Prayer 101: Conclusion

So, how does your morning begin?

Some of us gently awaken and whisper, "Good morning Lord!" And then  sometimes, especially when life is in a curveball mode, we begin the  day with the words, "Good Lord it's morning!" 

That's true, isn't it? Be honest.

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I don't know about you but I have enjoyed this journey of examining prayer. There are times when I've been elated at understanding something clearly for the first time that I've read many times before and prayed about in God's Word. There are other times when, in quiet prayer and solitude, God's Holy Spirit has convicted me of sin that is or has been hindering not only my relationship with Him but a relationship with another person - be it a friend, casual acquaintance, stranger, one of my kids or even my wife. And through it all, God is at work in my life.

You and I have been on a special journey these weeks looking at prayer. 

We first looked at and began to understand what prayer is using the model of Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9. This saint of old was mightily used by God when the Hebrew people were forcibly taken from their land and brought to Babylon because of their personal and collective sins. For seventy years, Daniel clung tightly to God in and through prayer to sustain him and guide him, and protect him. Prayer was never an afterthought for Daniel. Prayer was Daniel's primary activity day in and day out. He knew that if he were to survive the exile in a strange land, he would need to lean into God for dear life. He knew there was no other way.

Through the succeeding years and decades, Daniel not only witnessed God's work, but he also came to understand that he was privileged to be a part  (he would most likely think small, but I think he was a huge part) of  God's Plan. Daniel understood the Gospel - the Good News - of God. He understood God's sovereignty in every aspect of life. He understood and marveled at God's glory and majesty. Daniel reveled in God's mercy and grace to save His people Israel and prepare them for even more astounding works in the decades, centuries, and millennia to come. 

Let's read Daniel's prayer one more time: 

"I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: 

"Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong.   We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

"Lord, You are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes, and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving,   even though we have rebelled against Him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws He gave us through His servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey You.

"Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us because we have sinned against You. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster.  Under the whole heaven, nothing has ever been done like what has been done to  Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to Your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.

"Now, Lord our God, Who brought Your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for Yourself a Name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away Your anger and Your wrath from Jerusalem, Your city, Your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and Your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

"Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake,  Lord, look with favor on Your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear;   open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your Name. We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive!  Lord, hear and act! For Your sake,  my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your Name." Daniel 9:4 - 19.

As I read it again, the word "now" strikes me. Daniel uses it (or alludes to it) several times. He is expecting God to act and to act soon. Daniel understands that God's Plan is imminent as well as eminent (sorry,  you'll have to check the dictionary). I ask myself, do I expect God to act "now" in my life? Am I ready? Am I willing to put all else aside and allow God to be God?
 

Today, scholars argue about Daniel's visions and prophecies. Many question their validity. But Daniel knew that God was providing him with absolute truth. He was a witness to it. He could trust God explicitly. Daniel understood that once you began waiting upon and trusting God for everything, and expecting Him to come through, there was no turning away. If God can deliver on the "little" stuff such as health and personal protection, He could certainly deliver on the rise and fall of empires and the turning of the tides of history itself.  After all, it is "His" story...

I believe that because of Daniel's devotion to prayer, God allowed this prophet and leader, the profound opportunity to peek behind the veil and see the broad scope of God's Plan to redeem mankind and ultimately bring His Kingdom to complete fruition. Like Moses was able to look into the promised land almost one thousand years earlier, Daniel was being privileged to look into God's ultimate promised land. Getting a true glimpse of Glory must be unimaginable. 

I also believe that God was able to do this with Daniel because of their deep relationship. Daniel knew how to "BE" with God. I believe they spoke as "friends". There was a continual conversation going on; sometimes it was spoken, sometimes unspoken. That's a relationship. That's communion.

And how did Daniel pray? As we learned, he prayed expectantly and boldly. Daniel set forth a  pattern that we all need to emulate. Prayer is so much more than just adoration, praise, supplication, and confession. Prayer is the development - over time - of a personal relationship with a personal God; the God of the universe, the God of Creation. The God who created you and me with a specific loving purpose in mind.

Daniel prayed for God's glory and majesty and will to be done, all the time,  regardless of any potential personal consequence to him or his friends in Babylon. They clung onto God. They sought His Glory only. And, as John Piper said, because of their obedience and humility to proceed in prayer, trusting their Creator, God lavished on Daniel and his friends special times of joy, unimaginable joy, as God's Plan was unfolded and His will was done.

For Daniel, prayer was a priority in his daily life. Daniel didn't just speak to God, he listened. He was quiet in God's presence. Daniel learned how to get away and be alone with God as his only provision. We know through reading this book of Daniel that he did indeed rely on God for all of the big things: entrance into Nebuchadnezzar's court, their health (vegetables and water rather than food from the king's table), the fiery furnace, the king's visions and dreams, the change from Babylonian to Medo-Persian rule. But we can be very sure that Daniel relied on God for the "daily" subtleties of life. Frankly, it just wouldn't make sense for him to do one and not the other.

Daniel prayed because he understood God and His Word. Daniel had at least portions of the Scriptures. He knew them. He knew Who God is and what He is all about. As Daniel prayed, God was at the center of his prayer, as well as life. He addressed God properly and lovingly - as we should learn to do as well. Scripture taught the prophet about the character and nature of God; His person and attributes as well as His unfolding  Plan.

Scripture furthermore motivated and guided his prayer life. I'm sure like you and me, Daniel was sometimes at a loss for words, but God's Word is always true and is always available. And so he prayed back God's Word, and I'm sure God loved hearing that. 

