As you go throughout the week reflect on these takeaways:

- Intercession involves awareness of the adversary's schemes - We cannot properly intercede if we're unaware of what we're interceding for and who has the power to intervene. Esther understood that personal promotion wasn't her purpose; if our focus is only ourselves, our vision is too small.

- Intercession requires persistent passion for others - Esther didn't give up when the king seemed to ignore her request. She kept pleading for her people with such passion that she asked, "How could I bear to see the destruction of my relatives?" We must maintain this same persistence in prayer for our unsaved loved ones and those in spiritual danger.

- Intercession leads to action and adoration - True intercession isn't passive. Just as the Jews had to actively defend themselves under the new decree, we must put on the full armor of God and fight from victory, not for victory. When we intercede faithfully, God turns our mourning into dancing and our sackcloth into garments of praise.