

When Mordecai heard this news, he sent a message to Esther. “Please ask the king to help the Jews!”

Esther answered his message. “I will pray to God to help us. Ask all the Jews to pray, too. Then I will go to the king.”

Esther prayed and prayed. She prayed for three days. She knew it was dangerous to stand in the presence of the king and ask for help. If King Xerxes didn’t hold out his golden scepter to her, she could be killed.

After she finished praying, Esther visited the king. King Xerxes held out his golden scepter to her! “What do you want?” he asked.

“Please come to a special banquet,” Esther said.

At the banquet, Esther told King Xerxes about Haman’s evil plan. “I will punish Haman!” King Xerxes said. “And I will make a new law to protect the Jews!” The king also honored Mordecai and gave him a very important job in the kingdom.

God answered Esther’s prayers in a powerful way!

Esther prayed to God when she needed help, and I pray to God, too. Today I pray, “Dear God, Please help me remember to pray to you about everything. Amen.”

Esther knew how important prayer is. The Bible gives lots of examples about what happens when people pray. Here’s a verse that tells me something powerful happens when I pray! “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” -James 5:16