Esther was a “prayer warrior”, a God-fearing woman with a strong personal connection to Jesus. She prayed earnestly for herself and others. Her prayers had power with God, and through this personal connection with God she could also hear from Him. She was a servant of the Lord, in her own home and for the people around her.
She had power in her spirit. Through praying and talking with God, God could talk to her about different situations in her life and her church. She had an open connection with Him in her heart. She could speak to God, and He could speak to her. She was a co-worker with Jesus, a trusted co-worker with authority in her spirit.
Below are some things she said and some advice she gave at the end of her life.
Working together with Jesus
“We must constantly stay in a state of prayer; it is not something we do for just a few minutes now and again, or at times when we are really in need. It is very important that God can speak to us all the time. This makes it much easier to seek the kingdom of heaven at all times.
“If you’re awake to it, God can speak to you about the most amazing things.
“I always ask Jesus before I do things. He is my best Friend, and I am glad that I have understood the orders He has given to me. We have such a good life when we give ourselves completely to do Jesus’ will, and we can also explain that to our children. When you place yourself in Jesus’ hands, difficult times and times of trial become short and light. I feel very dependent on God’s Word – I need it every single day.
“In certain situations and with certain people, maybe we see that we are not filled with “every desire for what is good” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). Then, we can just simply pray, ‘Dear God, fill me with every desire for what is good!’
“I know that this is a prayer according to the will of God, and I can believe that I have received what I have prayed for, as it is written, ‘We have courage in God's presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from Him.’ 1 John 5:14-15 (GNT).
“Teach the children to pray that they can be filled with 'every desire for what is good'. We should learn more and more to work together with God. Jesus prays for us day and night, and we should also do that.
“Prayer is incredible! God allows Himself to be influenced by our prayers! ‘The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.’ James 5:16 (NIV). It moves God’s heart to act, and He sends out His angels to protect and save those we pray for.
A sigh in everyday life
“Prayer has really been very important in my life. We can go to God with everything. Of course, we pray for spiritual things in our battle against sin in our own human nature, but I have also often prayed about everyday matters. When I am making dinner, I often pray that He will bless the food and those who are going to eat it. I also pray for people the Holy Spirit reminds me to pray for.”
One of her children tells us: “At home, we heard this simple heartfelt prayer time after time: ‘Dear Jesus! Dear Jesus!’ When there was a difficult situation, we heard it extra often, but we also heard this sigh from her heart often in the daily life – a sigh that came from her upright desire to live a life worthy and pleasing before His face.
“At home it was natural to pray about everything. Prayer came very naturally. It wasn’t something put on, but a prayer straight from her need for God’s grace and help in all the many situations of life.
“Mum’s godliness wasn’t something ‘packed away’ and brought out just on special occasions. It was an everyday Christianity. Whether it was exams at school, or difficult decisions during the day, when there was danger or all kinds of need, Mum prayed. Even for daily tasks, cooking or washing dishes, we could constantly hear these sighs from her heart: ‘Dear Jesus! Dear Jesus!’ She did not give up until she was heard. Her prayers had power with God and were effective.”
Praying earnestly with a personal need
“Why should we pray? We pray because we need something. Those who are rich and satisfied don’t need anything more. We must be humble and willing to admit, and we must search for things in our own life that are not as God wants them to be. To grow in Christ, you must carefully watch yourself. It really is important to pray that you find things that are not as God wants them to be. I have prayed a lot about this throughout many years, and it is very important to do so.
“When you admit the truth about yourself, you become really happy and free from the sins that have bound you. It is one thing to become free from things that everyone knows is sin, but we also have to become free from ourselves, from our nature, from the way we are as humans. We are to be changed to be like Jesus Christ.
“I have always been poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) and seen that I need more of Christ. When situations have come, I have always prayed and received help, usually through a word of God. We should talk to God about our situations, and then listen and read. In this way, we get advice from God and true help in our situations.
“We must take it very seriously with sin. It is very important to plant this into the hearts of the young people. The devil wants to destroy their souls.
“It really is possible to live a happy life while fighting against the sin you see in yourself. The more you practice this, the quicker you are finished with these sins, and then you get a heavenly joy and happiness. Then you are constantly happy; you have a very good life which also makes it possible for you to bear others’ burdens with joy.
“God has things He wants to do in us while we are here. As long as we are on earth, there are sins to overcome. I pray earnestly to be full of thankfulness for everything that happens. I pray to be filled with a heavenly joy and to keep my faith burning in my heart right up to my last breath.”