THERE ARE EIGHT FUNDAMENTALS ELEMENTS THAT MARK GENUINE INTERCESSORY PRAYER
Daniel 9:4 to 15 #34
January 25, 2012 Charles e Whisnant, Pastor-Preacher-Teacher
Daniel prayed. For Daniel prayer was a real exercise of the soul in spiritual travial. It required effort, endurance and suffering. Daniel was committed to prayer. Prayer to him was living in the presence of God.
Number one, prayer is generated by the Word of God. Verse 2 tells us that while he was reading the Book of Jeremiah, he was prone to pray. Our prayer life proceeds from the intensity of our study of the Word of God. As we hear God tell us His plans, we respond. We might say then that the first principle, prayer is generated by the Word of God, is simply that we seek to know God’s plan. That’s where it begins. And we get into the Word to find out what God is going to do, so we can pray intelligently.
Secondly, we said that prayer is grounded in the will of God. It is generated out of the Word of God, and it is grounded in the will of God. We seek not only to know God’s plan, but to see it fulfilled. We’re not trying to change God’s mind. We’re trying to identify with what He already wants to do, which is best.
Thirdly, we’ve learned that prayer is characterized by fervency. Prayer is a passionate involvement in the matters that concern the heart of God. Prayer not only seeks to know God’s plan, not only seeks to see God’s plan fulfilled, but it seeks to see God’s plan fulfilled at once. There’s an earnestness. There’s a passion involved.
- Fourthly, then, we also saw that true intercessory prayer, genuine prayer is marked by self-denial. It is realized in self-denial. We see the fervency in verse 3, and we see the self-denial in verse 4, where he says, “I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession.” He doesn’t come and say, “You need to do this for me, because I have a claim on You.” He doesn’t come and say, “I have a right to demand this out of You, God.” He comes and says, “I’m a sinner,” and, in effect, he says, “I don’t have a right to demand anything.” Prayer is at the very beginning a recognition of our own unworthiness and a sense of self-denial. And so prayer seeks to, not only know God’s will, not only to see it fulfilled, not only to see it fulfilled at once, but to see it fulfilled no matter what that costs me. I mean you don’t even belong in the presence of God. You don’t have one thing in and of yourself to commend you to Him.
And then fifthly, we said that true intercessory prayer is identified with God’s people. It’s not selfish. I mean if it’s just denied itself, it won’t be selfish. It won’t be grasping and possessive for it’s own goals. And we see, as we looked at verses 5 down through 14, how many times he says we and our and us and all Israel. And again and again he is saying, “I wanna encompass all the people of God, all of us. This is our problem. Minister to us.” The essence of true intercessory prayer is that it’s bigger than any individual. That when we really pray, self has been set aside, and we are lost in the needs of others. We reminded you of 1 Samuel 12:23, which says, “God forbid that I should sin in ceasing to pray for You.” So we might say that true intercessory prayer not only seeks to know God’s plan, not only seeks to see it fulfilled, not only seeks to see it fulfilled at once, not only seeks to see it fulfilled at once no matter what it costs me, but seeks to see it fulfilled for the sake of others. For the sake of others. It isn’t, “Lord, please do this because I’d like to have it so.” It’s, “Please do this because Your people would be blessed.”Ephesians 6:19; I corinthians 23; 1 Samuel 12:23; Galatians 6:2, Philemon 1:4-5; I Corinthians 1:11
And then sixthly, and where we stopped last time, true intercessory prayer is strengthened in confession. It is strengthened in confession. Look at verse 30, or rather 3, I’m sorry. Verse 3, and then 20. Verse 3, “I set my face to the Lord to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. And prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession.” Verse 20, “And while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sins of my people Israel.” Pslams 32 and 51, Ezr a 9 and 10’ Nehemiah 9; Romans 7, Jeremiah 8:14; Lamentations 1: Isaiah 6:6