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

The Most Dangerous Prayer.

Is today’s “Sinner’s Prayer” the equivalent of the outward sign of circumcision for the Jews?

Romans 2:17-29 “¹⁷But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸and know His will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²²You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”

While today’s passage is specifically directed to the Jews; it fits well with a lot of things that are present with the modern-day believer. Paul spends a considerable amount of time in these verses talking about circumcision. To the Jew, circumcision was the outward sign of the covenant between God and the Nation of Israel. Jews saw circumcision as a guarantee of God’s favor on them, whether they lived a life that was pleasing to Him or not. It takes very little time in reading through Jewish history, to see the God’s favor was not guaranteed by the outward sign of circumcision. Paul is quick to point out that God’s favor rests not on the Jews were physically circumcised, but on the Jew, who had “circumcision of the heart.” This type of statement should not surprise anyone. God has never been enthralled with what enthralls man. Need proof? Look at God’s conversation with Samuel in 1 Samuel 16. Samuel was at the home of Jesse, looking to anoint the next king of Israel. When Jesse’s oldest son Eliab stood before Samuel, he was certain Eliab was the one. Physically, he fit the prototypical king. Yet God said to Samuel “⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees, man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

For the Jew, it was the outward sign of circumcision, for today’s church, I wonder if the outward sign isn’t the Sinner’s Prayer? We put so much weight into this prayer as if it were a guarantee of God’s favor, even if the life of the one who prayed the prayer remained unchanged. Could it be too many in the church today or trusting in Jesus as their Savior, but turning their backs on Him as their Lord? If so, how does this mess with what Paul writes in Romans 10:9 & 10? “⁹because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

What are your thoughts?