The Importance of Prayer

Introduction

We’ve been looking at the book of Daniel.

The next story is Daniel & the Lion’s Den

The most obvious theme in this story is how God is faithful to help those who are faithful to him.

Déjà vu? It’s the same theme we looked at 2 weeks ago with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

So rather than retread the same themes, I want to look at a sub-theme from this story, not the most obvious choice - The importance of power of prayer.

After all, prayer is the reason Daniel ends up getting thrown into the Lion’s den, and prayer is what delivers Daniel from the ordeal.

Context

Daniel is a story set during and following the Babylonian Exile.

This is a low point in Judah’s story.

They had so badly broken the covenant, that God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to capture Jerusalem, destroy the temple and forcibly relocate the people to Babylon.

When people were dragged away into exile, that was usually the end of the people.

They would be assimilated into whatever place they were deported

But because the Jews are God’s people, God can even raise the nation, as it were, from the dead.

We see this anticipated in Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple when he says:

1 Kings 8:46–50 NIV

46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy;

Humble prayer was the key to the restoration of God’s blessing to his people

The Importance of Prayer

In the story of Daniel and the Lion’s dean we can see the importance of prayer by the fact that Daniel prays even when continuing to do so violates the law, and risks his life.

A quick summary of the story:

Despite the change-over to new political masters—out with the Babylonians and in with the Persians—Daniel still finds himself in a place of leadership, rising to second in command under Darius the Mede.

The other officials, jealous of Daniel, want to smear Daniel’s reputation, but because of Daniel’s competence and integrity, they can’t find grounds for an accusation.

But while they have been scrutinizing his conduct, they can see that three times a day, like clockwork, Daniel goes to his upper room, opens the shutters to face Jerusalem and prays.

With this knowledge, they devise a scheme to entrap Daniel, setting up a collision between his duties to the king and his devotion to his God.

They go the the king, and stroking his ego, they get him to sign a declaration that anyone who prays to anyone or anything but him for the next month would be thrown into a den of hungry lions.

Once the king signs the declaration, he has to abide by it. I guess this is the ancient version of the rule of law.

You or I might just choose to avoid praying in a way that can be proven for a month, But, Daniel refuses to accommodate himself to this edict.

Daniel 6:10 NIV

10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel is loyal to Darius only to a point. When Darius commands something that is contrary to God’s law, he chooses God’s law.

So Daniel keeps praying, not even troubling himself to hide it, surely knowing what the consequences will be.

When they see Daniel praying, the officials go to the king and demand he carry out Daniel’s execution because he broke the edict, even though the King doesn’t want Daniel to die.

Daniel 6:13–17 NIV

13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. 15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.” 16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.

So prayer had put Daniel in the lions’ den, and I have no doubt his response to this turn of events would not be to abandon prayer.

Daniel kept praying. And God’s action in response to those prayers is what saved him.

Daniel 6:18–23 NIV

18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. 19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” 21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

So, Yes, this story shows how God is able to deliver.

And It shows how God is sovereign over the authorities of this world

But it also shows that prayer is something God’s people can’t afford to neglect.

More than reading the bible and attending worship services (important though those things may be) prayer is the most foundational practice of the Christian Faith.

More Important than Reading the Bible?

Because there is so much emphasis in the evangelical churches, for many Christians, the importance of prayer gets demoted to 2nd place.

Remember. When the church began, there was an Old Testament, but there was no New Testament. That was written in the decades that followed.

And the New Testament Canon wasn’t even formalized until 393 AD

Also remember that literacy was something for the elites, not the common folk

And for hundreds of years, the Bible wasn’t in languages that most Christians could read, so even those literate in their own language couldn’t access it.

And until the invention of the printing press, copies of the Bible were hand-copied, and so extremely expensive.

So for most of church history, having a copy of the Bible you could read for your quiet time each morning wasn’t a luxury they enjoyed.

Yet, despite limited access to the Bible, the church still discipled people, and the primary discipline by which this happened was by prayer.

What does Prayer Do?

We need to know what prayer does

If we don’t understand it, we won’t see its value and so we’ll have a hard time disciplining ourselves to do it.

Prayer Aligns Our Will With God’s

The first thing prayer does is to align our will with God.

Prayer is like pulling on a rope attached to God.

Pulling yourself ashore: I think of it like this. Imagine you’re on a lake in an inner tube. On shore is a massive rock with a rope tied around it. and that rope is floating on the water, extending out to where you are. You pick up the rope and pull. What happens? You don’t pull the rock towards you, you pull yourself towards the rock. When we pray we pull on God, but this often isn’t about brining him to our way of seeing things, but about moving us around to his way of seeing things.

