Ever Felt Like a Spiritual Charlie Brown?
Text: Daniel 9:1-27
“We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.” —Daniel 9:18
When my wife and I were newlyweds, I tried to impress her with my baking skills—I use that word very loosely! Without going into all the details, let’s just say that my lemon cake was an epic fail. I learned that having all the ingredients doesn’t necessarily lead to success. My lemon cake, it turned out, looked nothing like what was billed on the box cover at the store.
Have you ever assessed your prayer life and thought: My results look nothing like those billed in the Bible?
I have to admit that when I read the Bible and study history, and see the effectual outcomes of men and women who prayed with such seeming power, I sometimes feel like my prayers are just producing botched lemon cake. Perhaps you can identify. Maybe your prayer life has felt like Charlie Brown trying to kick field goals. You always miss the uprights and end up on your back. We don’t have to settle for the Charlie Brown effect because one of God’s greatest promises to us is that even when we are feeble and feeling anemic with our prayers, Romans 8:26 assures us “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Oh how many times I have leaned into this grace!
In our devotional series through the book of Daniel, we would be remiss to not learn from Daniel’s effectual prayer life. In many ways, Daniel’s Prayer in Chapter 9 is a model of intercession for those longing to see God restore a wayward people. Daniel’s intensity, his fervor and sincerity, and the manner in which his prayer really got God’s attention, is striking. Think about it, while Daniel was still praying, the Lord interrupted him by sending Gabriel with a very important message—that famous prophecy about the seventy sevens and the prediction of the coming Messiah. The accuracy and precision in which Jesus Christ fulfilled this particular prophecy is indisputable evidence that the Holy Bible is not just man-made contrivance, but sacredly inspired by God, Who alone holds the future. Sir Isaac Newton once wrote a discourse on this topic, saying we could stake the truth of Christianity on that prophecy alone, which was made five centuries before Christ.
One of the aspects we can learn from Daniel’s prayer life is that he got into God’s Word and grabbed a hold of the promises of God. “Our prayers never exist in a vacuum,” says Ray Pritchard. “The prayer that touches God’s heart must be rooted in God’s Word. As Luther said, we ought to take God’s promises and fling them back in his face. ‘Lord, you said you would do this. You made a promise. Now, Lord, do what you said you would do.’ Spurgeon noted that, ‘God loves to be believed in.’ … The prayer that changes the world begins and builds on what God has already revealed.”
Because Daniel’s prayer life is rooted in God’s Word, Daniel has God’s agenda in mind and not his own. This is what Jesus modeled when he taught his disciples how to pray “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.” When we are not abiding in God’s word, we tend to pray self-serving prayers with the wrong motives. This is what James warned about in his epistle (James 4:3). Scores of people are praying today, but far fewer are praying God’s word, His agenda, and His kingdom come. What if our prayers became less about our desires and more about His glory?
It’s also important to recognize how Daniel approached the Lord. His confidence wasn’t on the eloquence of his words, the passion in his voice, or the repetition of his pleas. Daniel’s poise in the prayer chamber wasn’t found in his own character or his current hitting-streak; His boldness emanated solely on the basis of God’s character:
“For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
Notice the ingredients that shaped Daniel’s prayer life: Your great mercy… Your own sake… Your city… Your people… Your name…” We don’t find Daniel begging God for self-serving outcomes. He wasn’t focused on how the circumstances would affect him personally, but what it meant to God’s glory. We need to pray as Daniel did, not because God needs our prayers to accomplish his purposes, but because we need to submit ourselves to His plans. This is more evident today than conceivably ever in our lifetime. We need His kingdom agenda over our own plans! The world needs His agenda over our own plans. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, teach us to pray your kingdom come and your will be done. Help us to be so saturated in your word that our prayers are nothing less than your promises and your words. Guard our hearts from carnal prayers that leave us manipulative, anemic, and focused on self-preservation rather than your kingdom glory. If we pray rightly, boldness will come naturally as the words will flow from your character and not our own desires. Our confidence in your throne doesn’t come from our goodness, but from the righteousness of Christ alone. In His name we pray, Amen.
Questions for Reflection, Small Group or Family Discussion:
- If God would grant you one request, what would it be?
- What did Daniel come to understand in the first year of the reign of Darius (Daniel 9:1-2)? What did Daniel’s study of the Scripture lead him to do (Daniel 9:3)?
- What was the nature of Daniel’s confession (Daniel 9:4-6)? What was the substance of Daniel’s petition (Daniel 9:15-19)? Why did Daniel receive such a prompt answer to his prayer (Daniel 9:23)?
- Why is confession of sin important? On what basis do you make requests of the Lord?
- In what specific ways do you need God’s grace and mercy in your life right now?
Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.