Praying with Daniel

Scripture Reading

READ Daniel 9:1-23

Daniel, One of the Bible’s Greatest Examples of Prayer

We’re in the middle of a series I’m calling ‘Training for Godliness’

If we’re going to deal with the challenges of 2021, we need to be equipped with the necessary tools for standing against the enemy. Against Satan, Sin, and Death.

If you were to open your Bibles to Ephesians 6, you’d discover a well-known passage that describes ‘the armor of God.’

Breastplate of Righteousness

Helmet of Salvation

Belt of Truth

Gospel-Ready Feet

Sword of the Word

Paul says these are things we need to face this world… But one part of this passage that often gets left out is one of the most important parts. It’s how we put the armor on...

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit...” - Ephesians 6:18

Prayer

Scripture Motivates & Steers Our Prayers

Daniel 9:1-2

Seventy years before Daniel, Jeremiah wrote a prophecy about God’s people and their exile.

“This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” - Jeremiah 25:11

And Daniel’s STUDYING God’s Word...

He’s not just reading but asking the questions we talked about last week.

Who wrote this? When did he write it? What did he write?

And it is the STUDY of God’s word that motivates Daniel’s prayer.

Notice, he says that he observed the number of years and then he says, “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer...”

Daniel’s reading and studying of scripture is the direct cause of this prayer we read...

And this is very often the way it is with us...

I’d venture to say that if our study of the Bible is lacking, our prayer life will be too.

But if we are reading God’s word, we’ll be more likely to want to pray - and know how.

This week, as I watched the division within our country and the church, I read Ephesians 3 and John 17. And hearing Christ’s heart and desire for the church to be united made me want to pray for the same.

It’s a motivating factor… if you don’t ever study God’s word to hear his voice, you likely won’t care about praying.

This is because prayer also steers our prayers in very specific directions...

If you’ll read Daniel’s prayer, you’ll see that it is shaped by prayers - it recounts Israel’s history as Daniel learned it in God’s word.

But it also relies on the promise God made to Jeremiah 70 years before. Daniel is praying for God to deliver Israel because that’s what God promised.

In other words, the word of God shaped Daniel’s priority in prayer...

And as we STUDY God’s Word, we will begin to have God’s priorities...

We’ll hear him say that he desires all people to come to a knowledge of him - and we’ll begin praying for those who don’t know him.

We’ll hear him say “the fields are ready for harvest” and we’ll begin praying that he send more workers into those fields.

Etc.

If you ever wonder what to pray for… if you ever feel unmotivated to pray… you should START with STUDY.

But that’s not the only thing Daniel teaches us...

Prayer Requires Focus

“So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes...”

Two phrases here indicate that Daniel was focused on getting a word to God and on hearing from God...

“I gave my attention to the Lord God...”

“To seek him...”

Daniel wasn’t multitasking here… he was so motivated by the Word of God that he HAD to hear from God.

How often do we try to build a prayer life on multi-tasking prayer?

Good for developing a sense of God’s awareness.

But not so great for really connecting with God and being heard or hearing...

We can’t multitask. And our attention is inevitably led this way and that. Average attention span is less than a goldfish(9 seconds) - at 8 seconds.

This is part of the reason sustained prayer is so difficult for us… so the last thing we need is to only do multi-tasking prayers.

This is why we should recognize the power of involving our whole selves in prayer...

Daniel fasted, put on sackcloth and ashes… in Daniel 10, a vision during prayer leads him to fall on his face...

This is why we close our eyes during prayer...

And kneel...

And lift our hands...

These things help us to FOCUS on God, on the need, and on hearing an answer.

Think about it… how many times have you tried to listen to someone while doing something else? Heather has learned that if I’m reading something, I may say, “Uh-huh” but I am not listening.

The same is true in the life of prayer… we will miss God’s voice if we don’t focus.

The best thing we can do is to begin training… 5 minutes… then 10 minutes… then 15 minutes...

But what else does Daniel teach us about prayer?

Prayer Recognizes Our Frailty & Neediness

If you read Daniel’s prayer, you’ll see a clear recognition of Israel’s sinfulness, frailty, and neediness...

Confession of sins.

Inability to get themselves out of this situation

This recognition leads us to an utter reliance on God - otherwise we think we can handle it.

Rich once told me that he would do it on his own.

Prayer Puts it All in God’s Hands

“O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people are called by your name.” - Daniel 9:19

Trusting God to hear, to forgive, and to act.

Ultimately, this is what we must do - one of the most vital things about prayer is not that it gets us what WE want but that it reminds us of whose we are and whom we rely on.

Daniel knew that he couldn’t fulfill God’s prophecy - he had to rely on God to act.

The same is true of us - when we realize our frailty, we recognize that only God can rescue us...

So prayer changes us as much as it results in us getting something...

Zinzendorf and the Moravian prayer meetings

Nicholas von Zinzendorf born into a wealthy German noble family

When he was just six, he would write letters to Jesus, climb to the top of his family’s castle and scatter them.

He grew in a hunger for the WORD and PRAYER

At 22, Moravians showed up at his house looking for sanctuary - he let them start a community on his lands called Herrnhut.

Five years later - Deeply divided - The disgruntled community at Herrnhut early in 1727 was deeply divided and critical of one another. Heated controversies threatened to disrupt the community. The majority was from the ancient Moravian Church of the Brethren. Other believers attracted to Herrnhut included Lutherans, Reformed, and Baptists. They argued about predestination, holiness, and baptism.

Zinzendorf began praying and reading - came up with an agreement for all of them to live piously and in love. They began confessing their sins like Daniel.

Revival resulted - from Zinzendorf: “The Holy Ghost came upon us and in those days great signs and wonders took place in our midst. From that time scarcely a day passed but what we beheld His almighty workings amongst us. A great hunger after the Word of God took possession of us so that we had to have three services every day, viz. 5.0 and 7.30 a.m. and 9.0 p.m. Every one desired above everything else that the Holy Spirit might have full control.”

Studying Leviticus: ““The sacred fire was never permitted to go out on the altar (Leviticus 6:13)”

This led them to a round-the-clock prayer meeting that lasted 100 years...

100 missionaries were sent out from that community...

West Indes Slaves

Around the world