The Lord is powerful. He utters his voice before his army; and the heavens and the earth quake (Joel 2:11; 3:16).”
The Lord is also gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Joel 2:13).”
Our powerful and loving Lord wants us to pray. He says, “Return to me with all your heart (Joel 2:12).”
They knew Daniel. So to get rid of him, they outlawed prayer. He continued kneeling on his knees, three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God. as he had been doing previously (Daniel 6:10).”
But they didn’t know how powerful prayer is and they didn’t know how powerful God is. “God delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth (Daniel 6:27).”
When God answered his prayer, Daniel responded with praise. “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him (Daniel 2:20).”
Daniel also told the king his answer came from “a God in heaven who reveals mysteries (Daniel 2:28).”
Give God credit and praise when He answers prayer.
Daniel’s assignment was humanly impossible. “Tell the king his dream and its interpretation.”
But Daniel had three praying friends. Just three. He told them the king’s demand. They prayed and God revealed the dream’s meaning that same night (from Daniel 2).
Small group prayers change lives.
I cycled past four dads today:
One sprinted behind the jogger that held his infant daughter.
The second plodded slowly, pushing his toddler aged son.
Another followed behind two elementary aged children; all three rode like the wind.
The last rode beside his young daughter, patiently keeping pace with her.
I saw God’s Father-love:
He carries us when we’re young, small, weak.
He goes behind us, inspiring us.
He goes beside us as our Father-friend.
He always includes us.
I want to pray.
The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 AM for a glass of water is a child.
We have that kind of access. – Tim Keller
Think about the Lord.*
Notice what He is doing.
Talk to Him about everything.
Prayer is simple, sincere conversation with the Lord.
*Read the Bible to know who God is and what He does.
My granddaughter and I were on our way to the store. From her carseat she called to me, “Grandma, I have my cell phone.” (It’s her mom’s old cell phone, that doesn’t work anymore.)
I asked, “Who are you going to call?”
“Jesus,” she answered. I listened to her side of the conversation. She laughed some, she babbled a little, and then she was done.
Pray like her. Make prayer a natural conversation with your friend, Jesus.
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven (Psalm 11:4).
Come into his presence, through prayer, with thanksgiving and praise because the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods (Psalm 95:3).
God is love and love bears all things (1 John 4:16; 1 Corinthians 13:7).
That means God covers, supports, and protects us from exposure, ridicule or harm.*
For this, we can pray with thanksgiving!
*adapted from John MacArthur, John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1 Corinthians, p.352
A Blog on Prayer 