Daniel's Prayer

Introduction

If you have your Bibles, you can take them and open them to Daniel chapter 9. I want to begin this sermon a little different, because I typically have been starting with a review, but this morning, I want to start with a question. “How is your prayer life?”. Now when I ask this question, I’m not just asking this in a “Hey, are you getting your daily prayers in? You know, Morning prayer, prayer before you eat, prayer before bed etc”. No. I mean what is driving and motivating your prayer life. What is the content of your prayer and where are you pulling that content from? What is the desire of your prayers? These are all questions that I think get overlooked in the christian life, because for many Christians God becomes a genie in a lamp, you get three wishes, and you better use the third wish to ask for more wishes. Or your prayer life becomes like telephone calls to a cousin you haven’t seen in a while and you feel a little bad “Hey man, just wanted to check in on ya see how things were going, make sure you’re still around for the next time I need ya”. This morning, in Daniel chapter nine, I want our prayer lives to be challenged. Daniel is caught in the middle of being a captive in a nation that just changed leadership due to a war, this is not his home for he was taken away from his home. He has been receiving some very troubling visions, and we get a look into what is going on in Daniel’s prayer life, while all of this is going on around him, so if you will stand with me as we read Daniel 9:1-19.

Body

(1) A Prayer of Adoration

a. O Lord, the great and awesome God (v. 4)

b. Who keeps covenant and steadfast love (v. 4)

c. To you belongs righteousness (v. 7, 14)

d. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness (v.9)

Application:

Why are you praying to God? Is it because, that’s just who you pray to, or have you truly believed in what Daniel has seen about God.

I think another issue is that we spend so much time worried about ourselves in prayer, we never really take the time to stop and meditate on the one who we are praying to. If you notice, Daniel doesn’t spend 15 verses asking for a bunch of stuff, and then tack on a little “God is good, amen”. He spends 15 of the verses pointing out why God is worthy of adoration, and why Israel is deserving of his wrath, and then spends 16-19 simply asking God “let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem”.

(2) A Prayer of Intercession

a. He prays for Israel

b. He prays for their sin and rebellion

Application:

Prayer is what moves us forward as a church.

(3) A Prayer of Desperation

a. Let your anger and wrath turn

b. Hear, See, and Act for us

c. For your sake

Conclusion