pickledilly

I can honestly attest to the fact that my faith in Christ has empowered me with hope because I believe in and expect the power and goodness of God to be active in my life on my behalf. That hope, that assured expectation, gives me confidence and strength to face disappointments, hurts, failures, and fears because I try to continually remember that this imperfect life isn't all there is!! (Hallelujah and Amen!) While these kinds of things certainly can/do knock me down at times, that hope always helps me refocus, regroup, and get back up to go on. He will complete His good work in me. (Phil.1:6) I want all that Christ desires for me! Knowing how much the precious hope born of faith has seen me through, I feel so sorry for people who have a meager, vague, spineless kind of hope. So often they get negative and pessimistic, expecting the worst instead of God's best. There's no overcoming power, no "Victory In Jesus"! They just settle in to endure failure. Defeat becomes a comfort zone. Loss becomes the norm. They have narrow tunnel vision that can't see past the next problem or crisis. They're saved, but they don't move forward in kingdom living, and the work of the kingdom suffers for it. I can't improve on Paul's comprehensive plea. I should pray that believers without strong hope would have the eyes of their hearts enlightened so that they may experience a confident expectation of all that God has called them to. May they get dissatisfied with the lack of joy, peace, and power in their lives and be ready for the light to come on!

This prayer is obviously for people who already have saving faith in Christ. Paul's manner of prayer for them teaches me that love, appreciation, and concern for fellow believers are very important, even expected. It is, quite simply, loving those whom God loves. To continually have them on my heart, to be grateful for them, to keep their names before the Lord with a desire for their spiritual understanding and growth is a high expression of that love. We have already learned that God expects believers to pray for others and that He partners with those prayers to intercede. It may be very important to pray for each other because so many times we don't even know what/how to pray for ourselves. Someone may recognize a need in me that I don't realize or that I'm not ready to pray for myself. I have to believe that God is always at work to draw individuals closer to Himself. It may be to bring light to a sinner lost in darkness. It may be to bring greater knowledge and deeper insight to a saved child who needs to know Him better. But He has given us a privilege and a responsibility to join with Him, and I am certain that much is lost to us because no one prayed. That would make this kind of prayer for spiritual growth very important.

I don't think Jesus got "special treatment" because He was the Son of God. He had set aside His divinity and rights when He came to earth in human flesh. (Phil.2:6-7) I think it was because, as the pure and sinless Son of Man, He completely maintained a pure, intimate, obedient relationship with the Father without a single breach or failure. And now as He faced the most demanding, agonizing choice that would ever be made, He was in need of extraordinary strengthening. BUT how glorious it is that Jesus has given all that He has to believers. No one else will ever face the degree of need that He faced, but everything that was available to Him is also available to us! We have the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us from within. And we have angels to help guard and protect us from without. They are constantly at war on our behalf in the spiritual realm against dangers and threats that we cannot even see. The Father has sent these wonderful ministering spirits into our midst to provide special, preferential support that unbelievers do not have. They don't sit around up in heaven with nothing to do! Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Heb.1:14

The Father was deeply pleased with this prayer. He is always pleased when we choose Him over ourselves, for in that we focus all glory on Him and we exercise great faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb.11:6) Thank you, Pastor Ralph, for this challenge to the surrender of my will. I have never heard it stated so clearly, and it rings true. I learned a long time ago about praying more specifically (deeper than a "Lord, save everybody" kind of prayer, for example). I actually have surrendered many times, but inconsistently and certainly not with so much deliberate consciousness. How can I surrender something I don't even have possession of, something I haven't owned up to, something I haven't identified and defined? That is passive, careless, and dispassionate, and I imagine that kind of approach to God from a maturing believer is like the lukewarm faith of Rev.3:16 that turns His stomach. To pray the prayer of submission with authenticity, (#1) I must be honest with myself about what my desires are. I need to identify and define my thoughts, feelings, and wants

