Text: Daniel 9:1-3, Title: Intense Prayer 101 (Pink Elephants), Date/Place: NRBC, 4/18/10, AM
A. Opening illustration: tell about a pastor’s email for prayer, “You know how sometimes you ask someone to pray and they say they will, but never really do? If you are one of the ones on this list I know that you will NOT be like those…” “No man is greater than his prayer life…Poverty–stricken as the church is today in many things, she is most stricken here, in the place of PRAYER. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few PRAYERS, many singers, few clingers; many pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere. The ministry of preaching is open to few, the ministry of PRAYER- the highest ministry of all human offices is open to all." -Ravenhill
B. Background to passage: There are about 12 years that separate ch. 9 from ch. 8. However Daniel puts them side by side for a theological point: the distress caused by the knowledge of the coming suffering (remind of the content of Daniel 9), combined with the study of God’s word, produce an urgency of serious, intense, earnest prayer. And this resulted in deliverance. If we are to see any revival in our nation, growth in our church, power in our lives, victory over sin, advance of the kingdom, hearts of the children turned toward their parents, the gospel taken to the nations, missionaries called from the church, lost people saved, etc, we must turn ourselves to intense prayer. In Acts we saw the shaking of the walls and the opening of prison doors by prayer, and the turning upside down of the world.
C. Main thought: We have some of the greatest opportunity to do and see all these things, but our true laborers in prayer are few. Now is a critical time in our church, in our world, and we can no longer afford to be casual in our efforts in prayer. Daniel’s prayer is an encouragement, a challenge, and a model for us of intensity in our prayer. Today we will look at the genesis and the preparatory actions to this prayer.
A. Intense Information (v. 2)
1. Surely Daniel was in systematic and regular reading of the Hebrew Scriptures that had been gathered to this point (which by the way must have been pretty up to date, since Jeremiah had been taken into captivity along with Daniel). But the word used here is to “discern.” Daniel was doing study of the bible, not devotional reading. Daniel wanted to know and understand God, not just simply check off his “good Christian” list. Daniel knew that his mind needed to be renewed. The passages Daniel is referring to are from chs. 25 and 29 of Jer. Both of them predicting the captivity, repentance, deliverance of Israel in a 70 year time frame.
2. Rom 7:23, 8:7, 12:2, 1 Cor 2:14, 1 Pet 1:13, 4:1,
3. Illustration:, Piper about reading the Word.
4. When was the last good bible study that you did? When was the last time you sat down and hashed out a passage or topic from the scriptures? In order to pray with understanding and knowledge we must get into the word. Those of you in it, but allow it to guide your thoughts and prayers. We must realize the corruption of our mind from remnant sin, and from the world. Sin enslaves and taints everything that we do. “There is enough sin in my best prayers to damn the whole world.” –Bunyan. If you are here, and lost, know that your sin separates you from God, and God must punish it. Before anyone can be saved, and before anyone can pray, you must know and acknowledge that you are a sinner with a depraved mind, and desperately need transformation. The influence of the world upon us in subtle, but corrupting. It causes us to think differently in non-biblical fashions. Entertainment, advertisements, material things, social structures, education, finances, medicines, etc. It influences our attitudes and conditions us even to listen less. Therefore, if you want to know Christ, and intensify your desire to pray, study and understand the Word of God. Our thoughts and worldview should be conditioned by the Word. Also note that Daniel understood that God had said that something would happen, so why pray? In light of the theme of Daniel, we need a lesson in practical theology, Daniel understands that God ordains the ends and the means. Seeing the promises of God compels us to pray rather than the opposite.
B. Intense Introspection (v. 3)
1. This may be the most important part of Daniel’s preparation. He says that he sets his face toward the Lord. Some translations are: turned my face, turned my attention, gave my attention to God. The word means literally to give one’s face. It means that Daniel made an attempt here to orient his soul Godward. He was trying to discern the true desires of his own heart, and turn his entire being toward God. Maybe he was concerned about deliverance, or lack of it. Maybe about the coming suffering; for as a man, he surely had his fears and impure motives (even though Daniel is one of the few bible people that we have lots of info on, but nothing about his failures). As he faced God, he had the Isaiah experience, realizing his uncleanness. He began to search his heart and soul to see if there were any desires that were not of God. He desired to enter and have the Lord’s presence. He wanted to be heard; therefore he wanted into the throne room, the face of God.
