series: Anchored in hope, rising in faith #
verse: Daniel 6:10 #
Context: #
- King Darius persian ruler
- Daniel is old now ~80 years old
- People were trying to dig up dirt and find any flaw in his character. The only way to take Daniel down was to attack his devotion to God.
- “For 30 days, let nobody worship anyone buy you. If you break this law they will be thrown into the Lion’s den”
- Daniel is being asked to temporarily stop praying for God. Realistically he could reason and say that this is just a small break. But no, he could not compromise this value.
- Because Daniel disobeyed, he is theown into the lion’s den. But even in this dangerous space, he remains calm and continues to pray to God.
Main Idea: #
All people have strong grit and resilience. But where are we placing our this resolve?
3 Facts about prayer #
- Prayer shapes our identity, not just our actions
- Notice how Daniel almost immediately goes to pray in his chamber as he’s always done. It was a lifelong practice that was so deeply tied to his identity, rather than it being an action.
- Prayer wasn’t just a duty to fulfill. Daniel instead builds a deep relationship with God by constantly seeking him out. His being was shaped by his communion with God.
- How should we handle hardships and stress?
- By not being self-reliant. The more we depend on our weak and human selves, the more we burden ourselves. We need faith instead of fear. This won’t come to us unless we center our lives over prayer.
- It’s a lifelong process of commitment and love of Christ.
- Prayer is a lifeline not a last resort
- Daniel didn’t pray the moment trouble came. He actually had already been praying consistently before the crisis arrived.
- Prayer is more important than life itself. Stop thinking if prayer as a convenience to get what we want. It’s not just a religious duty.
- Prayer is a lifeline built on a life time of discipline. Don’t depend on other things because they don’t have any value. Have a joyous heart that longs to know God deeply. Only then will you experience a life of persistent prayer and a rise in faith.
What are some good opportunities to pray? #
- Eating
- Right before going to bed
- Starting studying
- Before exercise
- As you drive
- Right as you wake up. Make a time for it.
Prayer assures of God’s word. It’s not an escape of our troubles #
- When Daniel prays nothing changes
- He still enters the lion’s den. He literally had a HARDER time because he prayed, instead of deliverance.
- The word of God reveals to us that when we pray, life gets harder.
- One profound truth of the story: It ends in safety and deliverance. Most importantly the deliverance is applied WITHIN the trial, not pulling Daniel out of the trial. When God could have easily removed troubles from our lives, he instead is right there with us as we go through them.
- Jesus faced the ultimate punishment for us first, that we would be able to succeed in our small trials.
- We can only deal with our current problems so that we don’t have to endure with the ultimate problem of eternal suffering. God has not abandoned us. His word came into fulfillment through Jesus.
Prayer: Father we thank you in your revalation to us in shwowing us that our communication to you is not just meaning for us to be delivered from our miseries. But rather it’s to help us identify ourselves in you and experience your word come true in both our current life and our eternal life. Hello us to see the value of prayer and have greater grit/persistence more than ever befoe rto pray. to count the cost of prayer for your glory and our joy. help us to be anchored in hope and turn to yoy confidently knowing thar Jesus Christ experienced the ultimate death aleeady. Help us to continue rising in faith to obey your word.