I don't believe Jesus was resisting the Father's will. I believe He was asking if the will of the Father could be accomplished any other way but the cross. The full realization of the agony, on every level, that He faced there was crushing. The unavoidable separation from the Father that was coming, as He became our sin, was torturous. He understood what the Father had revealed to Him from Isaiah's writings. How could He NOT desire another means by which God's will would be done? Who would welcome such a horrific experience? What sane person would rejoice in such traumatic suffering? Without Gethsemane, there would have been no Calvary. If you think about it, the agonizing and wrestling with accepting God's will causes far more pain and suffering than actually doing His will. That's really our point of true struggle. I appreciate that Jesus showed us how to live in real life. The Son of Man had to work through a process of fully accepting what God desired to do by whatever means God sovereignly chose to do it - because that would be the right thing, the righteous thing. By the third time He pleaded for this cup to pass, He accepted that this cup could not pass. This way was the only way - the right way, and He released the struggle against it. He chose to look through the suffering to the joy and glory beyond. The decision had been made, and He never looked back. What a lesson for us.

The Word records that Jesus asked the disciples to pray that they would not give in to temptation. Jesus knew they were going to be tested like never before by the very antithesis of faith: FEAR and doubt. A critical, decisive turning point was literally moments away, and He instructed, warned, and urged them to engage themselves in one simple, direct plea for strength not to "enter into temptation." This mirrors what He taught them in His model prayer. Our defense against evil and ability to resist temptation are only in the Lord. What a sad picture of our own prayer lives! Even in the moment of intense crisis we lose focus, our minds wander, we become weary after a short while. I imagine that Jesus' demeanor and intensity in prayer were unlike anything the disciples had ever seen before. One would think that would be enough to shake and wake them up into diligent prayer themselves. I do keep in mind that at this point they were confused and exhausted, and they did not yet have the indwelling presence of the Spirit within to quicken and compel them. But they failed to comprehend the crisis and stay on task. What a discouragement that must have been to Jesus when He came back to find them sleeping. Shame on us, too, as we do the very same thing all the time. I think maybe Jesus wanted to pray alone for at least two reasons. The disciples had been given one thing to focus on - strength for their own needs, not His. The coming test of their faith had the potential to completely destroy them. He knew they needed to make it through the next three days, but they needed to make it through for something even greater beyond that. All that would be accomplished through what He was about to endure was going to be handed off into their keeping. He was going to secure everlasting redemption, but it was going to be up to them to "Go, ye", to take that news into the world. They needed God's power to resist temptation like never before! And then, this was a personal moment of decision for Him that no other person could share. It was a private decision that only He could make. Like Calvary, Gethsemane was something He had to face alone. An angel was the only attendant qualified to minister in that holy struggle. I believe there is a lesson in that example for us. Sharing prayer needs with others is important, but there are sacred moments when we must "wrestle" with God alone.

Essentially, Daniel's prayer was based on three things: acknowledgement of God's right to judge, confession of sin, and a plea for mercy. The grounds for his appeal included God's faithfulness to His covenant, His love for those who love and obey Him, His merciful and forgiving character, His righteousness, the maintenance of the beloved city of His people and His holy dwelling place on earth, His reputation among the nations, and His own honor. Before Daniel even finished speaking his prayer, the angel Gabriel arrived with God's response to give Daniel understanding of what was to come. How precious that Gabriel included a reminder of how much God loved Daniel! The Lord always responds in love to the love of His children.

If the king was offended by Nehemiah's sorrowful display of emotion, Nehemiah could have been in real peril. The king could have chosen to have Nehemiah removed from his service, maybe imprisoned, or even executed. This was THE moment Nehemiah had been praying about for months, and before he opened his mouth to speak, I think he cried out in his spirit for God to be glorified. Perhaps he quickly prayed for courage, for just the right words, and for God to do what only He could do in the king's heart. Nehemiah had been imploring God to grant him success and favor all along, and I imagine that he was releasing this moment of opportunity completely into God's hands. Many times at some crucial point in a situation, I have quickly prayed, "LORD, if You don't show up right now, if You aren't in control, this moment will be a disaster! HELP!!"