2. 1 Chron 28:9, Ps 26:2, Ex 33:15, 1 John 2:15, 2 Tim 2:4,
3. Illustration: “and this denotes the intenseness of his spirit in prayer; the fixedness of his heart; the ardor of his mind; the fervency of his soul; his holy confidence in God; the freedom and boldness he used in prayer, and his constancy and continuance in it; which is a principal means, and a proper manner of seeking God.” -Gill, John R. W. Stott once admitted the truth that many of us have felt but failed to confess: "The thing I know will give me the deepest joy -- namely, to be alone and unhurried in the presence of God, aware of His presence, my heart open to worship Him -- is often the thing I least want to do." "A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God." –Ravenhill,
4. Prerequisite to the face of God: Christ! He is the One who has been from eternity past face to face with God. And you and I (and Daniel) would be obliterated by the holiness of God were it not for grace and the covering of Christ upon us. He is the only mediator and the only propitiation. There is “our part/God’s part” in inclination. The psalmist prays that God will incline his heart. And we are commanded to incline our own hearts (again, this can only be accomplished by faith by grace. This is not about sins that one does. It is about whether or not your desires are for Christ. Do you desire, long for, think about, dwell upon the things of God? This is one of the best indicators of genuine faith. What are your goals and priorities, and most important things in your life? Beg the Lord in His mercy to change your desires. Ask God to search and try your heart, your motivations, your bent, your direction. You may not like what He sees. Pursue Him, long for Him, love Him, and turn your whole being to Him.
C. Intense Imprisonment (v. 3)
1. In order to strengthen his prayer, by faith Daniel imprisoned food and sin. He did not eat, and he repented from sin. This was usual on extraordinary occasions, in times of public mourning (the idea was for the outside to be likened unto the inside of a man); and this he did, to show his sense of the divine Being, and of his own unworthiness to ask or receive anything of him; his great humiliation for the sins of the people; and to distinguish this prayer of his from ordinary ones, and to affect his own heart in it, with the sad condition his nation, city, and temple were in. This was a show of grief, sorrow, contrition, and mourning over sin. You will see over the next two weeks the disproportionate amount of time spent in this prayer repenting. Jeremiah prophesied it, God fulfilled it beginning in Daniel.
2. 2 Cor 7:1, Heb 12:1, Rom 2:4, 13:11-12, Luke 21:34, Jer 29:10-14, 1 Kings 8:47-52
3. Illustration: “God seeks for a man to “stand in the gap.” We want to be clothed upon with power; God wants to strip us. We want power; He wants to expose our weakness. We want large bonuses for small investments of prayer. We want to sow radish seeds but reap a forest of redwoods.” –Ravenhill,
4. Be reminded that as with all spiritual disciplines, they are not done as ends in themselves (else they become unprofitable works of the flesh), but for godliness and BY FAITH. These are not good deeds to merit anything, they are an expression of dependence on One who forgives sin, and upon the One who gives life! Christ suffered the wrath due us! His goodness leads to repentance. One of the purposes for fasting is to strengthen prayer. Another is to express repentance. Denying our bodies food or other things for which it desires helps to focus the mind, and realize our idols, confess sin, and repent. Like Daniel, we all need to fast and repent. Some for the first time, some again. Some for big sins, some for all sins, some for “little” sins. In the Christian faith, it is good to admit wrong, forgiveness lies there, when there is trust in the One who paid the penalty of that sin.
A. Closing illustration: "In the summer of 1876, grasshoppers nearly destroyed the crops in Minnesota. SO in the spring of 1877, farmers were worried. They believed that the dreadful plague would once again visit them and again destroy the rich wheat crop, bringing ruin to thousands of people.
The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting He urged every man, woman and child to ask God to prevent the terrible scourge. On that April day all schools, shops, stores and offices were closed. There was a reverent, quite hush over all the state.
The next day dawned bright and clear. Temperature soared to what they ordinary were in midsummer, which was very unusual for April. Minnesotans were devastated as they discovered billions of grasshopper larvae wiggling to life. For 3 days the unusual heat persisted, and the larvae hatched. It appeared that it wouldn’t be long before they started feeding and destroying the wheat crop.
On the fourth day, however the temperature suddenly dropped, and that night frost, covered the entire state. Result - it killed every one of those creeping, crawling pests as surely as if poison or fire had been used, It went down in the history of Minnesota as the day God answered the prayers of the people."
B. Recap
C. This is to be a regular preparation for us, but I also hope that this is the beginning of a new and fresh season of prayer at NRBC. I pray that our hearts will be broken and burdened, our eyes would be opened to the need; our soul’s would be mindful of the goodness of Christ toward us compelling us to obedience, our desires would be for the Lord, and our passions would be inflamed to seek the Lord on behalf of those among our church.
1 Kings 8:47-52 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness'; 48and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: 49then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, 50and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51(for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace), 52that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.
