Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Standing In the Gap
TEXT: DANIEL 9:4-19
Key verse: “And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments” (Daniel 9:4).
Prayer is the central agency and activity whereby men align themselves with God’s purpose. It does not consist in battering the walls of heaven for personal benefits or the success of our plans. Rather, it is committing ourselves to carrying out His purposes. It is not bending God’s will to ours, but in bowing down our will to God’s. If Christians spend as much time praying as they do grumbling, they would soon have nothing to grumble about.
God had promised the children of Israel (Leviticus 26:39-42) that if in exile they return unto Him repent and confess their sins, He would remember them because of His covenant with Abraham. Daniel, on this account, takes his countrymen’s place of confession of sin, and as their representative and intercessory priest, “accepts the punishment of their iniquity.” Thus, he typifies the Messiah, the Sin-bearer and great Intercessor. If we fulfil our part of the bargain, God will not fail to fulfil His. He will be to his people as good as His word, for He keeps covenant with them, and not one iota of His promise shall fall to the ground.
Daniel pleaded for God’s mercy and sued for the performance of His promise, knowing that their captivity was occasioned by sin. He took it upon himself to seek the face of God on the behalf of his people so God could forgive their sins and end their calamities and captivity. To this sincere heart-felt prayer, God gave a divine re-assuring response to Daniel an assurance that all was not lost.
We should, in prayer, look both at God’s greatness, goodness, majesty and mercy. The present world is sin-saddened and Satan-troubled, there seems to be no hope for peace, profit and progress as uproars boil here and there. This present world of ours is under the strong captivity of the devil. The church also is not spared this turmoil as she is daily haunted and bedeviled on every side. This is the right time for true believers in Christ to arise like Daniel and intercede in prayer for God’s mercy upon our world.
Thought for today: Prayer is the voice of faith.
Standing In the Gap
TEXT: DANIEL 9:4-19
Key verse: “And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments” (Daniel 9:4).
Prayer is the central agency and activity whereby men align themselves with God’s purpose. It does not consist in battering the walls of heaven for personal benefits or the success of our plans. Rather, it is committing ourselves to carrying out His purposes. It is not bending God’s will to ours, but in bowing down our will to God’s. If Christians spend as much time praying as they do grumbling, they would soon have nothing to grumble about.
God had promised the children of Israel (Leviticus 26:39-42) that if in exile they return unto Him repent and confess their sins, He would remember them because of His covenant with Abraham. Daniel, on this account, takes his countrymen’s place of confession of sin, and as their representative and intercessory priest, “accepts the punishment of their iniquity.” Thus, he typifies the Messiah, the Sin-bearer and great Intercessor. If we fulfil our part of the bargain, God will not fail to fulfil His. He will be to his people as good as His word, for He keeps covenant with them, and not one iota of His promise shall fall to the ground.
Daniel pleaded for God’s mercy and sued for the performance of His promise, knowing that their captivity was occasioned by sin. He took it upon himself to seek the face of God on the behalf of his people so God could forgive their sins and end their calamities and captivity. To this sincere heart-felt prayer, God gave a divine re-assuring response to Daniel an assurance that all was not lost.
We should, in prayer, look both at God’s greatness, goodness, majesty and mercy. The present world is sin-saddened and Satan-troubled, there seems to be no hope for peace, profit and progress as uproars boil here and there. This present world of ours is under the strong captivity of the devil. The church also is not spared this turmoil as she is daily haunted and bedeviled on every side. This is the right time for true believers in Christ to arise like Daniel and intercede in prayer for God’s mercy upon our world.
Thought for today: Prayer is the voice of faith.