The Daniel Prayer – Part 1

Daniel is taking God's word and praying back to him is what we call reverse thunder you take a promise from God and you pray to him were so glad you've joined us for this week's living in the light with Bible teacher and Graham was today and begins a two-part message from Daniel chapter 9 that establishes a pattern for prayer tears and with today's message less nation is in a mess and I wonder if we just pull that down personally to your worlds is your world in a mess.

You have a relationship that's in a mass are your churches and amass are your families and amass your neighborhoods and amass our your offices and amass and what can one person do when you're faced with a mass or crisis or disaster. Just you know things unraveling what can one person do as we think one person just can't do anything until we just bring her hands and we complain. We got there we just roll our cousins just like every night when I watch the news and sort of fed up with Mary, and I don't watch the news and-year-old.

But there is something we can do. We can pray, and about 60 years before Jesus was born, there is a true story. According to the Jewish historian Josephus and he tells a story that there was a drought in Jerusalem. It was so severe that it was in danger of just cutting off all generation and so the city elders called her honey and honey was known as the rainmaker asked him to come out and pray for rain so I came outside the city, and he prayed for rain and nothing happened. So honey took his staff and he drew a big circle around himself. Then he got down on his knees on his face inside that circle and he prayed for rain is a godsend. The rain and so while he prayed, there was a sprinkling, you know, just a light drizzle and he said, Lord, not for that rain evaporate out and praying for rain that would just outpouring of rain as he prayed.

It was a deluge like what we would call a gully washer and he said Lord for that kind of rain slow steady rain will fill up the systems and the reservoirs in the creeks that will end this drought and will honey prayed that was at slow steady rain drop was ended and the streams are filled up in the reservoirs because Connie had said Laura to stay in the circle and I'm going to pray until you send the rain and got answered his prayer the prophet Daniel draw a circle but in Daniel chapter 9 that's what he was doing he was drawing a circle and he gives us a pattern for prayer in our circle that I want to share with you.

And there are six aspects to this pattern, giving him were going to go through one by one you brought your Bible, you can turn the Daniel chapter 9 looking to read the passage because of time but I will go phrase by phrase in verse by verse Daniel chapter 9 and there are six aspects to his prayer in the first visit Daniel prayed because he was compelled to pray.

He prayed because he was centered in prayer. He prayed confident in prayer.

He prayed with contrition. He was contrite in prayer.

He prayed with clarity and he prayed until it was confirmed. So that's where were going so first of all I want to see that he prayed under compulsion. He was compelled to pray. The first verse as it was in the year of Darius the Mead and it just gives us insight. We read between the lines and Daniel was in captivity in Babylon. And the story the southern kingdom of Judah when they had like a roller coaster spiritually will go up with a good king and down the backing up with a good king and down the bad thing, until finally that backing up backing and they were defiantly rebellious and got that message after messenger and they defied God they disobeyed God and finally got had enough and so he sent in the Babylonian and the Babylonians had taken them all into captivity, and Daniel was one of the first month of Babylonians took into captivity and so gives world his nation of Judah was in amass. They were being held captive by the enemy 800 miles east they were separated from their foundation of faith. If you want to put it that way. There were separated from God's place of blessing they want right with God. And so Daniel felt compelled by the problems in his world. So what are the problems in your world, your family, your church, your neighborhood in this state in this nation were hearing our problem after problem after problem after problem, and so many problems and you ever consider just wringing your hands and rolling right you feel compelled to pray and Daniel was compelled other problems in his world, but he was also compelled by the promises in God's word and I love it.

It says in verse two. Daniel was reading the prophet Jeremiah and he's in his 80s and he still reading his Bible will never forget the vision of my mother in her 80s sitting on her bad macular degeneration. She couldn't resource secretary of typed out the Scriptures that she was memorizing 2 inch letters, so maybe she get four words on a page of these big black notebooks on her bed still memorizing the word of God in her 80s when she could barely do anything else. I remember talking to Ms. Johnson found Bible study Fellowship about six weeks before she moved her father's house and she told me she was reading about Jacob and she was learning something.