Through prayer, God helps us to value what he values, so that we can identify how we can be a part of God’s work in the world.

We read about this kind of prayer in Matthew’s gospel

After a mission of teaching, preaching and healing, Jesus points out that the metaphorical fields are ready to harvest.

He instructs the disciples to pray for God to send out workers, so more of this mission can take palce

And then he immediately sends them out into the field as the workers they prayed for. (Mt.9:35-10:42)

When we pray for God to act, it opens us up to be the agents of the change we pray for.

So for example, we might pray, “Lord, please heal the political polarization in our country”

In praying this we must be open to deescalating political fights in which we might become embroiled.

Or If I pray, “Lord, please provide financial assistance for Aunt Dina whose out of work right now”

I must consider if God is asking me to assist her financially

The Spirit can call to mind the thing we prayed for and remind us that we need work towards the goals

By inviting God to act, we’re volunteering ourselves as his instruments. Let it begin with me.

In the case of Daniel, who spent his life working for empires that humiliated and oppressed his people, he would have needed prayer to align his will with God’s

That’s how he could find the love to seek the good of his enemies.

Prayer Centers Us on God

A second thing prayer accomplishes is that it centres us on God

In a world of busyness and hyper stimulation, prayer also helps us focus our attention on God.

Social media, the internet, television, families where both parents work. These all increase the intensity of life around us

We’re often so busy with the demands of modern life that we have no bandwidth to hear God.

In prayer we deliberately step away from all of those demands and all that stimulation to take time to attend to God’s presence.

In the stillness, we are able to connect to our doubts and anxieties and hand them over to God.

In the stillness, we can gain a sence of peace in our frenetic world.

In the stillness, we can sense the leading of the Spirit.

Sometimes in the stillness, we hear nothing, but it is a nothing shared with God.

Think of an old married couple who have been together for forty years ore more. While they speak, they are also comfortable sharing extended silences. They don’t need to speak for the time to be meaningful.

Prayer is the fuel for a life with God, and a life with his people.

In his positions of authority, Daniel would have no doubt been busy. In the midst of all his busyness, in order to be faithful, he felt the need to connect to God at least three times a day.

Prayer Invites God to Act In the World

A third thing prayer accomplishes is that in invites God to act in the world in places where we aren’t free to act

For example, I have no powers in myself to heal someone’s illness, but I’m invited to plead their case before God.

Praying for things that are in God’s hands is an act of faith: It demonstrates that we believe God is willing and able to help.

But if we’re honest, we might shy away from this kind of prayer if we have a fatalistic view of God’s sovereignty:

But you might ask, “If God is sovereign, doesn’t that mean that he’s going to do what he’s going to do regardless of whether I pray?” Not necessarily.

God’s sovereignty means he is justified and able to act how he pleases in the world.

But because desires to have relationships of mutual love, he gives us real authority

We can’t really say “yes” to him unless we are also free to say, “No”

Because God delegates some of his sovreignty to humanity, he often limits himself to acting in cooperation with human will.

He cooperates with us when we obey him and do his work in the world

We also cooperate with him when we invite him to act in the world in ways we’re not able to.

So for example, When I pray for God’s healing or peace, I am giving the authority God has given me back to God to do as he wills.

What Are the Stakes of Not Praying?

So we’ve looked at what prayer does, but in light of Daniel’s refusal to forgo prayer, we should also look at the stakes of not praying.

In other words, why is prayer so Important that Daniel would take such risks to do it?

God Might Not Act When He Is Inclined to Do So

First, Relating to the final point I made about what prayer does: If God works when he’s invited to work in the world, God also holds off from doing things he would otherwise do if we don’t ask.

Maybe God wants to bring healing to your neighbour, if only you would ask.

Maybe God would move your coworkers’ heart to be receptive to his grace if only you asked.

As James says, “You have not because you ask not”

While God doesn’t simply do everything we ask, there are things he would do, if only we had the boldness to ask.

There may be places where God is trying to open our eyes to needs around us, so that we can invite his grace to go to work.

When we don’t spend time in prayer, these opportunities may be squandered.

No doubt Daniel’s position made him aware of many needs around him, and it seems this was likely one of the reasons he saw prayer as so important.

We might Miss Out on Insight and Encouragement

a Second thing that is at stake when we don’t pray is that when we don’t, we miss out on insight and encouragement that God wants to give us.

Sometimes God requires us to walk by faith—without a clear sense of his presence with us.

But there are also important times when God wants us to feel that he’s close by.

In these times he gives us encouragement, correction or insights

If we are too busy for prayer, we miss out on these opportunities.

If we’re not listening, it’s going to seem like God is never speaking.