As he prayed, Daniel prayed with honesty and confession. He knew his own sin as well as the sin of the nation Israel. He knew that God is a  forgiving God to those who actively seek Him and humble ourselves before Him. With honesty, comes trust. God had always been truthful with Daniel; past, present and to come. How many times do I say that I "trust God" for all that He will provide me, but like Abraham, I take matters into my own hands? That's not the kind of trust that God demands of us. 

Finally, Daniel knew the grandeur as well as the simplicity of God and prayer.  God's ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours could ever be. God knows that and doesn't "penalize" me for being an ordinary man. He loves the simplicity of my prayers - my cries of anguish or fear - my simple words , and yet He wants me to understand how grand and glorious He is and He chooses to share it with me. That's how much God loves me, and YOU too!

As we wrap up, I ask myself as I ask you, has prayer become a priority in life?  Are we following Daniel's example? Better yet, are we following Jesus' example in making prayer a priority of life?

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus going alone to be in prayer with His Father.  Some may ask "Why?", if Jesus is God, why pray? That's a fair question.  The only answer I can think of aside from making sure that He was doing  God's Will (His own Will really), Jesus wanted to be in communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. I think to a certain degree, Jesus missed the intimacy that He shared with the Trinity before putting on human flesh to walk and live and minister and die with and for His  creation, as He redeemed us and brought us back into fellowship with God  (for those who believe in Jesus' finished work). 

Jesus' times alone in prayer (solitude), allowed Him the time to "re-connect"  as it were. Connecting and reconnecting with people that we love is beyond important to survive. Even though I may have an argument with a  friend or even my wife, it's still utterly important to reconnect and re-establish the relationship. Without that anchor for stability and grounding, I will have a problem functioning in life.

And so, as Jesus instructed in John 15:4 - 12, I need to abide or remain in Him. 

"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;  it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

"I  am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;  apart from M,e you can do nothing. If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory,  that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.

"As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love. If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

How am I to live, let alone love, if I'm not abiding or remaining in Christ? It's impossible. And remember, God asks us to do the impossible. When I am communing with God every day, throughout the day, when I have not severed myself from the "true vine", I will not whither, I will not die. On the positive side, as I am a part of the true vine, I am naturally and completely nourished. God brings out glorious fruit in my life with an abundance that I will find hard to imagine.

The bottom line is that God's sanctification process is just that: a process that lasts a lifetime. God wants us to be Christlike to live abundantly NOW in eternal life. Eternal life begins now; we can experience it NOW. (1 John 5:13 - 15). Why wait for heaven? Life may be (is) difficult, but because we believers are "in Christ" we can live abundantly and eternally today, right now. And we must remain (abide) in Christ.

I find myself praying a lot more recently. I am still struggling with many issues, both personal and professional. And as I struggle, and as I pour my being and my life into God's hands through continual prayer and reading His Word and worship, I come to realize how much of that is just plain rubbish when compared to the glory of God. As I present my requests to God, as I pray without ceasing, He guards my heart and mind in Christ. 

Is life any "better" or "easier"? Not really. But God is good. I can trust  Him 100% all of the time for everything. He just wants me close to Him every moment. God, even though He asks us to do the impossible, really doesn't ask that much of me or you. We are to simply abide and commune with Him.

This sanctification process not only reshapes our lives, it also brings glory to God. As you and I become more Christlike, we better reflect WHO God is to a lost and dying world. Time spent in prayer and communion with God helps to restore us to the way we humans were meant to live and function: being made in the image and likeness of God. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Right now, our inherent sinful nature clouds and obscures who we are. As we have received Jesus as our personal Savior, the restoration process begins.  We still live in a muddy world, but prayer helps to keep us clean. The more time in prayer, the more that we allow God to transform our lives, and the more He shines through us. I believe we should be like Moses. As  Moses spent time with God, his appearance changed. He began to shine. His face was so radiant that he needed to wear a veil because his fellow Israelites couldn't handle this change. Exodus 34:29 - 35. 

Why?  Were they jealous? Were they seeing their own sin and shortcomings due to the light being shone on their lives? 

As you and I spend this life-changing time of prayer and communion with God, are we shining for Him? Even more, is that light penetrating the recesses of our lives and chasing out sin? Do people in our spheres of influence see Jesus in us? Do they desire what we have? Am I excited  about grasping what God is doing in my life and then giving Him the glory? Do I find and exult in joy as God brings His Plan into fruition by using me as a tiny part of that Plan? 

If inanimate objects such as the wind and waves willingly obey God, why can't or don't we?

Pray my friends. Pray. Commune with God daily. You and I may be more sinful than we know, but we are also loved and forgiven more than we can possibly imagine by a mighty, loving, merciful,  and eternal God who specifically created us to love Him and enjoy Him  for all eternity.

May we end with a word of prayer...

My Father God, thank you for breaking through my calloused heart. Thank you for reaching in and loving me and saving me. Help me to continue to abide in You, not forsaking any time that You would whisper my name in loving kindness. Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on a cruel cross and taking away my sin. My sins from yesterday as well as tomorrow and all of my sins for the years to come. You are gracious and loving. Holy  Spirit, speak to my heart and mind. Continue to open my heart and mind  and eyes and ears as you speak directly to me through Your Word. Use me as an integral part of Your Plan. Let Your will alone be done in and  through my life. You loved me first so that I can love You now. Amen and amen.