공동체와 양육

Life of the Blessed (Num 6:22~27)

2018.08.19P. Stephen Cha

Daniel's prayer shows that believers need a steady rhythm of prayer, a foundation in God's word, humble confession, and persistent faith in God's promises. Through prayer we remember who we are before God, and God unfolds his purposes through our prayers.

Keep hold of your identity through a steady rhythm of prayer

Life can feel like a blizzard, with busyness and an enemy who wants to confuse us and make us lose our way. Midwest farmers tied a rope from their back door to the barn so they would not get lost, and we need a similar rope. Daniel kept hold of his identity through prayer. When a law forbade prayer, he went to his room, opened his windows toward Jerusalem, and prayed three times a day as he always had. Who we are is not decided by our job, money, or appearance, but by what God says about us before his face.

Let God's word shape what you pray

When Daniel read the prophet Jeremiah, he noticed that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. That discovery showed him that God was at work in history, not by accident, and that he would bring his people back. Jeremiah 25 and 29 speak of God's plans for welfare and a future and a hope. Daniel's prayer began with what God had already said. We need to be saturated with God's word first, so that we know God's will and pray in line with it. Prayer is not about persuading God to give us what we want.

Respond to God's word with humble confession

Daniel answered what he read by turning his face to the Lord with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. He did not pray only for his own sins but confessed the sins of his people. He recognized that the exile came because they had turned aside from God's commandments and rules. God's word speaks to us personally, and we should take what it convicts us of straight to God. If God shows us our lying or pride, we should ask him each day to break those patterns and set us free.

Cash in God's promises through persistent prayer

The speaker told of Dr. Bill Bright handing Dr. Joong-Gong Kim a check drawn on the Treasury of Heaven and signed in the blood of Jesus, to show that God's promises are real money. A promise only becomes ours when we cash it in. Promises such as asking and receiving, and God being with us, are fulfilled as his people pray. God invites us to partner with him in prayer, as a child takes part in a decision with a loving father. Prayer is a mystery through which God unfolds his great plans.

Apply to Life

  • Let us set a regular time to meet with God each morning and evening, as Daniel did.
  • Let us anchor our identity in whom we belong to, not in our work, money, or appearance.
  • Let us read God's word and pray according to what God has promised.
  • Let us confess our own sins and the sins of our community before God.
  • Let us claim God's promises and keep praying until we see them fulfilled.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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