DANIEL'S PRAYER
WHEN YOU PRAY THE BIBLE WAY–YOU WILL:
PRAY ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD
- Daniel 9:2, "During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years."
- Jeremiah 29:10-12, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.’”
- 2 Peter 3:9, “God is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
- Mark 10:9, “What God has joined together, let not man separate.”
PRAY WITH HUMILITY: IN ATTITUDE AND ACTION
- Daniel 9:3, “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”
- Matthew 5:16-18, “When you fast, do not look somber as the as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full…But when you fast, put oil on your head; and wash your face so that it does not appear to men that you are fasting. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
PRAY WITH INTENSITY, AND BE SPECIFIC
- Daniel 9:4, “I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed.”
- James 5:16, “the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
CONFESS PERSONAL AND NATIONAL SINS
- Daniel 9:4-5, “Oh Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands [prayer should always start with praise stating God’s glorious character]. 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 fathers, and to all the people of the land.”
- Daniel 9:18, “Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of your because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O, Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear Your Name.”
Personal Sins
- Proverbs 28:13, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
- I Samuel 12:23, “God forbid that I should sin in ceasing to pray for you.”
National Sins
ASK FOR GOD’S GLORY–NOT YOUR GAIN
- Daniel 9:17, “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.”
- James 4:3, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
OFTEN RECEIVE AN ANSWER BEFORE YOU FINISH
- Daniel 9:20, “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill—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.”
- Isaiah 65:24, “Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear.”
- 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people which are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face...then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
