For the times we live in, it is critical to cultivate the power of prayer. This gift isn’t magic fairy dust that lifts us OUT of trouble; rather, it’s like a strong arm and a trustworthy confidant to walk us THROUGH it. We WILL experience pain for as long as we live on this fallen earth. BUT—God walks with us—if we let Him.
To walk with God, we have to get serious about prayer and also understand the power of prayer. It’s not how many times we ask or how elegantly we pray; rather, it is the posture of our heart when we come to God. We know God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6) If you feel like your prayer life has drifted into a monotonous doldrum, then get on your knees and begin to THANK God for everything He has done and is doing in your life; PRAISE Him for who He is; CONFESS your known sins and ask Him to reveal the unknown sins so you may confess them. This kind of passionate self-reckoning with God will put strong wind in the sails of your prayer-life. It always does for me!
The prophet Daniel understood the power of prayer. He knew he needed to engage in repentance, praise, and thankfulness BEFORE He began making ANY requests. You see, the Bible says that we are so desperately wicked that even our GOOD works are like “filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) Daniel was a man who had lived faithful to God for decades. He would’ve had reason to brag on his earthly accomplishments and position of standing. Yet, at the end of his life, He still prayed with the greatest humility. Daniel said:
“Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said [prayed],
Daniel 9:3-10, 17-19 NKJV‘O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, WE have sinned and committed iniquity, WE have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to US shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.
O Lord, to US belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because WE have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though WE have rebelled against Him. WE have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do NOT present our supplications before You because of OUR righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.
O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name‘.”
Consider the remarkable feats and miracles of Daniel and yet—at the end of his life they had not gone to his head. He included himself with the collective national rejection of God by His people. He understood God’s great mercy. He understood his desperate need for God’s blessings. He understood that all mercy and forgiveness belong to God. And thus, his prayer reflects the knowledge of his reality about how small he was before Almighty God.
Daniel prayed that God answer his prayers—not for his own comfort—but for God’s glory!
This is a remarkable perspective! But it is the correct spiritual posture we should have when coming into God’s presence. When we understand that our life is to be lived for the glorification of God, and that our prayers are to that end—we are in a powerful position to pray.
Do you want to have the power of God at your disposal?
I sure do! I want God’s power to do God’s work! Join me! Begin to thank Him, begin to praise Him, confess your sin, humble your heart before Him, ask Him to show you HIS way, and help you desire to return to HIS righteous ways. The Psalmist prayed:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalms 139:23-24 NKJV
My friend, the great power of humility is that it allows us to engage with Almighty God!
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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2 Responses
Amen and amen!
Blessings!