The Power of One Man's Prayers

Daniel 9 is one of the GREAT chapters of the Bible. There, we find this passionate prayer from Daniel:

"Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances… Open shame belongs to us, O Lord… because we have sinned against You" (9:4–5, 8)

He continued, "…all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice" (9:13–14).

Daniel then pleaded, "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name" (9:18–19).

Did Daniel's fervent prayer burn within your heart as it did mine? O, dear people, did you feel it? Do you realize that the situation that he described is also a picture of our country and our people? Wouldn't Daniel's prayer be great for us to pray for ourselves, our country, and our world today?

Jesus prayed and wept for His city and His people. So did Daniel. Shouldn't we do the same? Let's get serious. Our nation and our world are in deep trouble, and we can do something about it. WE CAN PRAY, and prayer changes things. Prayer also changes us!

We need to fall on our knees in humility before the Lord, confessing our sin and asking for the right things with the right motives. Doesn't that make sense? Will you pray like Daniel today? 

Prayer: O Lord, our God, forgive us our sins. Our world has offended You. We are so sorry. We pray for our rulers, that they may be saved and for Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quote for the Day: "No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it." —Guy H. King

Open Their Eyes That They May See

The king of Aram wanted to overthrow the king of Israel. However, the prophet Elisha kept warning the king of Israel of the Aramean king's plans, allowing the Israelite king to avoid capture multiple times.

Furious, the king of Aram asked his servant how the king of Israel was foiling his plans. His servant replied, "Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom" (2 Kings 6:12). The king said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him." And it was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan" (6:13).

So the king of Aram sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. When Elisha's servant went outside, he saw the army, the horses and the chariots encircling the city. He said to Elisha, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" Elisha answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (6:14–16).

Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (6:17).

What a great moment! Dear people, you may teach a Sunday School class, lead a Bible study, counsel and exhort others, pastor, and preach to a host of people. These people come to you with many problems, troubled and perplexed. You must be equipped to know the Word of God and understand what God is doing. Those of us who teach and preach need to pray, "O Lord, open their eyes that they may see."

That, dear people, is one of the greatest needs in the church today. I'm over 80 years old, and I am appalled at people's lack of knowledge of the Bible and the lack of discernment that I see in our culture. We must ask God to open people's eyes to the spiritual battle that is going on all around us. 

Prayer: Father, open the eyes of those reading this so that they may know who You are and how You are working in their lives. Teach them to invest in those things that will bring blessing to them, glorify You, and allow them to lay up treasures for eternity. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quote for the Day: "We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties." —Oswald Chambers