Portrait of a Powerful Prayer

 

Portrait of Powerful Prayer Daniel 9:1-19

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Daniel paints a compelling portrait of a prayer that has “great power” (James 5:16).

 As I read through the prayer, there are at least 6 things that stand out to me, 6 things that are regularly seen in powerful prayer.

1. Rooted in Scripture: To begin with we see his prayer is rooted in the never changing truths of God’s Word “according to the Word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet” (Vs. 2). Additionally, we see God’s Word referenced in Vss. 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, & 13. 

2. Resigned before the Lord: “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” (Vs. 3) All these things listed in verse 3 give evidence of Daniel approaching God with a heart of deep humility. 

3. Replete with Adoration: Throughout the entirety this prayer, he brings praise and adoration to the Lord; “O Lord the great an awesome God” (Vs. 4); “To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness” (Vs. 7; “To You, O Lord, belong mercy and forgiveness” (Vs. 9) “… for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that He has done” (Vs. 14)          

4. Recalls God‘s Goodness and Power: “Who keeps covenant and steadfast love” (Vs. 3); “He has confirmed His Word” (Vs. 12);  “…the Lord our God is righteous in all the work that He has done” (vs. 14); “And now, O Lord our God, Who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty Hand” (Vs. 15); Additionally in these verses we see that He is a God of mercy, a God Who hears, and a God Who forgives.

5. Repents and Confesses: “… we have sinned and done wrong” (Vs. 5); “We have not listened to Your servants” (Vs. 6); “…because of the treachery... committed against You” (Vs. 7); “… we have sinned against You” (Vs. 11); “… we have sinned, we have done wickedly” (Vs. 15). 

6. Relishes in God's Glory: Continually seeks to bring glory, not to the ones confessing and repenting but to the Name of the Lord. “O Lord, according to all Your righteous acts” (Vs. 16); “Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant... for Your Own sake, O Lord” (Vs. 17); “… and the city that is called by Your Name” (Vs. 18); “Delay not, for Your Own Sake, O my God, because Your city and Your people are called by Your Name”  (Vs. 19).

Interestingly enough, while this isn't the case for all powerful prayers, in this instance, we see in verses 20-23 that even before Daniel said "Amen", God was already providing a visible answer to the prayer.

Moving From The Natural to The Unnatural-Developing a Healthy Spiritual Appetite

 

“Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, Let your soul delight in abundance.” Isaiah 55: 2

• The natural appetite of my heart 

  • The natural tendencies of my soul 

  • The natural yearnings of my spirit 

 

All put me on the path of the worldly table, and a cuisine that ultimately does not satisfy. In Isaiah 55: 2, the prophet is calling me to do that which is not natural. However, while at the outset it may not be natural, the more this becomes the pattern of my life, the more natural it becomes. 

Towards the end of my second year of college basketball, I was upset at how little I made it off of the bench and onto the court. When I approached my coach, he challenged me to work hard on going against my natural tendency to the right hand, and instead spend time working on my left hand. That summer I worked almost exclusively on shooting with my left, as a result, the last two seasons I started almost every game.

What works in the physical, also works in the spiritual. The more we develop spiritual habits that draw us closer to the incredible spiritual feast our God has laid before us, the more natural the unnatural becomes to us. Our gracious God has laid before us an incredible feast, the choicest of spiritual foods, yet far too often when we turn from his table to the leaks and onions of Egypt.

Here are 2 books that have been instrumental in my development of Spiritual Habits, I recommend these for anyone interested in feasting on the incredible spiritual feast God has prepared for us.

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney

Disciplines of A Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes