Why isn't God mentioned in Esther? As you may know, God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, either by name (Yahweh), title (Adonai), or being (El). Neither is prayer. 

Why not? I realize this is rather open ended, so I'll try to give some objective criteria:


If it never mentions God, why is it in the canon? 
What is the theological application to be gained from Esther given the lack of any reference to God. 
waves hands


I have a few thoughts on this myself, but i'll try to hold them until I can get a good sampling of answers.

(also, why hasn't this been asked yet? Have I missed an obvious duplicate? Or stumbled into the Area51 of ✝.SE?)
The Book of Esther's legitimacy as part of the canon of Christian scripture  has been the subject of debate because there is no direct reference to God. The compilation of the original Bible is largely obscured in history (e.g. the Song of Solomon has been likewise disputed because of its romantic content), but Esther may have been included because of its rich demonstration of Christian values such as loyalty, courage, faith, and fasting (and by implication, prayer).
Even though God is never directly mentioned in the book, His Providence is distinctly evidenced in the deliverance of the Jews in the face of great opposition and terrible odds. It is a witness of God's mindfulness of His people, His recognition of their faith, and His direct intervention in their lives despite His indirect presence among them. In fact, the refrain of mention of His name emphasizes this contrast: that even though God isn't directly with us (as it would seem), His hand is still mighty on behalf of His faithful, and thus, is actually with us.


This answer by Warren suggests that Esther prefigures Mary, a significant example of faith and virtue.

Embedded in Esther 4:13-16 is the confidence in a sure deliverance by Providence:  whether by Esther's house or by some other means, the Jews would be delivered. So while the historical accuracy of Esther is debated here or there, I for one personally love the book because of the inspiring display of virtues, and the profound example of faith by fasting, courage/loyalty, and patriotism.