Title: Daniel’s Pattern For Prayer
Text: Daniel 9-10
Pray!!!
Introduction:
- Many of us have been taught to pray our entire lives. We have heard other people pray and I am sure we have heard countless messages concerning the topic.
- Many of us have been taught to pray our entire lives. It develops our personal relationship with Him.
- But the most important reason I believe is that praylessness is sin. I Samuel 12 says, “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.”
- When we don’t pray as Christians, we are weak. Listen to this story:
Deep in the Costa Rican jungle lives the small tomato frog. Red in color like a tomato, he has a unique defense against predators. Once he’s attacked, he emits a deadly, milky white poison all over his skin. As the attacking animal bites into a tomato frog, it tastes the poison and spits the frog out of its mouth.Unfortunately, by the time the predator spits out the frog, the traumatized amphibian dies anyway.
- We are like the frog, we wait to pray and employ our spiritual defenses or offences until after satan has already attacked and caused damage in our lives.
- Daniel prayed in the late stages of Israel’s defeat.
- But never the less God stilled answered Daniel’s prayer, and will answer ours as well. No matter how far we have traveled down the enemies road, God can still reach us and deliver us, as we will see in our text.
Transition:
- Daniel 9 shows us the prayer that he prayed to God while in captivity.
- It was a powerful prayer, and we learn many insights as to how he prayed to God and what happens when we take time out our busy schedules to pray.
- How did Daniel pray? What is Daniel’s pattern for prayer?
- I have 4 points that Daniel implemented into his prayer life that we need to have in ours as well. Lets look at them together this morning:
Point 1: Confess The Truth Of God
Dan 9:9 says, “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him”
- When we sin confess truth about God.
- People with low self worth or image of themselves, need to confess truth about who God is. What is God like?
- What is God like when we blow it, or when we sin? He is merciful and forgiving.
- We need to confess those truths to God and to ourselves when we pray.
- Many truths that we could confess when we pray:
- God is loving, forgiving, patient, long suffering, merciful, compassionate, just, righteous, Holy, ever present one, provider, protector, all knowing, all powerful, a God who is for me and not against me as a Christian.
- We need to confess those truths about God when we pray back to God and to us.
Point 2: Live The Truth Of God
Dan 9:13 says, “Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.”
- Not only are we to confess God’s character, like mercy and forgiveness, we must now seek those character traits for our lives, in our hour of need.
- When we sin to we seek out the Lord? Not all the time we go into hiding like Adam and Eve because we are afraid.
- When we no who God is we will then start living the truth about God in our lives.
- When we seek God’s mercy and forgiveness we do so by changing our habits and ways, believing in faith that God has forgiving us.
- Now there are reasons today people don’t seek Mercy and Forgiveness or any other character trait of God. I have 3 reasons:
a. Pride
b. Self-worth - Feel we don’t deserve it.
C. We look to others - I didn’t do that, or it doesn’t concern me. I didn’t blow the way that person blew it.
- Daniel numbered himself with the nation of Israel, when he prayed to the Lord. (Vs 20)
- Other examples to consider: Deut 21:1-9; II Sam 21:1-14. God never changes we must do the same at times.
Point 3: Understand The Truth Of God
Dan 9:21-23 says, “while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision.”
- God acts the moment we pray.
- It may not be the answer we are looking for, and the prayers might not be answered in your life time, but they are heard and acted upon.
- The tragedy of our day is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.
- Prayer will either make a man stop sinning or sin will make a man stop praying.
- Daniel’s prayer still has not been fully answered, partly but not completely, but Daniel stilled prayed and believed God for the impossible.
- How do I know Daniel’s prayer is still not answered?
- Daniel’s prayer consisted of:
a. Repentance - not for himself but for the whole nation
b. Confession - not for himself but for the whole nation
c. Praises - not for himself but for the whole nation
d. Petitions - not for himself but for the whole nation
- Understand this morning that God acts when we pray with sincere motives, not selfish motives, but humble motives.
Point 4: Recognize The Power Of God
Dan 10:7-14
- God hears our prayers
- The key to answered prayer is ask for wisdom, because we don’t have the answers, but God has all the knowledge and wisdom. Followed by humbling yourself before God.
- Wisdom for the situation in churches, in our families and circumstances.
- We also need to humble ourselves, by seeking God and following His direction on the situation.
- But we will never hear God’s direction, until we get our opinions on the situation out and God’s wisdom in. That is humbling ourselves to God.
- When we do this there is spiritual warfare.
- The devil hates when Christians pray and will stop at nothing to hinder the answer.
- The devil hates when Christians pray with the attitude of seeking for understanding, and humbling myself to God’s opinion and timing.
- Just don’t pray mindless repetition of memorized words, pray with understanding and humility. Ask God for understanding and wisdom.
- When this takes place, there will be a struggle in the Spirit world.
- That’s why we need to pray for leaders, because there is a struggle in the Spirit world.
- The answer will come, but keep on praying and fasting and seeking the Lord. Don’t give up.
Conclusion:
- I want to close with this story:
A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening.
Suddenly, the Native American said, “I hear a cricket.”
His friend said, “What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!”
“No, I’m sure of it,” the Native American said. “I heard a cricket.”
“That’s crazy,” said the friend.
The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed. “That’s incredible,” said his friend. “You must have super-human ears!”
“No,” said the Native American. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re listening for.”
“But that can’t be!” said the friend. “I could never hear a cricket in this noise.”
“Yes, it’s true,” came the reply. “It depends on what is really important to you. Here, let me show you.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.
“See what I mean?” asked the Native American. “It all depends on what’s important to you.”
- What’s important to you? What do you listen for?
- Some people say that there is no God, and that he never speaks to us anymore.
- But perhaps they can’t see or hear him because they aren’t listening for him. They are living for themselves, not for God.
- If you are in tune with God, you will be able to notice him at work in your life and in the world. And you’ll be able to hear him when he speaks.
- Remember confess, live, understand the truth of God and realize the power of God.
- Jesus said, “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them…But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear” (Matthew 13:15-16)
Lets Pray!!!
