THE GOLDEN SCEPTRE

‭Esther 4:11 NLT‬
[11] “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.”

‭Esther 5:1-3 NLT‬
[1] “On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. [2] When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter. [3] Then the king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”

Most of us are familiar with the story of Esther and her role in saving her people from extermination by the Persians. Esther risked her life by approaching the king without an invitation.

The protocol in the Persian kingdom required the king to summons a subject before the subject was permitted to enter his presence. Should anyone approach him without a summons, it was his prerogative to receive that person or to order his/her execution. He would mark his approval by holding out his golden sceptre.

Esther risked execution at Mordecai’s request because of Haman, the Agagite’s wicked scheme to destroy the Jewish exiles in Persia. To her great relief, Esther pleased the king and, in response, she received his approval when he stretched out the golden sceptre to her.

How beautifully this story illustrates God the Father’s gracious approval of our approach to Him in prayer! Unlike Esther who did not know what the king’s response to her would be, we have God’s protocol clearly presented to us in His Word.

We have already learned that the Father has appointed His Son to represent us when we enter the Most Holy Place. Unlike Esther, who had no one to represent her, we have the Advocate who stands beside us to present us to the King of the universe.

Since God’s Word guarantees His approval if we follow heaven’s protocol, we need not risk our lives by approaching the Father in prayer. Not only may we approach Him, but we can also be sure that He approves us and that He will answer us if our prayers are in harmony with His will.

‭1 John 5:14-15 NLT‬
[14] “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. [15] And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

In the light of the authority of our representative, and what He has done for us, we have the absolute assurance that the Father will stretch out the golden sceptre to us. Jesus not only represents us to the Father but we are also ‘in Christ’, so that everything He is is guaranteed to us as well. His righteousness is ours, His perfection is ours, God’s approval of Him is ours.

Jesus, then, is intimately involved with us in prayer. Prayer is much more than our coming to God with our prayer agendas. (I think that ‘prayer lists’ are abhorrent to God. We cannot treat our Father like a shop owner who prepares the goods we have requested for collection the next day!). Prayer is the most amazing privilege of participating with the Father through the Son, in the administration of His kingdom on earth, including all the facets of people’s lives in this glorious kingdom.

So, let us approach His throne with boldness and confidence because, through Jesus, He always extends the golden sceptre to receive us. He guarantees that He will answer us if we pray according to His will.