Wednesday, September 8, 2010

September 8th

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Daniel 6, 9, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1, 1 Chronicles 3:17-19

There are a wealth of commentaries available on these two chapters of Daniel.

Commentaries
Daniel's Defiance of Darius in Prayer (Daniel 6)by John Piper
Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6) by John MacArthur
The Deliverance of Daniel and Darius (Daniel 6) by Bob Deffinbaugh
Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6) by John Walvoord on Bible.org
How to Pray for a Desolate Church (Daniel 9) by John Piper
Daniel's Prayer and Gabriel's Proclamation (Daniel 9) by Bob Deffinbaugh
The Prophecy of the 70 Weeks (Daniel 9) by John Walvoord on Bible.org
Elements of True Prayer (Daniel 9:1-3) by John MacArthur
A Prayer of Brokenness (Daniel 9:1-19) by John MacArthur
Characteristics of True Confession (Daniel 9:1-19) by John MacArthur
Characteristics of a Fervent Prayer Life (Daniel 9:1-19) by John MacArthur
More sermons on Daniel 9 by John MacArthur

There is so much to be gleaned from these passages! The one thing common to both passages in Daniel is prayer.

In chapter 6 Daniel does six daring things in regards to prayer - here's a huge chunk of John Piper's sermon...

1) He did not act in ignorance, he acted in full knowledge of the law and the consequences.

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went…” to pray. Don’t forget, Daniel is right on the brink of being promoted to the main ruler over Persia. Think of the rationalizations that must have rushed to his head—“my influence would be so great if I held that position … I can do more for God alive than dead … it’s only thirty days, and then I can pray again … legalism is surely a worse sin than expediency … etc.” But he rejected all the rationalizations. He knew the law. He knew the penalty. And he went to pray.

2) He did not go to the woods to pray, he went to his house.

He could have kept on praying to his God without putting himself at risk if he had just gone underground for thirty days. There is no law that says you have to pray in your house where your enemies will be looking for you.

3) He did not go to the secret inner chamber of his house.

He went to the room with windows (open windows)—the one in the second story of the house, the one most visible, the one that faced Jerusalem and not the palace in Babylon.

Do you begin to catch on to why I call this act of prayer defiant? Daniel is not just praying contrary to the king’s decree. He is making a public statement. We would say today, he is demonstrating. He is doing an act of public civil disobedience. And he is doing so in a public way that no biblical law requires.

4) He did not pray once, early in the morning when no one might be looking, but three times a day and every day.

He would make sure that he is not missed in his refusal to obey this law.

5) When Daniel prayed, he did not use words that were vague and ambiguous that some clever defense attorney could argue were really made to Darius because they didn’t specify which god was addressed.

It says, “He gave thanks before his God.” Not Darius. And not the gods of the Medes and Persians, but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

6) He did not change the way he prayed or do anything different to yield to the pressures of the law Darius had made.

It says at the end of the verse that he prayed “as he had done previously.” There were many ways to pray that might not have been detected and that would have fulfilled the law of his God. But Daniel prayed daringly, defiantly and in his usual disciplined way of three times a day.

Imitating Daniel in Our Day

Now what are we to make of all this? I would suggest four concluding applications for our life of prayer today.

1. Prayer is a legitimate public testimony, and we should seek to use it as God leads us.

Jesus said,

When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:5-6)

Does this indict Daniel’s public demonstration of prayer? I don’t think so. Jesus was warning against our love of praise for prayer, not our willingness to suffer for prayer. He was not saying that it is wrong to be seen in prayer. He was saying it is wrong to want to be seen so as to be praised for your piety. Blessed are you when men persecute you for righteousness sake (Matt. 5:10); but woe to you when you use your righteousness to seek their praise (6:2-4).

In Daniel’s context—and here we need great wisdom to know our own context—the call of God on his life was “let your light so shine that men may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” For Daniel, prayer had become a public statement about the glory of God over the glory of Darius. And it was a legitimate testimony. And so it is for us, if our hearts are right.

