READ: Daniel 9 (Focus vs. 4-6 & 15-19)
MEMORY VERSE
“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant.” Daniel 9:17
BACKGROUND
Brenda and Eddie got in the car and began their Thursday evening ritual. “Where would you like to eat?” “Oh, Eddie, I don’t care, anywhere is fine, really.” Eddie’s been here before. “Okay, how about The Windmill?” Brenda bristles. “No, anywhere but there!” Eddie sighs. “So where, then?” Brenda insists, “Really, anywhere is fine.”
It’s the stuff of comedy sketches, humorous from a distance because we know how maddening it is in the moment.
Sometimes it can be that way in our prayer lives too. We’re too vague. In contrast, the prayer in Daniel 9 reveals Daniel boldly saying what he wants. First, he confesses the sins of his people: “We have sinned and done wrong” (v. 5).
Then he makes his requests. “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant” (v. 17). “Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act” (v. 19). God owed nothing to Daniel, but such was Daniel’s trust in God’s “great mercy” (v. 18) that he felt free to bring the full weight of his desires to Him.
It’s always right to pray “not as I will, but as you will,” as Jesus prayed to His Father the night before He was crucified (Matthew 26:39). But there are also times when saying what we want is the way forward. God honors our boldness when we come before Him with repentant hearts.
So be bold, pray what’s on your heart, and entrust it to the God of great mercy.
John Blase
INSIGHT
Daniel’s commitment to prayer is seen throughout the book that bears his name. When threatened with death in response to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (ch. 2), he and his three friends prayed for God’s provision of an answer.
We also see his commitment in chapter 6 when he continued his habit of prayer despite the king’s decree and the threat of death in the lions’ den. Here in chapter 9, we find Daniel’s great intercessory prayer on behalf of himself and his fellow captives. These situations demonstrate the priority he placed on prayer.
As we make prayer a priority in our lives, we can boldly bring our concerns to God.
APPLICATION
How do your prayers compare to Daniel 9:4-19? What might you need to confess before making your requests to God?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“God honors our boldness when we come before Him with repentant hearts… be bold, pray what’s on your heart, and entrust it to the God of great mercy.”
PR’s TAKE
“Let us come, therefore, with boldness, to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help in every time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 Godbey New Testament
“Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
‘Many cry to God, but not with the voice of the soul, but with the voice of the body, only the cry of the hert of the soul reaches God.” St. Augustine.
PRAYER
“Now, my God, please hear the prayers of Your servant.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“COME BOLDY TO THE THRONE OF GRACE”
Come, ye who from your hearts believe
That Jesus answers prayer,
Come boldly to a throne of grace
And claim His promise there,
That, if His love in us abide
And we in Him are one,
Whatever in His name we ask
It surely will be done.
Come lovingly and trustingly,
Take Jesus at His Word,
For He has said, the prayer of faith
Was never yet unheard.
If in the fountain filled with blood
Our sins are washed away
Come boldly to a throne of grace,
Rejoicing that we may
Come boldly to a throne of grace,
And bless the Lord our king—
Who fills our grateful hearts with praise,
And tunes our tongues to sing
Come lovingly and trustingly,
Take Jesus at His Word…
From every precious, golden hour
We spend in fervent prayer,
We gather strength from day to day
For each returning care;
And, while with true, believing hearts
We bow before His throne,
There’s not a promise He has made
But we may call our own.
Come lovingly and trustingly,
Take Jesus at His Word,
For He has said, the prayer of faith
Was never yet unheard.
