The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 9:1-23 (day six)

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us. vs 13

Do you quote scripture in your prayers? This is a common theme in prayers we read through out the Bible, but isn’t that counter intuitive? Doesn’t God already know His Words and how They apply to the situation? Yes, but maybe the scripture has less to do with changing God’s will and more to do with influencing the prayer’s heart. When we use scripture in our prayer, it is a way for us to show God and ourselves that we know and believe His promises. We reassure ourselves that God has answered this prayer in the past, and He is capable of doing it again. When we use scripture in our prayers, it is a sign that our heart is beating more in rhythm with God’s. If you want that, if you want your heart in rhythm with God’s, you need to love His Word and make it a part of your rhythm. Naturally, His Words will become your words.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 9:1-23 (day six)

So, I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes. Daniel 9:3

I have always appreciated Daniel’s prayer posture. In chapter six, he opens his window towards Jerusalem and prays on his knees. He wore “rough burlap” in this account and sprinkled himself with ashes. Every posture reflected the longings and condition of his heart-grief, penitence, and hope of restoration.

In my reflection, I wonder what my posture communicates about my heart’s condition. How would a more thoughtful posture affect how I pray? Should I consider having a special place like Daniel (his room, with his window open towards Jerusalem), or be more mindful about what I am wearing? These are things Daniel clearly considered. Should I?

What is your posture when you pray?

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 9:1-23 (day five)  

“for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.”  Can you tell that Daniel’s prayer is being informed and influenced by the scriptures?  High view of God.  Proper perspective of man. Honest depiction of sin. All of these come from the scriptures. We worship, live, and pray better when we are influenced by the scriptures. Why?  The scriptures help us see the truth about God and sin. Our prayers (even our confession) have as much to do with God and His Character (Holiness in the present and mercy in the past) as they do with ourselves and our sin. When my prayers have more focus and attention on me than they do God, I need take notice and be concerned.  Need to get back to the scriptures.

Daniel’s confession—biblical confession—is God-centered. The issue is not admitting that we have made our life miserable. The issue is admitting that there is something much worse than our misery, namely, the offended holiness and glory of God. – John Piper

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 9:1-23 (day four)

Daniel turned to the words of Jeremiah to find clarity about what was happening around him. He quickly realized that the nation of Israel was in such dire straits because God did exactly what he said he would. Israel sinned, and God delivered the consequences.

You can tell, though, that Daniel kept reading. It would be easy to get to the part in Jeremiah’s prophecy that explains the consequences for Israel’s sin, and throw the book aside in terror, panicking about the fate that awaited them. But Daniel read on, and found that Jeremiah also told of God’s compassion; that even after Israel had strayed so far away and suffered for it, God would once again look on them with compassion.

So Daniel, on his knees in prayer, appealed to God’s compassion. He was able to do this because he read about this characteristic of God in Scripture, he had learned of God’s compassion for the Israelites throughout their history, and he had witnessed it in his own life. He knew that the compassion of God was their only hope, and that this hope was sure.

And how much more can we be assured of this? We, who live on the other side of the resurrection and know that Compassion walked this earth? When you feel like all hope is lost, keep reading. Compassion is on the very next page.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 9:1-23 (day three)

“The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.”

The first clause of the above passage of scripture is news; the second clause is gospel. Where in all the world will be found pity and pardon despite adversarial behavior? Only with God. These are the tidings from heaven that Paul never got over: “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Repentance and salvation are both swept up into that joyous summation. Indeed, throughout the entire cosmos ring these words from Daniel which announce all is not lost: “even though.”

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 9:1-23 (day two) Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets vs. 6a

How often have you found yourself when disciplining a child uttering the words ‘you didn’t listen’? Maybe you have heard those words ring your own ears from time to time. There are so many times that the jam we finds ourselves in could have been avoided had we simply listened to the instructions. Perhaps it was driving directions that we disregarded because ‘we know where it is,’ or simple tasks that you were asked to complete, but you got distracted when they were assigned. Whatever it is, giving our focus to the tasks when they are given can make the difference between success and failure, or obedience and sin.

Daniel references both the prophet Jeremiah and Moses in his prayer. He recognizes that, as a people, they have not listened to the call to obedience. There is, however, a path forward. It begins with confession and repentance. Daniel takes this responsibility seriously, and speaks on behalf of the entire nation. Perhaps we can start with ourselves. The goal should be to listen before we have to confess.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 11:1-4 (day seven)

“When you pray, say: ‘Father.'” 

This seems normal for us who have grown up in the church and in praying homes, but for the disciples, this phrase was mind boggling. The religious leaders who taught the prayers never used the word Father to address God. Why? From their perspective, Father was too intimate of a name to refer to the Holy God. Yet, that is exactly why Jesus wants the disciples to use this phrase. The Father wants an intimate relationship with his children.

Megan did a great job walking us through how “Hallowed” changes our mindset as we pray. Father, does the same thing while adding some paradox. Do you feel the tension of the intimacy of the term Father with the reverence of the term Hallowed? You should, because the Creator of the universe, the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God wants to have personal one-on-one time with you! He wants your dirt. He wants your pain. He sees and knows the real you, and still wants to talk to you. He is Holy. He is Father. He is The Holy Dad!

How does this change the way you think about the beginning of your prayers to Him?

Re:Verse passage – Luke 11:1-4 (day six)

The Lord’s Prayer serves as Jesus’ summary of God’s kingdom movement, a proactive beckoning for the Father to advance his mission through his life. I imagine his praying took this shape from an early age, longing for his Father’s Kingdom to come.

But now this prayer was not only his but also belonged to his disciples. And now also to us.

Jesus meant it when he said, “Pray this way.”  Will his prayer serve as a summary of your life? Will we pray like Jesus? Let’s.

 

Re:Verse passage – Luke 11:1-4 (day five)  “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray…”. Part of my faith in Christ boils down to the following question, “Does Jesus know how to navigate life on earth better than I do?”

This is one of those moments when a disciple of Jesus was asking the right question. They saw and sensed how prayer helped Jesus. Possibilities of hope and courage- for them and for us.  Maybe we could learn from Him.  Maybe prayer could shape and inform our lives to live like Him.

“My central claim is that we can become like Christ – by following him in the overall style of life, he chose for himself. If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace become like Christ by practicing the types of activities, he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his father” – Dallas Willard

Jesus, teach us to pray!!