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Always Bring a Gift

Writer's picture: libbyrubachalibbyrubacha

Your Heart of Worship


The story of Esther is a magnificent love story and one of my favorite Bible stories. It is a story that speaks of true intimacy and worship of the king.


Maybe you don’t know the whole story of Esther. This story goes so much deeper than being placed “for such a time as this.” Yes, God placed Esther in the palace to save the Jews, but there is so much more to this story. The deeper understanding is often overlooked.


The movie One Night With the King is based on the story of Esther and the novel by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen, called Hadassah: One Night With the King. Until I watched this movie that is a fairly accurate biblical account, I did not fully grasp the whole story. To me, it is just one of those movies that you can really feel the emotion.


After King Xerses’ wife denied his request to join him at a party, she was banished. King Xerses had to find a new wife and queen. All of the virgin women in the area were taken to the palace so that the king could choose his new wife from among them.


Esther did not enter the palace as a princess. She was a commoner, a peasant, and an orphan. But all of the women spent 12 months preparing themselves for the King. She spent time learning about protocol and doing beauty treatments.


The first six months of Esther’s preparation speak of cleansing and purification. This should be no different for us when we approach our King. We should ask for forgiveness so that we are prepared for our encounter with Him. Preparation mirrors the importance of the visit. How did you prepare for a first date? How do you prepare for a special event? How do you prepare for a visit with the Father?


It is believed that Esther may have been one of the most beautiful women of all time. Maybe this is why she found favor with everyone she met, especially the king. I believe that God’s light shone through Esther, which made her radiant and beautiful. She didn’t want to settle for half the kingdom, she wanted the king. Do you want the king or just His blessings?


In the movie, Esther wore a special necklace that represented her Jewish heritage. It was her most prized possession. She gave this to the king as a token of her devotion to him.


Learn from Esther; never go before the King empty-handed, always bring a gift. That gift should be your worship. The Lord whispers intimate secrets to true worshipers that desire Him and not just His kingdom. Make sure that the King does not leave your worship encounter hungry.


Esther 2:17 (ESV) says “the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins so that he set the royal crown[a] on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” When Xerxes married Esther he may have married her for her beauty, but he kept her because of her heart.


Our burning passion must be to fulfill our life’s purpose in God. Sometimes we must risk everything to become the very thing that we are supposed to be; just as Esther risked her life to save the Jewish people.

Esther broke protocol to approach the king. She could have been killed for petitioning him the way that she did. But he loved her, she had captured his heart. He granted her grace.


Esther teaches us to make our first petition a request for the King’s presence. She did not make her petition known in front of the court. She asked for time with him before asking for what she desired.


Ultimately, her petition saved her people. God had placed her in the palace for that purpose. But she also became the king’s bride.


How many of us could the King entrust to be His bride? Being a bride takes commitment and sacrifice. In courtship the ultimate goal is to win a pledge of marriage by building a relationship, the ultimate aim is permanent union through commitment. Are you ready to make a permanent union through a commitment to your King?


Lord, thank you that I can come to your throne room. I pray that you will let your light shine through me and that my worship is pleasing to you. Thank you that I have been crowned with grace and dignity.


Journal prompt: Do I give God the gift of my true intimate worship? Do I prepare myself for my time in His presence? Do I desire the king and not just his blessings?


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