The Daniel Prayer (2)
Notes
Transcript
Prompting in Prayer
Prompting in Prayer
This morning we are going to be back in the Book of Daniel looking at the Daniel Prayer.
I told ya’ll we were gong to really dig deep into how Daniel prayed and wanted to look at several different areas of that prayer.
We seen last week how Daniel prepared to pray and I hope that you really took that to heart and realized that we really need to make preparation to pray.
We not going to go back over everything I just wanted to remind you what we read last week about Daniels preparation.
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
We saw where Daniel had a prepared place to pray and that was his house.
A prepared Time to pray, Which his was 3 times a day.
A prepared atmosphere. His windows was open towards Jerusalem.
and a prepared attitude to pray. That was on his knees bowing his heart before God.
So this morning we are going to start with Daniel’s promting in prayer.
When I say prompting in prayer I am meaning being compelled to pray. Once again I know we are to pray without ceasing and we are to do that all day long through out our day.
But we are talking about a Daniel prayer and that is a time, a place, an atmosphere and an attitude of prayer.
We are going to look at Daniel 9 and we will see where Daniel was prompted to pray he was compelled to pray.
Now we see that Daniel is prepared already because of what we studied last week and I want us to look at a specific prayer.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
Right here we see that Daniel had some problems we talked about some of those last week. In his world he was living in Daniel was facing some hard times.
Daniels people were in captivity. Last week we seen where when the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem the first time Daniel was taken into slavery when he was a teenager.
But the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem two more timesover these many years. The third time they broke down the walls of the city, they tore down the temple. they burned the city with fire and the people they did not kill through the attack they took the captive.
So Daniel’s people had terrible problems and Daniel’s people were God’s people, they were separated from God’s place of blessing, they were not where God wanted them to be. They were being held captive by the enemy.
So Daniel saw problems in his world and he was compelled to pray for them.
Daniel 9:2–4 (KJV 1900)
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said,O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
We here in the US as a country are facing all kinds of problems, there is all different kinds of hate and protest going on, our bible believing churches are falling apart, God’s children are fighting against each other, arrogance in our leadership.
I believe that things are going to do nothing but get worse because our nation is coming under the judgement of God.
It is not very severe at this point but if we as a nation does not turn from our wicked ways then the judgement is going to get much worse.
Where we are now we could say is a Romans 1 judgement. When people or a nation turns from God then God will sometimes back away and remove his hand of protection and if we continue to disobey him he will do what he did in Romans 1 at the end of the chapter and turn them over to themselves.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
I see a nation that is operating on our own selfish needs, we have taken God out of everything and it is going to get worse and worse.
You should be prompted and compelled to pray for our nation but not only for our nation, not only for our churches, but the problems in your own life.
Everyone of us in here have friends or loved ones that are not saved.
We have loved ones in our lives that may have been saved but are still being held captive by sin in their lives. bitterness, unforgiveness, fornicators, wickedness, backbiters. Many of the things we just read about in Romans 1
There may be some here this morning may have some of these issues yourself or even some other things going on in your own personal life.
What I want us to get here is everyone of us whether it be for our nations issues, our friends and families issues or our own personal issues. We should be prompted and compelled to pray everyday.
We all know that whenever everything is great in our lives we don’t have that compulsion to pray. We can’t let that be the only time we are compelled to pray.
But we do see here where Daniel was compelled by the problems that were going on to reach out to God in prayer.
Daniel was not only compelled to pray for the problems he was facing but look in V-2 again where Daniel was compelled to pray because of the promises God had made him.
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Notice here that Daniel was getting to be up in age he was in his 80’s by now but he was still reading the bible.
He was still reading the scriptures according to the prophet Jeremiah.
I remember hearing a story Billy Grahams daughter told about him and how he would read his bible everyday until he couldn’t see the pages anymore and when that happened he would have someone read him the bible. He loved to hear the words of God.
So we can go back here to the bible and see the scripture that Daniel read which gave him a certain promise.
For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
How many of you knew the story behind Jeremiah 29:11. Now you do. It was Daniel praying reminding God of his promise that Jeremiah the prophet had written.
So Daniel was compelled by the problems he had in his world but he matched it to the promise that he saw in God’s word.
Daniels prayer was not just something he hoped for or wished for it was based on a promise that God had already made him in his word.
When we are praying to God is our prayers based on what we hope for, what we think, what we want or is it based on the promises of God.
Think about it like this if you tell your child or grandchild something I can promise you they don’t forget. They will remind you of what you had told them in the past. Even if it was something simple.
I told Loxley that I would get here a toy one time when she was with me and I was running all over the place trying to get things done. If she was good. Of course when I was through with most everything we were talking and I told her we were about to go home or wherever it was. The first thing she reminded me of was that I told her I would get her a toy and I hadn't done that yet.
Yes no doubt she wanted the toy but what I want you to see here is she was holding me to my word to the promise I made her.
So when we pray let’s ask God to give us a promise to base our prayer on.
Very familiar verse sometimes so familiar we don’t even realize it is a promise when it is quoted.
This is a perfect promise from God when we are praying for our nation.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
You see what I am talking about here is that when we are praying to God about something there is nothing wrong at all with us quoting God;s promises back to him.
Read about a story of a lady and man that was married and tried over and over to have children and just couldn't seem to get pregnant. So she set aside 1 day a week to pray and fast and she prayed a promise from God she had read in his word.
For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
So she began to base her prayer on that promise and a month later she was pregnant and 9 months later their son was born.
It is hard sometimes to have the words to say to a family member whose loved one dies unexpectedly. It makes it easier if they knew that person was saved.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
These are some promises from God that he reminds us of during those times.
When you are praying ask God to bring a verse to you a promise to you that will help you with the situation you are facing.
That is why it is important sometimes to have a bible and your glasses in the prepared place so you can go right to that scripture.
The Daniel prayer is one that was born out of a prompting for his people and his nation.
I hope you have prepared a place, a time, an atmosphere and an attitude to pray.
After this morning I hope that when you are prompted and compelled to pray that you go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to lead you to the promises he gives in his word to help you with your specific problem you are facing.
As we sum this up this morning lets finish with V-3
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Notice that Daniel came to the Lord with fasting, now fasting does not have to be food, it can be from facebook, tik toc your phone, TV, anything that could be a distraction that you could give up and give that extra attention to God.
Jesus says in Matthew Chapter 6 when you fast.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Fasting is to be a part of our prayer life, it was a part of Daniel’s prayer life.
We need to set aside whatever is in our life that may be a hindrance from us getting close to God in prayer.
Look at the last part of the verse bible says he dressed himself in sackcloth and ashes.
We need to pray in that kind of desperation we will here from God.
When we are facing a problem many times we immediately think I can go to my mama, my daddy, my attorney, my friend, a new doctor, my wife, my husband.
These things are ok sometimes and God puts these people in your life to talk with and get Godly counsel. But what I want us to understand that shouldn’’t be the first place we go.
We should come to God in desperation first in sackcloth and ashes. Putting on Sackcloth and ashes was a customary sign of grief.
We need to come to the desperation in our lives many times when we realize No one can help us but God.
When we pray the Daniel Prayer it is a prayer that is born out of a prompting and compulsion.
It is motivated by the problems we have in our nation, in the lives of our loved ones and in our personal lives.
These prayers should be centered in the promises in God’s and in God alone.
