Praying like Daniel

I gave this talk to a women's group at church tonight:

I want to make a plea with you tonight but actually it is more a plea for myself. The Lord laid this topic on my heart several weeks ago and I feel that it is a direct provision of God that Betty Jean asked me to come a speak so that I would spend the time searching the scriptures, my own heart and God's heart over a thought that has been stirring around in my head.
I want to suggest that as Greg has encouraged us to fast like Daniel, that we also pray like Daniel. Daniel was a captive. He was drug away from his home when King Neb captured and overtook Jerusalem. Daniel was chosen because he was from a notable family, handsome and smart. He was taken to Babylon to serve a foreign king. He stood his ground for God. He lived in Babylon without becoming a Babylonian. How did he do that? He was intentional about what he ate, who he worshiped and how he prayed. When King Darius came into power, he really liked Daniel too, because God had so blessed Daniel with favor. Daniel 6 tells us that "the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom." And just to show you the character of this king, when his wise men came to tell the king that he should make it law that the people should only pray to him for 30 days or be thrown into the lions den, he didn't need much persuasion . Now what business does this king have hearing prayers, none! That is pure ego. Daniel's response: he went home, got beside his windows, got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before God. We know He did not hide his prayer life because the wise men came along, saw him and told the king. We also know that his relationship to God was not hidden because the king was told that Daniel had been praying to God and knew the lions were waiting, he knew that Daniel served God and had hope that God could deliver him. And God's response to all this is pretty clear. He shut the mouths of hungry lions. How do we know they were hungry? Because the wise men did not touch the floor before they were torn apart.
Daniel prayed. Three times a day, on our knees. He was very busy, he had a huge job for a pagan king in a pagan land. But he made time. Three times a day. Three times a day? That sounds a big legalistic. That sounds like ritual. That sounds like duty. Which brings me to the paragraph that stirred me up. it is John Piper's:"You can call prayer duty. Its a duty the way its the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater. Its a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers. Its a duty the way soldiers in combat cleans their rifles and load their guns. Its a duty the way hungry people eat food. Its a duty the way thirsty people drink water. Its a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid. Its duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin. Its a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey. Its a duty the way pirates look for gold."
Why do we think of it as duty and not think of getting dressed as duty? Or checking our email? Or the weather? Or the news? Or eating!!? So I suggest to you that prayer is like all of the these things.Daniel prayed 3 times a day. I want to encourage us tonight with 3 thoughts toward those prayer times with things that we seldom overlook in our daily lives and encourage us to do these things spiritually as well. In the morning, on of the first things we do everyday is get dressed. Unless you are having a really bad day or you are sick, you do not forget.
How do we get dressed spiritually in prayer?The first account of getting dressed is in Genesis, right after the fall. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit and realized they were naked, they hid from God. God came to them and after their confrontation, he killed animals to make coverings for them. God made provision for their nakedness and shame in the Garden. He then made provision for our shame through Jesus on the cross. Revelation describes the saints dressing in white linen which is representative of our righteous acts. We have nothing righteous about us, unless we are in Christ and receive his sacrifice on our behalf to stand before God. So in our morning prayer, I recommend we go before God especially thanking him for his Provision. He has granted us forgives our sins and covered our shame. How often does Satan tempt us toward shame? For words we said that from the second they came out, we knew we shouldn't have. For choices we made long ago that still make us shutter. Christ has come to once and for all clothe us in right standing before God. Satan is the accuser of our shame. Jesus is the provision to never return to it. Let's also not forget to put on the full armor of God. Ephesians 5 says "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm. stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. in all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword which is the word of God praying at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication. to that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."So I suggest also as we pray in the morning, and are getting dressed spiritually that we get dressed in kingdom clothes for kingdom work. We wouldn't leave the house without the right outfit for the day. I don't leave for church in the same clothes I do to go for a run. I don't play outside in the clothes I go out to dinner with John in. Some days I feel weak and tired. And here God has told me how to be strong, how to stand. He tells me what I need to wear out for the day. You don't need football pads to tackle the unkind co-worker or friend, you need the breastplate of righteousness to know that before your God, you are whole and no strike down will affect your true identity. You need the shield of faith to extinguish the fiery arrow of Satan. Or maybe you are anxious to see a family member or friend who is sick, we need to put on readiness in the gospel of peace, knowing your hope, your future your identity, brings peace. Jesus has made a way for us to walk in peace. Lets be on our knees in the morning asking God to dress us for the day.I suggest in the midday, not many of us miss lunch.