I was so caught by the fact that she was still reading the Bible is the one that found Bible study Fellowship wrote the notes and questions at all that she still reading the Bible.

Learning something new from it that I forgot she was learning and that I just felt too embarrassed to ask Ms. Jones would you repeat that number but I remember being so amazed that she was struggling with cancer and pain still reading about still learning from it and Daniel in his 80s. He still reading his Bible to put it in our terms came across prophecy of Jeremiah and as he's reading Jeremiah I'm going to read you.

These verses. I'm assuming this is what he was reading. There's another portion. Jeremiah might've been but Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 10 this is what the Lord says when 70 years are completed for babbling, and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place front of the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart and Daniel came across that promise in 70 years to be 70 years in captivity in Babylon. After 70 years, God will bring them back to captivity.

They would have to seek him and asked him and plead with him. And so Daniel is reading this and that he must've all of sudden thought and he started to connect the dots in his mind was beginning to whirl because let's see, he had been in captivity for 67 years that if God was counting from the first deportation in three years God would bring these people back captivity restore them to the place of blessing restaurant right relationship with him restore them to their foundation of faith in him, but who is pray God that he would do it but he was waiting to be asked Ezekiel 37, 36, God says, I have this and this and this and this. I want to do for Israel but I have yet to be inquired. My mother said if there any tears in Heaven is going to be for all the answers to prayer. Nobody ever bothered to fight Jesus walking on the water. Remember when the disciples were in the boat and he made the past by you thought about that. Probably no make that like to pass by as he was waiting for them to call him and Daniel as he's reading God's word.

He comes across as prime and he lays claim to, and he begins to pray in a sense God's word back to him. God you promise in 70 years you bring us back that's in three years. You said if we seek. You will find you and you going to fulfill your promise. So the Daniel prayer is taking God's word and praying it back to him is what we call reverse thunder will you take a promise from God and you pray it back to him you're holding to his word. When you say God I want this I want you to bless America. I want you to bless my family I want you to save my son I want you to reconcile that relationship is a difference when you say God use it if your people who are called by your name will humble themselves, pray, and seek your face and turn from their wicked ways, then you said you'd forgive us and you hear our prayer and you pray God's word back to him.

He loves to be held according to his so Daniel felt compelled to pray by the problems he saw in his world. Any link that to a promise from God's word and he's going to hold God sudden with the problems are in your world, but whatever they are, would you ask God to give you promise to match and then you start praying that promise that I'll tell you one that I'm claiming Jesus ongoing to prepare place for if I go to prepare place from coming again to receive you to myself. Even so, Lord Jesus, you said you'd come back you said you would come and take us to be with yourself. You said, when the nation of Israel is reborn in the fig tree puts further review said the generation it seems that is the last generation.

You said when the gospel is preached to the whole world. Then I'm coming Lord, you said so, clean up this mess. I do believe is the only one that can so Daniel was compelled and then Daniel was centered in prayer and he just focused right in in prayer and centering down in prayer is like setting your spiritual compass so that you know which direction you're going. And he was centered down in prayer. He centered privately. It says in verse three he turned to the Lord God. And when he turned to the Lord God.

He was turning away from everything else in Jesus said in Matthew six when you pray going to your closet and I'll tell you something you can pray anytime, anywhere, any place. Praise God is available 24 seven right. We all know that box. This kind of prayer requires progress.

No distractions getting along with God, going in your closets. Daniel centered in privately any centered then sincerely he fasted in Matthew six Jesus said when you fast as on option for this kind of prayer and fasting isn't just going without food. Fasting is going with anything and everything in order to make time to get a loan and pray. So it's going without email and surfing the Internet and television and reading and working and talking and ministry and shopping and housework love to fast from housework and and we just turn away from everything in order to turn to the privately and sincerely and desperately and said he dressed in sackcloth and sackcloth are the outward evidence of the inward necessity if you don't get us out of this mess were not going to get out if you're saying this will not be say if you deliver us from the judgment is coming, were not going to be delivered.

