While speaking with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Ted Cruz said that he hopes and prays that God put him in the position he is in today.

Cruz told Brody that “far too many Christians have ceded the public arena to people who aren’t believers,” urging pastors to become “watchmen on the wall” who will act “just like Esther” in the fight to save America.

Brody also hailed Cruz’s father, far-right activist Rafael Cruz, for his political views that he says have “rubbed off on Cruz.”