As we had noted so far in our study of Daniel Chapter 2, Daniel prayed, trusted God, spoke with wisdom and tact, depended on his godly friends, and gave glory only to God!
God answered the prayers of Daniel and his friends. God told Daniel what the king’s dream was and the meaning! God did the impossible through prayer!
How’s our prayer life? Are we praying for each other?
What is God doing in our lives lately?
For most of us, God kept us safe from the blizzard a few days ago right? How many of you saw a car accident last week?? How many of you almost had a car accident last week??
If we really think about it, even if you’ve had an accident, God is watching over us and doing great things in our lives! Your presence here today is a good indication that you are responding to this good God.
May Daniel’s prayer enhance our worship of God today and help us with our prayer lives!
Open your Bible to Daniel Chapter 2…. Read along with me v20-23….
Before discussing the specifics of Daniel’s prayer, let’s answer the question, Why pray? God is an almighty God, He is all knowing, He knows the beginning and the end, He knows everything about us and what will happen to us, God can read our minds, why do we need to talk to Him? Why pray??
1. God instructs us to pray!
We would be sinning if we don’t talk to God. Remember the Full armor of God every Christian must put on; God describes six pieces to the armor, then Ephesians 6:18 states “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Our Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
That command from Jesus Christ gives us another reason to pray; our bodies are weak and so,
2. prayer gives us the help we need.
Prayer works and it gives us power! James 5:16 states, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
And James 5:16 gives us another hint about prayer; We become right with God as we confess our sins through prayer! No one can be right with God if they do not agree with God. The other reason for prayer is for us
3. to align ourselves with God’s will.
Jesus tells His disciples in John 14:13, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” And so, when we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, in other words, according to the will of God, God will answer the prayer.” I like the illustration of a safe deposit box which requires 2 keys to open: the box contains something good and for God’s glory. God has one of the keys and God gives the Believer of Christ the other key and prayer gets the 2 keys in the box to open it! God tells us in Ephesians that every Believer of Christ has every spiritual blessing from heaven! Christians have many safe deposit boxes in heaven waiting to be opened!
And of course, as stated in Daniel’s prayer, prayer is a way
4. to praise and give thanks to God for who God is and what He has done!
Let’s take a closer look at the prayer of Daniel.
What was Daniel praising God for specifically?
v20: God has wisdom and power!
v21a: God changes times and seasons!
If you don’t like the weather, don’t complain to the weatherman, talk to the weather manager!
v21b: God sets up kings and deposes them.
What’s going on Egypt today? God is setting up the Mid-East for the return of Christ!
v21c: God gives wisdom to the wise.
v21d: God gives knowledge to the discerning.
v22a: God reveals deep and hidden things.
v22b: God knows what lies in darkness.
No one and nothing can be hidden from God!
v22c: Light dwells with God. God is “Truth”!
Have you heard of any other God who can do all these things? If you’re going to pick a god, pick a good one! Nothing and no one can compare to the God of the Bible who is always good! God is good, all the time!
Are you a Believer of the God of the Bible? If you’re a Believer of this God of the Bible, then make all these things which Daniel spoke about real in your life! For you and me, the One and Only True God will give us wisdom and power, set up kings and deposes them for us, gives us knowledge, reveals deep and hidden things for us, will protect us from darkness, and give us light!
How often are we praising Him? Pause for praise……
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
In v23, Daniel gave thanks.
What did Daniel give thanks for?
v23a: God was a God to Daniel’s ancestors.
v23b: God gave wisdom and power.
v23c: God answered Daniel’s personal prayer.
v23d: God gave to Daniel’s group what they needed!
Let us take a few moments to think about down things we can be thankful for. In your bulletin, write down as much as you can, “I thank God for…….” Take time right now to thank God, then, I will pray for our celebration with communion.
