Prayer Movement in a Harem

All this talk of Rush Limbaugh, the president sticking up for the student from Georgetown law school, and the debate on who pays for birth control, I've been thinking of the quiet determination of women praying. Writing about Women's World Day of Prayer also ignited this train of thought. I propose women start praying for young women today. They don't need words of hatred, derogation or condemnation.
My mind dug into prayer movements, women of prayer. Not the first one, but one that saved a nation, and fits into this time of year, is Esther, the covert Jewish queen of Persia. A hateful man, Haman, worms his way into the king's favor to issue an edict to annihilate the Jews. And we think we have problems today.
She is the favorite in King Xerxes' harem when her older cousin brings this disturbing news to her attention. She's scared at first, but determines to not eat or drink anything and pray for three days, with her "maids" and asks the Jewish community outside the palace to join her. Her willingness to expose her nationality changed the king's mind, although the edict could not be reversed, the Jews were given notice to defend themselves and save their race.
For some reason, God uses our prayers. Our prayers move His hand and He moves hearts. Many prayer movements have seeds in women's spirits. I'll be writing about this topic in my next few posts.