We see God’s encouragement in Daniel’s story in chapter 9, when Daniel asks why God hasn’t fulfilled his promise to fully restore Israel from exile according to the timeline Jeremiah set out.

The Angel reports that it won’t take 70 years, but 70 weeks of years for the plan to come to fulfillment and for God to decisively deal with Israel’s sin.

Without this insight, Daniel’s faith might buckle under the cognitive dissonance: Why aren’t you keeping your promises God?

While the news that this was going to take longer than anticipated was unwelcome, it also helped him remember that God was still in control, moving the story towards its proper conclusion.

We May Miss an Opportunity to Show God’s Compassion

a final thing that we risk when we don’t pray is that we miss an opportunity to show God’s compassion at work through us.

When people around us — other believers at church, or even non-believing neighbours, coworkers, friends and family—have troubles, taking time to pray gives us a way of showing we care.

Of course, believers know that prayer is a potentially powerful way to influence the outcome of a hard situation.

But even people who don’t believe can see we care when we take the time to pray for them.

In a culture that believes Christians’ only interests are in what is good for them, a small illustration of Christians’ selflessness can help reverse this malignant image of Christians.

If people believe Christians are just out for themselves, then faith isn’t seen to make a difference in people’s lives.

But if people of faith are seen as compassionate and selfless, this may draw in people who would be otherwise turned off by what they see on the news.

It’s true that prayer can sometimes be a cop-out when more concrete action is required. When we pray, we must be ready to respond with action.

but the necessity of that action, is also something that we grasp as we wrestle with God in prayer.

How Should We Pray?

I think we can see why prayer was so vital that Daniel would risk his life to do it.

Yet, for many of us, myself included, prayer can be hard.

In our busyness, we don’t feel we have the time

And when we settle down to pray, we are easily distracted

Or we try to hear from God, and when we hear nothing we’re quickly discouraged.

There are, unfortunately, no shortcuts to a robust prayer life. It requires discipline, but it is worth the effort.

Many people don’t pray because they don’t know what to say.

God gives us no points for style. Prayer isn’t a technical exercise, it’s a conversation.

We’re invited to speak to God, just like we would speak to a parent or a beloved friend.

It’s not the words we say, but the posture of our heart that is most important.

What kind of prayers ought we to pray?

While there are many types of prayer, here are some types of prayers we should practice regularly

The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that Jesus gives us, so it’s undoubtedly important.

It’s not a magical incantation that benefits us just because it passes our lips.

Instead, it calls our attention to the major themes of life with God.

Our primary goal, (let your kingdom come).

Our need for God’s provision, and the importance of sharing (give us today our daily bread).

Our need to receive and give mercy (forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us).

The importance of purity from sin (lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil).

As we pray the Lord’s prayer, we see an encapsulation of what it means to be God’s people.

Confession

A second way we should pray in in confession

This isn’t just saying ‘sorry’ for the things we know we did wrong.

This involves an examination of our hearts to take stock of the places where our desires aren’t for God’s kingdom to come on earth as in heaven.

and repentance from those wrong pursuits

Confession requires us to invite the Spirit to examine us, and to agree with its assessment.

Intercession

A third way we should pray is in intercession.

It’s easy for prayer to become a laundry list of things we want from God.

But we must remember we are called to be a kingdom of priests: we represent the world before God.

This means that we must bring the legitimate concerns of others to God.

So we should pray for things like peace, safety, reconciliation, healing

This isn’t just something we do on behalf of other Christians, but also on behalf of the world.

While it’s natural to ask God for the things we want, it’s easy to neglect the things others need. Let’s remember to be intercessors for them.

Supplication

Finally, we are invited to pray prayers of supplication, asking God for the things that we need.

Prayers of supplication acknowledge that God is the giver of every good gift.

Yet, we should ask knowing that God’s greatest desire is not our comfort or short-term happiness, but our transformation into Christlike people.

So let’s ask God for what we need, but also remember that God often wants us to have a greater treasure than the thing we ask for.

God is faithful to bless us, but the blessing he gives us is about forming Christ in us, not about indulging our desires that lead us away from Jesus.

When God says no, its because the things we would have him give to us lead us away from the blessings he longs for us to have.

So, no, God’s probably not going to give you the winning Super7 ticket because having millions of dollars is likely going to mean your treasure is in this world, rather than in heaven.

But as we pray for the things we need to be faithful disciples—wisdom, patience, humility, joy, love and so much more—God delights to give us good gifts.

Conclusion

Prayer is absolutely essential to the life of faith.

Daniel couldn’t simply do without for a month, even at the risk of his life.

How much more ought we to pray when to do so entails no risks?

Through prayer God

aligns our wills with his

Centres us on him

and partners with our wills to transform the world

In light of this let’s be faithful and diligent in prayer.