God definitely places His people in strategic positions today, through every layer of society and social structure. Personally, I recall something I haven't thought of in ages. Many years ago, when my son was in middle school, I was in a position to challenge the thinking on "values-free education" in his school. Through an earlier situation, I had developed a good relationship with the principal that allowed me the opportunity to open a discussion and bring information to light that ended up changing their blanket acceptance of that humanistic philosophy. I was certainly never in "danger", but I was nervous about it and didn't want to create any unfavorable attitudes toward my child. I just knew that God had opened an important door and I could not let the opportunity pass by. I relied on Him (and Focus on the Family!) for truthful information, the right moment, a favorable reception, and the courteous respectful courage I needed. He was faithful to use me as a positive influence. I believe in the ripple effect. Just about everything anybody does, almost every choice we make ultimately has some kind of impact on somebody else. (Even if I decide to constantly overeat, let's say, someone else will suffer and pay a price later for my health problems.) If God designed me with a plan and a purpose, and places me in situations "for such a time as this", then I have an enormous responsibility to Him. I cannot be overwhelmed and paralyzed with concern for my own reputation or comfort. I wish I were more faithful to remember how He has always provided for every opportunity and need before it even arises.

Nehemiah appealed to God on the basis of God's own words. The LORD had promised Moses that even though His people would be scattered throughout the earth because of disobedience, He would gather them back when their hearts returned to Him in obedience. Nehemiah reminded the LORD that His people were now His submissive servants who delighted in honoring His name and they desired that the dwelling place of His name be without shame. An important lesson here is that the greatest prayer is to quote God's own Word and promises back to Him, believing that He is faithful to them. Also, Nehemiah confessed his complete dependence on God's mercy. As we've seen in other prayers, he didn't try to make excuses or refuse responsibility for the wickedness and rebellion of his people. He identified himself with the sins of his nation and took on the burden of intercession - with great intensity.

I think his burden and grief about the state of Jerusalem was so deep and so profound that every moment of every day must have been affected by it. His heart must have been totally broken and crushed with this anguish. He knew God would have to act in order for anything to change, and perhaps he determined to do the only thing he could do - pray - until God chose to intervene in the circumstances. Maybe he was strongly impressed that there was something he should do to help restore the security and honor of the beloved city and reputation of God Himself among the surrounding nations, so he was imploring the LORD to show him what steps to take. Maybe he was also wrestling with the danger he could be in if he obeyed what God was revealing to him about speaking to the king. As Nehemiah continued to fast and weep, he remained in an intensive state of grief, humility, repentance, and petition over this shameful situation as he waited on the LORD for direction. Excessive? Certainly passionate and persistent! Well, I know I've been burdened and prayed for years about something before seeing the full answer.

I appreciate Pastor Ralph's explanation that "Daniel is part of a sinful nation in the same way that a member of the human race bears guilt because of Adam's sin". Daniel took into his own heart the burden and responsibility for the sins of his nation in order to truly and effectively intercede for them. His intercession had to cost him a lot in emotional and spiritual terms as he deeply related to their wickedness that deserved God's justice and their utter need for God's mercy for redemption. This immediately made me think of Christ's intercession for us. He was completely innocent of sin, but took on the burden and responsibility for ours in order to intercede for them. Of course, (hallelujah!), Christ completely atoned for our sins Himself, which Daniel could not do. But His example of sacrificial intercession is the ultimate model for us. What difference might it make if just the people doing this Bible study took on such a burden for the sins of our own nation(s) and committed ourselves to such sacrificial intercession? I know America totally deserves God's judgment but we desperately need His glorious and abundant mercy!! I think the bottom-line question is "Do we genuinely care?" Are our hearts broken about the sins of our people? Are we willing to hurt and suffer in order to bear the burden for them?