You're our only hope turn to God in desperation, dressed in sackcloth and many turn to God, humbly when he smeared himself with ashes basically saying God without you. I can't do anything with nothing I can do nothing in me is no good thing any centers on such compass would you make time you draw your circle and your compelled by the problems within your circle and you cleaning promises from the word and then would you turn away from everything and turn to God with a sense of Haitian hard to pray with people moving around in house so you may have to get up early before they all move around later to wrap it all going to bed when the ball left the house, you have a few minutes to yourself turn away from everything to turn to him in desperation and humility.

David said in Psalm 51 the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart. God will not.

This God hears you, and he has so many things he would give you and me, bless, and I believe Joel chapter 2 says if we win the hearts and on our and we returned to the Lord. No, that he would return to us is that of judging us would leave behind the blessing we have to turn to him turn away from everything seeking with all of our hearts. Daniel felt compelled to pray. He centered down in prayer and that he prayed with confidence in verse four he said, I turn to the Lord my God catch that pronoun. God was his God. And Daniel was confident of a covenant relationship with God.

He had entered into a covenant with God. I'm assuming as he was a young person growing up in Jerusalem and in that day. It would've been to the sacrificial system and he made a covenant with God and he was a Jewish young boy and so he had entered into that covenant and God was his God and he belong to God, you, and from the New Testament perspective, we enter into the covenant with God when we come back face of the cross and we confess that we are sinners and doesn't. What does mean you confess specific sin. You know your anger, your jealousy or meanness selfishness. Your rudeness, your bitterness run forget whatever the sin is yes you confess your specific sins, but is more than that means that you confess that you have a sin nature. We are born in skin given a choice, you will choose to be selfish. You want whatever that is for yourself and even given the choice, you lose your temper when somebody does that are given the choice you allowed to get out and when the pressure comes on sin nature comes out worse sinners.

All of us. The Bible says every single one of us was born in sin were all sinners before holy God, and we come back face to the cross and we just tell God I'm a sinner.

I've sin specifically in my nature to sit and I believe dear God, that you sent Jesus to die on the cross as your sacrifice for my sin. Nobody else was a sinner in need of the Savior. I believe you would've sent Jesus, just for me and I believe Jesus died for me asking you God to forgive me. Based on his. I believe he made atonement for my sin and ask you to cleanse me with his blood. Give me eternal life.

That relationship will never end coming to my heart. I give you the authority to rule my life from now on I'll live for you when you do that you enter into a covenant relationship with God so that you belong to him.

Jesus said your born-again into his family. You're God's child, listen to me.

God is your God. He belongs to you Jesus that I'm the way the truth like no one, no one can come into a right relationship with the father. No one can go to heaven.

No one can have their sins forgiven. No one can come into God's family must come through me. Jesus and I'm paraphrasing to make sure Daniel had a covenant relationship with God and therefore he was confident in God confident in God's covenant confident in God's character.

People today say well I don't think God is like that in my God would never do that. My.

God loves everybody go take everybody to be with them and you know and everybody has their own God and some people call him all the same people: Buddhism people called Confucius some people may be calling Jehovah. Maybe the call, maybe they call in Jesus then you knew his God and God is exactly what he's revealed in his word okay is exactly the way he's revealed in Jesus.

Jesus is God in the flesh.

If you want to know what God like you look at Jesus. God reveals himself in this book, from Genesis to Revelation is the revelation of God's word, but he's revealing himself in Daniel notices God so Daniel knows the character God's faithfulness in verse four he says, oh Lord, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his command. Daniel knew the faithfulness of God to keep his covenant of love with Daniel, so I'll just quickly go through this testimony.

Chapter 1 remember when he came enslaved the babbling is about 15 years of age.

They changed his name so that his name not honored a pagan god. I'm expecting that they expect they emasculated him because his overseer's immediate supervisor was the chief of the UNIX and he said he would have to eat food that came from the Kings table meeting at first and offered as meaning that every time he ate a bite, he would be given tribute to a pagan god, so Daniel can prevent his name from the change. He couldn't prevent what they did to him physically, but he wasn't about to eat food that was offered to him and give tribute or not. So he said I'm not going to do that and he said, just give me a test put me on warden vegetables and fruit for 10 days and so they did and after 10 days he was healthier and smarter than all those who compromise because God is faithful and chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had a dream he woke up he was very disturbed to call the wisemen.

