When we think about prayer, you may think about prayers at a meal or Sunday services. Of course, when Jesus was ask by his disciples how to pray, he gave them an example, so great its been known as the Lord's Prayer ever since.
Of course there are numerous examples through the Bible showing many examples of how different patriarch's and prophets were known to have prayed. One such example from a prophet was Daniel. Everyone should be familiar with the story of where Daniel's jealous enemies, convinced King Darius to declare a law against prayer, except to the king.
Of course, Daniel would not defer from worshipping his God, for any reason, and he never missed a beat in his prayer life. His enemies immediately went to the king and used Daniel's faith against him.
Daniel's time was before the Lord's Prayer, so he followed a pattern from his fathers before him. He humbled himself before God and confessed his and his people's sin. Throughout the Book of Daniel, several examples show how Daniel prayed.
In Daniel's many examples, he admits his faults, his sins and gives thanks and praises to the Father. Here is Daniel 2:23 (NASB), he praises God for giving him the information to reveal King Nebuchadnezzar dream. "To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king's matter."
In Daniel 6:10 (NASB) Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (in his chamber with the windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
In Daniel 9:4-19 (NASB) , it is a long prayer, but a great example of how Daniel prays. Here is a couple of versus, but please read the rest to get the bigger picture.
Daniel 9:4 (NASB) I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
Daniel 9:5 (NASB) we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
Daniel is a good example of praying three times a day, humbling himself, praising God for being the awesome, powerful and merciful God that he is.
Prayer should not always be about what you need. As the saying goes, God is not a ATM of the things we need. Sometimes and often, we need to thank him and praise him for simply making the sunrise, the beautiful skies, air in our lungs and coming up with a plan that mankind still has path to salvation through his son, Jesus Christ.
God Bless To All Who Read This!
Comments