Esther's Prayer: Surrender

“O my Lord, You only are our king; help me, who am alone and have no helper but You...” Esther surrenders herself completely to God. She knows that she can do nothing without His help. 

If she were to enter the presence of the king under her own power, she would likely fail in her mission to save her people. How would she know what to say? Would she even have the courage to step before the throne, knowing that a rejection from the king would mean instant death?

So she doesn't go alone. God accompanies her. He gives her the boldness she needs. He puts words in her mouth to convince the king. The plan to save the Jewish people is God's alone; Esther is merely His instrument.

And she accepts that role willingly. She trustingly places herself in God's hands and lets Him take control, for she knows that only then will she have a chance to save her people.

Do we imitate Esther? When faced with a trial, with something we cannot handle on our own, do we surrender to God? Do we trustingly rely on His help? Do we allow ourselves to be His instruments that He may act and speak through us? 

Or do we try to carry on under our own power? 

If we choose the latter, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Only surrender to God will bring success, perhaps not in everything we think we want, but ultimately according to His will. God knows what we need far better than we do, so our job is to place ourselves in His loving hands and let Him run the show. 

Lord, give me the grace of surrender and guide me always. Amen.