Day 18 – God’s Word, God’s People and Prayer

Read Daniel 9: 1 – 19

In the midst of much prophetic teaching and dream interpreting, God gives us a lesson on prayer through the example of Daniel. Daniel didn’t have the entire scripture as we have today but he did have the prophecy of Jeremiah where God had laid out his plan in response to the sins of the nation. Daniel reads the word of God, he is motivated to pray, he discovers the will of God and prays God’s will. He prays fervently and frequently. He confesses his sin and the sin of his people because he doesn’t want that sin to get in the way of God doing what He promised.

The ultimate purpose for all praying is to worship God. The prayer that Jesus used to teach his disciples starts with worship and ends with worship. Daniel focuses his prayer on God and his character; God’s power, God’s awesome majesty, God’s mercy and faithfulness, and finally God’s holiness and righteousness. Daniel’s prayer is not self-centered but rather he is more concerned about God’s reputation. Daniel is so identified with the glory of God that he is concerned about what has happened to the reputation of God because of the sins of his people.

The purpose of prayer is not to get God to change his mind. If we believe that the will of God is perfect, we should not be praying for him to change it because we think we have a better plan. Prayer should be more about adjusting our lives to the revealed will of God. When we pray, it isn’t God who changes – it should be us. Many of us treat God as a divine concierge. We feel that God needs to be made aware of our needs so he can get to the business of supplying what we want. Our prayers are often alarmingly self-centered. Reading God’s word, meditating on God’s word, and praying over God’s word is the way we show God we are passionate about knowing his will for our life. The secret of holy living is to find out what the will of God is and to live every day in the center of that will.

Q1. When we confess sin, we verbalize our spiritual shortcomings and admit our sin. When was the last time you brought your sin before God? How often do you repent and confess?

Q2. What do you think people see of Christ in you? What behaviors does one do that damage God’s reputation? What behaviors does one do that enhance God’s reputation?

Q3. The Bible exhorts us to be fervent in prayer. Are you ever fervent in prayer? Jesus, Paul, Ezra, Elijah, and Nehemiah are just a few examples of folks who made fasting a part of prayer? Have you ever made fasting a part of your prayer? Would it be profitable to consider fasting in your prayer life?

Final thought: If it has been a long time since you sincerely confessed your sin before God, it isn’t because you haven’t sinned. It may because you are insensitive to sin. When God is at work in our lives, repentance and confession become the norm. The deeper your love for God and the higher your standard of holiness, then the greater your sense of sinfulness.