1. “God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food.”
• Amen. No Talking!
NOTE: that was the prayer my son learned at age 5 when he was in a Christian day care many years ago.
• At every meal, the kids in unison would say out loud: “God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen. No talking.”
AND AS A new believer I thought it was great. Hey Marie, we need to use that prayer at dinner time! So we tried it a few times.
• But something about it was lacking. It just didn’t do it for us.
• It was a great beginning, but prayer is more than simply repeating the same words & phrases over and over again.
Matthew 6.7-8 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
PRAYER. Just the word in Christian circles brings up great joy and great frustration.
• Joy to those of your prayer lives are strong.
• Frustration to those of you who are struggling with prayer.
1. Prayer is definitely A Difficult Discipline.
a. WE all know we COULD pray more.
b. WE all know we SHOULD pray more.
c. WE all know we WOULD pray more if we could gain a greater victory over the weakness of our flesh!
d. We all truly want a deeper, richer, stronger prayer life.
e. But it’s a difficult discipline.
f. Investment of time. Requires our effort.
Mark 14.38 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Prayer is a difficult discipline but it’s also…
2. Prayer, It’s ALSO A delightful discussion.
a. When we pray we are involved in the sweetest, most intimate discussion with the Creator of the universe.
b. He hears us, He answers us, He encourages us…
Robert Murray McCheyne once wrote, "What a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and nothing more."
3. A lot of people talk about prayer.
a. In fact 70% of Americans say they pray every week.
b. 57% say they pray every day.
c. Even MADONNA & BRITTNY SPEARS say they pray before every concert!
d. Even though that sounds very spiritual and very good, for some people, praying is an act of futility.
e. In order for prayer to be effective, there needs to be relationship, commitment, & submission.
f. There needs to be a connection between God & man.
Jeremiah 29.11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
NOTE: DANIEL is a great example of a prayerful believer!
• His life was bathed with and surrounded by prayer.
• Remember back in CH6, it was his prayer life that got him in trouble with Kind Darius silly law!
• His enemies couldn’t find anything evil in his life, so they took something good and called it evil!
Daniel 6.10-11 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. 11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
SO IT SHOULDN’T SURPRISE us to find Daniel praying as we open up CH 9. He’s reading & praying, searching & seeking!
I. (9:1-2) MOTIVATION: THE WORD.
1. (1-2) The Word Brings Excitement.
a. Daniel was serious student of the Word.
b. We meet a man who reads his Bible and prays.
c. These are 2 activitities that go hand in hand.
d. Here we find Daniel reading the prophet Jeremiah and it’s stirring him up!
e. Let’s look at Jeremiah 25:11-13… then Jeremiah 29.10-14
NOTE: Daniel read that and knew that they were at the end of the captivity. The time was up! He was an old man now.
• He had lived through it all and now he’s seeing the end!
• Daniel read that and his heart rejoiced! But it didn’t end there.
• From v3-19 we read his heartfelt prayer.
Jump to v20. Notice, the prayer of Daniel was EFFECTIVE.
• He received the answer even before he finished!
James 5.16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
• What made his prayer so effective? How does it happen?
I read of a couple who owned a very talkative parrot.
The only thing was, the parrot could only say, “Let’s kiss.”
So all day it would say, “Let’s Kiss. Let’s Kiss.”
They found out that their pastor also owned a parrot.
All the pastor’s parrot could say was, “Let’s pray. Let’s pray.”
So they decided that maybe it would be a good idea to get these 2 birds together in the same cage and let them talk with one another.
Maybe they could learn some new words. So they got together.
And true to form, the couple’s parrot said, “Let’s kiss.”
To which the preacher’s parrot said, “My prayers have been answered!”
• Effective prayer. Let’s read through it. (v3-19)
#1 – EFFECTIVE Prayer initiates with SERIOUS WORSHIP.
1. (3) I set my face.
a. His prayer was directed toward God.
b. I know that sounds & seems obvious, but true prayer is directed toward God.
c. There are a lot of prayers out there that are offered that have little or no concern with God.
Luke 18.11-12 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ’God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 ’I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
Notice again v4, “O Great & Awesome God!...”
V7 – “O Lord, righteousness belongs to you…”
V14, “The Lord God is righteous in all the works He does…”
V15 – “O, Lord God who brought out your people…”
• These would all be wonderful verses in a worship song!
• Extolling the virtues of God and His awesome presence!
NOTE: That’s why we begin every service with singing unto God!
• It’s our response to who God is and how we love Him so!
• The time of worship is NOT to make you feel good, it’s not designed to give us warm & tingling feelings.
• “Oh, I didn’t like that song today. It didn’t move me.”
• WELL, it wasn’t for you, it was for Him! Changes everything!
TOO OFTEN our worship & adoration of God is cheapened when we make it a time for US and not for Him!
• As if we were on stage. Worship is directed toward God!
• Yes, there is great joy, peace, and wonder in worship.
• But as we begin the service in that opening prayer, we are declaring that God is on stage and He’s to be praised.
• That’s Daniels heart in this prayer.
#1 – EFFECTIVE Prayer initiates with SERIOUS WORSHIP.
#2 – EFFECTIVE Prayer includes SINCERE CONFESSION.
1. (5-15) We have sinned.
a. Years ago I took my pen out and began to circle all the “WE”, “US”, and “OUR” in his prayer.
b. I came up with at least 40 times in this prayer by Daniel.
c. This is remarkable since Daniel is one of the few men in the Bible that nothing bad is written about him.
d. We read of no sins, no mistakes, no stumblings, nothing.
e. Not that he didn’t have any, he did. But none recorded!
f. But the condition of Daniel’s prayer is that he includes his own heart with those who have rebelled!