Daniel prayed in total humility before God, knowing that neither he nor the nation of Israel deserved divine mercy - but also that nothing but God's mercy could bring them through. He prepared by investing time in fasting, clothing himself in sackcloth, and adorning himself with ashes. He was willing to take on a responsibility for the sin of his nation and represent them with humble, grieving, repentant intercession before God. I think the people had strayed so far from God in their sins that their only remaining hope was the mercy of God. (How contemporary is that?) Daniel had to come with a humble broken heart and a serious attitude of repentance. The time was fast approaching when Jeremiah's prophecy would be completed. The fulfillment of God's covenant with Israel would require restoration of His people to Himself - and He could not bless this wicked rebellion and shame. To intercede like this, I think I must first have that broken heart for the other person/people - to see the sin and be crushed by what it has done to God and their relationship with Him. Fasting will help me focus on my utter dependence on Him. And I need to confess my own sin and be cleansed before starting to intercede for anyone else. It is the faithful prayers of the righteous that avail much (James 5:16). Then, in my own heart, I have to take on the weight of the transgression of the one for whom I intercede and carry it to the throne as I turn my face to the LORD God and seek Him by "prayer and pleas for mercy".

Daniel was obviously a devout student of God's Word and had been gifted by the LORD with prophetic understanding. As he read from Jeremiah, Daniel discerned the meaning of the 70 years of the desolations of Jerusalem and exile of God's people into captivity. He realized that this 70-year period was soon going to be completed, and he knew that the people of Israel needed to prepare themselves for their return to the homeland. They had spent decades in a foreign land where they had rebelled and sinned against their God. They needed to turn back to Him, be made clean before the LORD, and renew their commitment to Him. This would require great mercy from such a righteous God who had been rejected and offended by His own people. Daniel's whole life had been faithfully devoted to the LORD. I think he was encouraged because he knew God and had experienced God's great and faithful mercy. His life had been preserved more than once by miraculous intervention from the LORD. He was encouraged by knowing God would keep His Word, that His covenant of love and this prophecy would be fulfilled - because of God's righteousness and His mercy.

Inviting the all-seeing LORD to scrutinize my mind and heart is difficult to pray because I

I was deliberately and carefully designed and created by the very hand of God with a specific purpose and good plan for life. This encourages me because my life is no accident or mistake. It is for a reason, and that basic reason is to be supremely loved and to love. In that, I have great meaning and purpose and value. We don

God

People desire to flee from God when they want to indulge in sin, when they do not want to follow after holiness or obey His Word, when His conviction is too uncomfortable or His correction is hard to take, when they can

Hezekiah prayed,

Hezekiah

Hezekiah and Jesus began their recorded prayers with recognition of the true, living God of heaven and earth whose sovereign will reigns supreme over everything. This understanding and respect for the Lord is the foundation of faith. To have faith that God listens and hears, looks and sees, and then answers His people requires confidence that He is who He says - the morally perfect (holy) God who oversees His creation and acts rightly in all things to accomplish His will. I think that

The Lord had been mocked and insulted in that letter, and Hezekiah took it right to Him. I think the underlying principle here is that the battle is the Lord

A person who has a proper thankful attitude of praise toward God recognizes that He is the Creator and Source of all things. Since this is true, He

When I speak of the amazing attributes of God in my own prayers, I am speaking them and their power right into my life and circumstances as I am reminded of Who He is. I am recognizing His ownership of everything in all the earth, authority over all things that concern me, His faithful care to provide for all my needs, His constant attention to His good and perfect will for me. I think it would be a good idea to pay very specific attention to each element of my prayer and match it up with a specific attribute of God, being dependent on His glory and greatness in the specifics of my life. Knowing and praying the names of God (which reveal His attributes) would be awesome. Jesus began His model prayer with this kind of praise as He confessed God as Father, reigning over His kingdom from heaven, whose name is to be revered and honored. Classic songs like Holy, Holy, Holy, El Shaddai, and Majesty are wonderful expressions of praise. Some of my favorite newer songs right now are by Chris Tomlin, who has written some powerful worship music with thoughts straight from Scripture, like God of Wonders and We Fall Down. Two recent songs I love are Beautiful One and Holy Is the Lord. These words never fail to lead me into praise. Beautiful One - Wonderful so wonderful is your unfailing love; Your cross has spoken mercy over me. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart can fully know How glorious, how beautiful you are

To offer true praise to God is to elevate His place and status in my own heart, which is to exalt Him. It is personal recognition of Him as Sovereign Creator, Source, Provider, King of every king, Lord of every lord, the Most High God! My saying so doesn