Patient Concentration
Ps.37:7 Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
Prayer is countercultural. In our culture we are typically distracted, but prayer takes concentration. It used to be children that have short attention spans, but these days adults have very short attention span. Read the rest of this entry
Time & Trouble
Dan.9:4 “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.
Daniel always starts his prayer with thanksgiving and ends with thanksgiving. A lot of people think that when services start with prayer, with thanking God, and with praise, it is a way of passing time. Read the rest of this entry
Spotlight
Dan.9:3 “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.”
You and I need to bring our prayer lives under God’s light this season. I pray that as we do, God will do His special work in us and take our prayer lives higher in Jesus Name [say Amen]. Read the rest of this entry
Prayer 101
Dan.9:19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”
Prayer is the bedrock of Daniel’s life and strength. The truth is that seasons come, and seasons go but people that are given to prayer usually will outlast seasons. Read the rest of this entry
Get Wisdom
Dan.2:47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”
You need to know this God that has all the power and controls the course of world events. You need to know this God that sets up kings and removes kings. Guess what? As powerful, as awesome, as engaged, and powerfully controlling the course of world events as God is, He is secure in Himself. Read the rest of this entry
Praise Reveals
Dan.2:19 “That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.”
When the mystery was revealed to Daniel, the first thing he did was to praise God. Read the rest of this entry
Relationships
Dan.2:17 “…Daniel… told his friends… what had happened. 18 He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men… 19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision…”
Daniel had friends, people he was doing life with, people who could pray for him and with him. Do you have friends? Daniel was in a “Life group”, are you in a Life group? You are the average of the three people you spend the most time with. Read the rest of this entry
Under or Above Pressure?
Dan.2:14 “When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. 15 He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened.”
There is so much to learn from how Daniel handled the situation with the king. Daniel was a master negotiator. Daniel’s life was at stake, but he was calm. It was like there was a gun pointed to his head, but he was not under pressure or hysterical. Read the rest of this entry