WAIT DANIEL: They made the mistake not you! They are the ones, not you. It’s not your fault. You’re not responsible.
• Hey… doesn’t that sound a lot like the victim mentality of the world.? NOT MY FAULT. It’s his fault. How I was raised, etc.
• Don’t fall into that trap.
NOTE: I think a lot of us don’t like to pray that way.
• We like to excuse ourselves from so much.
AS D.L. MOODY said, “excuses are the cradle that Satan rocks men off to sleep in!”
• But Daniel was mature here as he was willing to say he was sorry, including himself with those whom he loved!
• It’s us Lord! We did it. Forgive us! Forgive me!
• Notice the words he uses too…
• V5, sinned, iniquity, wickedly, rebelled, departed
• V8, shame of face, v10 not obeyed, v11 transgressed
NOTE: He doesn’t say, ‘character flaws, our co-dependent situation, our little boo-boos’ No, he uses words reflective of the truth!
• His confession was sincere and so on target!
• Calling sin, sin is not hopeless.
• Just the opposite. When we see it as sin, there’s help!
Psalm 130.1-4 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD; 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. 3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
#1 – EFFECTIVE Prayer initiates with SERIOUS WORSHIP.
#2 – EFFECTIVE Prayer includes SINCERE CONFESSION.
#3 – EFFECTIVE Prayer involves SERIOUS INTERCESSION
1. (16-19) Help us O Lord!
a. The Word, Jeremiah’s writings, prompted Daniel to pray as he sees the captivity is coming to a close.
b. He begins to pray for Jerusalem… Let your anger be turned.
c. This prayer of his is not for him, but for his people.
d. That’s what intercession is, ‘asking on behalf of another’.
APP: That’s where prayer becomes difficult.
• I really don’t’ have much of a problem praying for myself.
• I know my needs. I live with me!
• I can pray, “forgive me Lord! Help me! Bless me.”
• But Jesus taught his disciples to pray…
Luke 11.4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."
YET IT’S in intercession where love flows from Him through us!
• We pray for those who hurt us. We pray for those who used us.
• We pray for those who don’t care, who don’t want to care.
• We pray for our family, friends, neighbors, enemies.
APP: And as we pray, our hearts are drawn toward those people.
• And this is a key, a secret in prayer. It stirs up love in us!
John 13.35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
NOTE: It becomes very difficult to dislike, to disdain a person you’re praying for because you know God loves them.
• Oh, without prayer: I can’t stand them. I don’t like you… OUCH.
• But in prayer, “Lord help them. Forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing!”
• And our hearts are broken, just like our Father’s and we’re softened toward them wanting now to help not harm.
• Try it guys. It’s the key to erasing bitterness… intercession.
• It’s the key in rebuilding relationships… intercession.
• It’s the key to unleashing love… intercession.
• But I can’t Pastor Ed, I just can’t. Yes you can guys…
Phil 4.13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I’m often asked, DOES PRAYER REALLY CHANGE THINGS? YES.
• Prayer, really, when you look closely, changes you.
• Prayer isn’t primarily MOVING the hand of God as much as it is for us as His children to HOLD the hand of God!
• That’s Daniel right here… He’s in a place where he’s saying, “I want to get in harmony with you Father.”
• I’m confessing OUR sins. I realize we’re captive because of our rebellion… Now Lord, remember us!
• He’s not demanding or ordering God around, just pleading!
• He wants to be in a place where God can lead Him, guide him, use him, and bless him.
IS THAT YOUR HEART? IS THAT OUR HEART CALVARY CHAPEL?
• Oh Lord change this. We want that changed too.
• And God responds, first your heart must change. Prayer does it.
#1 – EFFECTIVE Prayer initiates with SERIOUS WORSHIP.
#2 – EFFECTIVE Prayer includes SINCERE CONFESSION.
#3 – EFFECTIVE Prayer involves SERIOUS INTERCESSION
#4 – EFFECTIVE Prayer instills SOLID CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
• Yes, we leave prayer confident in the hand of God & His will!
1 John 5.14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
EFFECTIVE Prayer LEADS TO CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S WILL.
NOTE: I believe God is looking for those people, those businesses, those kids will approach Him not based on what they have done.
• But rather based on who He is, based on His mercy!
• Don’t think you have to give God a reason to bless you.
• Just approach him on the basis of His mercy.
When you pray, you may hear the enemy whispering in your ear:
• “Who are you? How can you pray with that heart? What are you doing now? You think God will hear or even answer you?”
• Satan will try to quench the prayers you offer up.
• But see, the truth is we pray, because of His mercy!
• It’s His goodness, His greatness, His faithfulness, that fuel and stoke the flames of our prayer life.
IT’S TRUE: We’re dust. We’re vapors. We’re inconsistent, unstable, wishy washy, even at our highest spiritual strength.
• But God… He’s awesome and faithful and full of grace & truth.
• SO we come not for who we are, but for who He is!
EFFECTIVE Prayer… what does it look like?
#1 – EFFECTIVE Prayer initiates with SERIOUS WORSHIP.
#2 – EFFECTIVE Prayer includes SINCERE CONFESSION.
#3 – EFFECTIVE Prayer involves SERIOUS INTERCESSION
#4 – EFFECTIVE Prayer instills a SOLID CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