My tummy starts to really rumble if I don't get to the kitchen on time. My sugar starts to drop and I feel anxious and nervous for my next meal. But do I get anxious to pray like this? Not anxious from condemnation but anxious to know the heart of the Father toward me and my day. Well I suggest that during our noon time prayer that we think of Jesus. As Jesus was out ministering to the Samaritan woman the disciples returned and were urging him to eat. Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'there are yet four months, then comes the harvest?' Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here this saying holds true, 'one sows and another reaps,' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."Jesus is challenging his disciples here to be about the Fathers work. One of my new years resolutions is to live out what I intend to do. I am also quite dependent on my calendar and my to-do lists. I just do not think well without them. I know I need to stop and seek the Father midday to make sure I am still on his path. To make sure I am laboring for that which he is laboring. And I love that this passage talks about the sower and reaper rejoicing together, God has sown so much into our lives and the lives around us, I just love to rejoice with him over those victories that we experience. So I want to pray to him and ask him, Father am I doing your work? Have I gotten too busy today that I have forgotten you? In John 17 while Jesus is praying for the disciples he also talks about the unity that the Father and Son share and while he prays he says, I speak these things while I am in the world that they may have joy fulfilled in themselves. Is that not what we want full joy? I think full joy comes when like Jesus talked of here when we are standing in unity. So I encourage us in the middle of the day, when our tummies are hungry for food, that we also bow before the Father and tell Him we are hungry for the things that make him hungry as well.
Another big part of our day is checking news. Whether it be national news on TV, local news in the newspaper or family news on the phone. I know I can't make it through much of the day without checking in with my mom. I can stand to miss the national news but days like Tuesday I couldn't turn it off. So I want to make a suggestion for our evening prayer from Daniel.
Daniel found himself in a big conundrum when he served as a wise man and advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar. King Neb had a terrifying dream and couldn't find anyone to interrupt it. He was going to kill every wise man if someone could not tell him what the dream was and interpret it. Yikes, I think he was a bit panicked. When Daniel found out, he gathered his companions 'and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." So Daniel finds himself in a life and death pickle and he turns to God. He asks God to tell him what is going on. May I suggest that this is like checking the news. Checking out what is going on in the heavens. Daniel is an awesome example here. And what happened. "Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made know to me what we asked of you, for you have made know to us the king's matter."
During Christmas break, my parents and my brother's family came to visit. Some of you may have seen them here at church with us that weekend. Over the last several years some things have happened in my family that have just been a bit of a mystery. In some areas of our lives we feel like we have been walking in darkness. Seeking God, seeking his will, praying, trying to be obedient, trying to make good choices that seem to align with his will... and yet still there are some mysteries that we just don't get. My brother said to us, "I think we need to do a Daniel fast and pray for 3 weeks." So we began on Jan 1 and 2 for the intention of breakthroughs in some areas of our lives. Yesterday was the last day for my parents and today was the 21st day for John and me. And I am so thankful to say that we, like Daniel, have seen God reveal his wisdom. Its not that all the mysteries are solved, some things are fuzzy. But like Daniel I think we feel that God is working it out. We feel like he has allowed us to be a part of the plan and showed us some solutions that were there all along, but that he revealed through fasting and prayer. God has filled us in on some news in our lives. He is the sovereign God who knows all and I am so grateful to him when he reveals bits of where we should be, lets ask him to.
Please do not mistake that I am not agreeing with 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that says to pray without ceasing, because I do think that prayer needs to be like breath. We need to continually commune with the Father, especially in thanksgiving and praise. And of course, I'm not saying this is all we should pray for. I encourage us to be intentional about praying several times a day when all we do is give God our full attention. So as I opened, I close. Greg has challenged us to fast like Daniel and I encourage us to pray like Daniel. Lets be women who are intentional in our prayer lives. When we know it takes and hour to get ready in the morning, lets make sure we have and hour and 10 minutes allotted so we have 10 minutes on our knees. Daniel is described as greatly loved by God several times in this book. And I know we are all loved by God, so lets spend the time with him to know is will for us, how we are to dress spiritually, how we are to eat spiritually and how we are to check in with God for the news of the day.