He said I want you to not just interpret the dream, but tell me what the dream was because I forgot in the wisemen, something I can do that and he said we are good for nothing, or the molecule and Daniel was at that point, one of the wisemen so you just got that sentence. Susan will give me at night.

The next morning God had given him the dream and the interpretation because God is faithful and chapter 3 is three friends out on the plain of Shinar refused to bow down to the stature of golden surveyor from the fiery furnace and the son of God shows up, not a hair on their heads was singed because God is faithful and chapter 5 Daniel goes into that feast of Bill Chavez around Jesse is Nebuchadnezzar's grandson is a spoiled brat there in this big drunken orgy in the middle of the drink they brought out the vessels dedicated to the glory of God in the temple in Jerusalem and they were toasting a pagan god enters his hand and begins writing on the stone cold sober and so many calls for Daniel and Daniel tells Bill shouted to his face. This night your life will be required of and that night the Medes and Persians slipped under the gate and they took no shows his life because God is faithful and chapter 6 the next King Darius egomaniac.

He was convinced the enemies of Daniel to declare that people can only pray to him and he found that in the law and then opened his window to Jerusalem like he did three times a day, got on his knees praying was arrested, thrown to the lions.

Then next morning the king Daniel is your God been able to deliver you all.

Yes, he sent an angel to shut the lion's mouth because God is faithful, confident in the faithfulness of God. Isaacs put experiences that you had of God's faith. Daniel was confident of God's faithfulness to God's righteousness in verse seven. Lord you are righteous you do the right thing. Think about it when finally Judah had so rebelled against God that is sending the Babylonians and it took him 22 years because God was so patient. He didn't want any to perish was just wanting Judah to repent and he would've stayed his hand of judgment when she refused and she became belligerent and defiant. He said in the Babylon as they tore down the walls of the city. They burned the city with fire and they took Solomon's glorious Temple and they love it and it took all the treasures back Babylon and the people he didn't slaughter in the streets. They took off in the captivity and saying God the right thing today you talk about judgments people get so offended and even within the church.

Don't like that member was on national television talk show and it was after 9/11 and all things in pretty strong pain in the talkshow host and don't say that you are an angel God is loving and kind and God is loving and kind. Praise God is loving and kind. These also righteous. He does the right thing and I know that I know America is coming under his judgment cannot just say that because God is righteous and you shake your fist in his and do things were doing with impunity because he hasn't judged as yes, we think, I think it's begun.

But we mistake his patients for toleration, and we think because we haven't just opened up the ground and swallowing somebody that is just not paying attention. Judgment is God backing away.

Removing his hand of protection in his hand of blessing in his hand a favor and just backing away and letting us have our own wages, giving us over to ourselves that just before he returns with her closing words. Reminder to be back with us next week for part two of this compelling Daniel prayer series of messages though years and with these final thoughts for today.

God is righteous, but God is also merciful and forgiving, which is the message of the cross because God is righteous, he demands judgment for our sin, but because he is also merciful. He stepped in and took the judgment for us even though we deserve his judgment. We can be forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. That's the gospel that's the good news and there's never been a more timely message to share with our friends, families and nation today because make no mistake our nation and our world are coming under the judgment of a righteous God for that very reason he is righteous, he cannot be less than himself and his righteousness demands judgment for our sin, our rebellion are defiance of him. This is the hope. This is the solution when faced with God's righteous judgment. There is nothing, nothing, no politics, no presidents, no government or agreement. No institution or organization. No media or ministry.

No economy or military. No alliance or treaty. Nothing will turn our nation around except prayer heartfelt desperate prayer. Prayer for the prayers rend their hearts return to the cross and repent of personal and national sin.

Listen to me. God promises in general to that if we return to him with prayer, weeping morning renting our hearts for our sin and that of our nation. He will return to us.

It's time to pray like Daniel did, because only prayer that moves heaven can change you been listening to living in the light with n-gram lots join is right here next week for the conclusion of an series of two messages from Daniel chapter 9 and for more on the Daniel prayer go to n-gram lots.