Daniel is a very good pray-er. It's like what Bruno Mars is to pop music, Daniel is to prayer. You know Daniel, they guy who gets pitched in a lion's den unjustly because he won't stop praying to his God even though there's a law against it? I really like Daniel because he's good at prayer, and I'm really not. Inconsistent, chopped up, feeling distant, mind wandering, somewhere between routine and authenticity I never know where I fall, and does it really make a difference? I can never "keep up" praying for all the people I should, either.
I arrived at Daniel 9 today and I realized that Daniel really gets prayer. In Daniel 9, he realizes that the desolation of Jerusalem is going to last 70 years, and that makes him real sad, real troubled. And he prays well. Here's why:
1) He prays the Scriptures. He starts with a truth, "I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, 'Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments...' Why, hello Deuteronomy 7:9. He doesn't start out with how he feels (subjective) but with who God is (objective truth).
2) He puts himself in his place. He goes right to confession: "we have sinned and done wrong.We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame... because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him." (Notice how he reminds God of his righteousness and mercy and forgiving-ness, his character).
3) He's actually affected by the things happening around him, and he goes right to God with it. He has real pain about what's going on, does the sackcloth and ashes thing, and really gets deep into his distress. I'm so often "un-distressed" even in a culture full of distress and hurt and tragedy. I go with the "don't panic, everything's gonna be OK" approach, which can be good, but can also make me a distant onlooker into peoples'/cultures'/neighborhoods' pain, rather than an active participant, petitioning God for change. When Nelson gets shot in his neighborhood, when medical treatments pile up on people who can't afford to feed their kids, when fires blaze through shanty-town houses...where are my sackcloth and ashes?
4) He petitions God for God's own sake, not for his (Daniel's) benefit. He petitions HARD for Jerusalem to be restored, why? "Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Daniel sees Jerusalem in ruin and probably hears the Babylonians cackling about the joke that is this God of Israel while the Israelites, God's image-bearing people are in exile and Jerusalem, God's image bearing city, is a smoldering heap. Daniel can't stand it because God is not being glorified. Daniel can't stand it because God's name is being humiliated. And he pleads with God so that God would be glorified. That's a big difference from "God be with Albert today because he's hurting" or "We pray for the meeting tonight that it would go well and things would move forward."
I think these things can inform my prayers, however scattered, routine, or inadequate they may be.
Strength in Christ,
AJ
I arrived at Daniel 9 today and I realized that Daniel really gets prayer. In Daniel 9, he realizes that the desolation of Jerusalem is going to last 70 years, and that makes him real sad, real troubled. And he prays well. Here's why:
1) He prays the Scriptures. He starts with a truth, "I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, 'Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments...' Why, hello Deuteronomy 7:9. He doesn't start out with how he feels (subjective) but with who God is (objective truth).
2) He puts himself in his place. He goes right to confession: "we have sinned and done wrong.We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame... because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him." (Notice how he reminds God of his righteousness and mercy and forgiving-ness, his character).
3) He's actually affected by the things happening around him, and he goes right to God with it. He has real pain about what's going on, does the sackcloth and ashes thing, and really gets deep into his distress. I'm so often "un-distressed" even in a culture full of distress and hurt and tragedy. I go with the "don't panic, everything's gonna be OK" approach, which can be good, but can also make me a distant onlooker into peoples'/cultures'/neighborhoods' pain, rather than an active participant, petitioning God for change. When Nelson gets shot in his neighborhood, when medical treatments pile up on people who can't afford to feed their kids, when fires blaze through shanty-town houses...where are my sackcloth and ashes?
4) He petitions God for God's own sake, not for his (Daniel's) benefit. He petitions HARD for Jerusalem to be restored, why? "Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Daniel sees Jerusalem in ruin and probably hears the Babylonians cackling about the joke that is this God of Israel while the Israelites, God's image-bearing people are in exile and Jerusalem, God's image bearing city, is a smoldering heap. Daniel can't stand it because God is not being glorified. Daniel can't stand it because God's name is being humiliated. And he pleads with God so that God would be glorified. That's a big difference from "God be with Albert today because he's hurting" or "We pray for the meeting tonight that it would go well and things would move forward."
I think these things can inform my prayers, however scattered, routine, or inadequate they may be.
Strength in Christ,
AJ