2. Daniel’s prayer was a testimony, not only to the glory of God over the glory of Darius, but also, to the fact that his life was built on prayer.

Daniel was making a statement, not just about God but about his relation to God. God would not have changed if Daniel had prayed in secret. God would still be God. Daniel would still be a ruler in Persia. What would have been different is the way the presidents and satraps thought about Daniel’s relationship to God. And when Daniel thought about that, he could not bring himself to go underground.

He was known as a man who lived by prayer—whose life was built on prayer—who consulted his God in all things and who sought the action of his God before he took action himself. Daniel would not surrender that testimony. I pray that we won’t surrender that testimony either.

3. Daniel’s prayer was disciplined and regular.

When the time came for a demonstration. Daniel did not have to change anything. He already was praying three times a day in a stated place. There was pattern and routine and discipline. Does it strike you as strange that in America today almost no Christians pray this way? I’m sure that there are some who would celebrate this absence of order and design and habit and pattern as a sign of freedom from legalism. I might believe it if I saw anything like the freedom and power of Daniel where discipline like his is absent. But I don’t see it, I don’t believe it.

I asked in the STAR last week: could it be that Daniel’s discipline in prayer was the secret of his unexpected, unplanned, spontaneous encounters with God? Could it be that discipline is not the boring substitute for spontaneity and power but the garden where it grows. You till the garden with patient discipline and suddenly God makes a plant grow with supernatural power. I think this is so. I urge you to take time this week to step back and plan some discipline into your prayer life. Be like Daniel.

4. Finally, prayer is more precious than life.

Just think of it. Daniel knew that the penalty for praying would be the lion’s den. I don’t think Daniel knew that he would be delivered any more than Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew it as they stood before the fiery furnace and said, “If God does not deliver us, be it known to you, we will not serve your gods” (Daniel 3:18).

This must mean that prayer is more important than life. Daniel would rather pray than save his life. Not praying was a worse prospect to Daniel than being eaten by lions. That is a radical commitment to prayer. Just think of it. Can you say with Daniel: “You will have to take my life before you take my prayer”? (John Piper)

Daniel's prayer in chapter 9 is incredible, but this is getting really long so I'll end this now and let you delve into more as you are able.

Tomorrow's passage: Ezra 2-4:5, 1 Chronicles 3:19-24

4 comments:

tammi said...

Oooo, good points, Piper!! I've never thought about it that way. I just assumed that was probably where Daniel always prayed. Interesting.

Last fall when I read through Daniel, 9:20-23 really hit me and they stood out again now.

"While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill- while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, 'Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.'"

For an angel to come and tell Daniel that he was highly esteemed means that GOD thought an awful lot of him! Can you imagine how it must have felt to hear those words?! (and that he wasn't right away consumed with self-righteous pride is pretty incredible, too!!)

Miriam said...

I noticed those verses as well, LL. And very good points about prayer from Mr. Piper. I grew up seeing my dad on his knees EVERY MORNING before breakfast. Literally on his knees at his desk in the basement every single day. I can't tell you how often I think of that and of the fact that I haven't made time for prayer, or even daily devotions, like that in my own life, well, ever. Prayer is something that's been on my mind lately - as in, I need to do more of it and make a commitment to it.

Tammy said...

I think chapter 9 has even more to tell us about prayer - I just didn't have time to read everything yesterday! I hope to read a bit more today. A few of them that I started reading definitely indicated that chapter 9 was one of the most important chapters in the Bible on prayer.

tammi said...

Just finished listining to MacArthur's "Elements of True Prayer, Part 1." Very, VERY thought-provoking and inspiring. This statement, in particular, kinda hit me: "...Samuel, even though he knew the will of God to be inevitable, still recognized that a failure to pray about it was sinful. Now, I don’t know how to harmonize all that. I just know that’s how a man of God reacts. To pray consistently with the will of God."

Very powerful words. I intend to listen to the second part sometime, but I think tomorrow I will need to focus on Daniel 10-12 for my post on Friday!