Passionate Prayer

Technology can be an amazing instrument when we need help. I needed to install a new cabin filter in my car and I wanted to make sure I did it correctly. So, I searched YouTube and it gave me step by step instructions of how to do it.

Through the internet, we have pretty much a direct line to instructions on how to do just about anything. Even though AI (artificial intelligence) has raised many concerns, it, too, can be a very useful tool if used correctly. But imagine having all of this information close at hand and never using it.

But do you realize that through prayer, we have access to resources far more powerful than the internet. Yet, we choose instead to trust our wisdom and our ability. God is telling us today that prayer isn't just an avenue by which we accept Divine resources - prayer really does make a difference.

So how seriously do you take prayer? Do you think of prayer as just something you do each day? Or do you think of prayer as an effective tool for getting things done? Today we're going to continue in the Book of Daniel and see how he prayed passionately and accomplished great things for God. Prayer

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In the second chapter of Daniel, we find that King Nebuchadnezzar had a distressing dream and was looking for someone to interpret that dream for him. He put all the wise men to a test. Not only did he want them to interpret the dream, but he also wanted them to tell him what the dream originally was. That way he could be sure they weren't making things up just to appease him. They failed.

Daniel 2:13 – “The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.”

That was a very scary time for the wise men. It wasn't enough just to try to interpret the king's dream, but the king would not share what his dream was and wanted the wise men to tell him that as well. That was a very difficult task. These advisors to the king certainly couldn't be expected to read the king's mind and know the dream itself. It was an impossible task. Or was it?

This was, without a doubt, an issue of life and death. Since these wise men could not produce the answer that the king wanted, in anger, he ordered all of them to be executed. Daniel was considered to be one of these advisors. Daniel needed something that was impossible for him to do on his own. He had no control, no talent to draw from, and no natural abilities to use.

But the same is true for us. It's almost ironic how much time we spend trying to have some sort of control over our lives. We wear our seat belts. We buy insurance policies. We make good diet and exercise decisions. We save for retirement. And yet, while these are all responsible and good decisions to make, in the end they only provide the illusion of us having control over our lives. Despite our best efforts, we're always on the brink of a crisis that's out of our control.

Basically, when we look at our lives, we're always in need. We make ourselves think that we are secure based on the things that we have done. There's never a moment in life when we don't need God's grace and power. The only question is how aware are we of our need for God's help? One of the ways that we begin to have a passion for prayer is by reminding ourselves that regardless of how comfortable our present situation might be, we still need God.

As we move along in our story this morning, we will see that Daniel felt his need in that particular moment. His life was now at stake. But for Daniel, it didn't take that particular moment for him to become a man of prayer. Daniel had always depended upon prayer. He knew how much he needed God. God may be wanting you to realize right now your need for Him and how much you need to trust Him and come to Him in prayer.

Daniel 2:14-18 – “Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15 He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.

(You see, Daniel hadn’t even been a part of this interpretation task yet)