Posted by Bert Craft at 12/18/2007
11:02 AM and is filed under Devotional
Having defined proper
and Biblical motivations for prayer, exemplified in the life of Daniel, I now
turn to the proper spirit that must be maintained for true, effectual
prayer. We cannot enter into God's presence flippantly. We must not
be presumptuous. However, on the other hand, we must not be timid.
We must seek to cultivate a proper spirit in prayer that is pleasing to God,
that is not offensive to His nature and attributes, and that will be conducive
to a favorable, divine answer. Daniel modeled a proper spirit in prayer
as manifested by Daniel 9:3-4:
"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and
supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 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."
In regards to a proper spirit in prayer, first, I would manifest that there
is a need for a spirit of joyful recognition and submission to the sovereignty
of God and His will. In prayer, Daniel directed himself to the "Lord
God" which literally in Hebrew is "Adonai Elohim."
Verbalizing his prayer, he said, "O Lord (this is the divine name
Adonai), the great and dreadful God...." The word
"Adonai" is taken from a Hebrew root word that means to rule.
The divine name, Adonai, is God's self-declaration that He is the absolute
ruler over all things. God sovereignly declares the end from the
beginning which means He brings to pass by His omnipotence all that He
determined and declared He would to do from eternity past; and by this ability,
distinguishes Himself as superior to all other gods and all of creation (Isaiah
46:9-11). God sovereignly acts according to the good pleasure of His
will, according to that which He has purposed in Himself, and according to the
counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1:5,9,11). God is sovereign in heaven,
on earth, and in hell (Psalm 135:6). God sovereignly rules over all
(Psalm 103:19). He rules over the angels, the wickedly heinous devil, and
the hideous demons. He rules over nations, kings, and civil
authorities. He rules over depraved, unregenerate men, His people, and
His churches. He rules over all earthly circumstances without exception
and governs in all the affairs of men. He sovereignly rules all of
creation, visible and invisible, and there is none that can thwart, delay,
obstruct, or impede the fulfilling of His sovereign, omnipotent, and all-wise
will (Daniel 4:35).
Daniel sought the face of God in prayer with his heart set upon the Sovereign
God and His immutable will. Prayer must never be AGAINST the will
of God, but always in ACCORDANCE to His eternal, sovereign will.
It has been said, "Prayer changes things." Yes,
how gloriously true! Yet, prayer has never changed God, His eternal
purpose, or His immutable will. Daniel's prayer to God was not that He
would change His eternally-determined purpose toward His people, toward His
beloved city, Jerusalem, or toward the glorious, Solomon-built temple where God
in time past was truly worshiped according to the dictates of the Mosaic
law. Daniel's pleading was according to the revealed, sovereign will of
God as he read and studied in the book of Jeremiah 29:10-14.
God's people must seek God's face resting and trusting in Him: in His
sovereignty, in His omnipotence, in His goodness, in His wisdom, and in His
right to do and govern, to save and to destroy, to raise up and humble, to make
rich and poor, and to give or withhold. The spirit of joyful submission
to the sovereignty of God is not through lip service or saying certain words
before the Lord in prayer. Rather, the spirit of joyful recognition and
submission to the Sovereign God is birthed out of a God-wrought,
Bible-instilled passion to seek the majestic glory of God in all aspects of
life. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do ALL to the glory of God" (1Corinthians 10:31).
Daniel's heart was set on God's glory, not his personal relief, comfort, or
well-being.
Secondly, in regards to a proper spirit in effectual prayer, we must learn
to cultivate a spirit of earnestness and fervency in prayer. Daniel
set his face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplication, with
fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Prayer in Daniel's life, was a not a
passive, nonchalant activity, but one for which he prepared his heart and
soul. True, effectual prayer is not read, said, memorized, or emptily
repeated. True, effectual prayer comes forth from the heart...not just
any heart, but a heart that is inflamed with God, with His will, and with His
glory. This is one of the great errors of modern, American
Christianity--its lack of earnestness, fervency, and wholeheartedness.
There is little heart preparation to seek the Lord. There is virtually no
passion for the things of God. There is little self-humbling before the
Lord. There is little earnestness in our intimate communion with
God. There is little earnestness in the confession of our sins.
There is little earnestness in our discerning God's will. There is little
earnestness in the heart-exaltation of Christ. There is little earnestness
in our worship. There is little earnestness in our praying. There
is little earnestness in our preaching. There is little earnestness in
our evangelism. There is little earnestness in our service. Our
lives are not consumed with God and it shows in most areas of our lives and
especially in our praying. May God grant us wholehearted and
life-changing repentance!
Daniel's fervency and earnestness in prayer are revealed in what accompanied
his prayers, namely, his fasting, his covering with sackcloth, and sitting in
ashes. Many of the Old and New Testament saints exemplified an
earnest spirit in prayer with varying accompaniments. Their prayers were
often accompanied with:
· Shaving the head (Job 1:20-21)
· Sitting in ashes (Job 2:8)
· Sprinkle dust upon the head (Job 2:12; Joshua 7:6)
· Wearing sackcloth (2Kings 19:1)
· Tearing or renting garments (2Samuel 13:31)
· Fasting (Deuteronomy 9:18)
· Bitter crying (1Samuel 1:10)
· Making a vow (1Samuel 1:11)
· Strong crying and tears (Hebrews 5:7)
· Smiting the breast (Luke 18:13)
· Rending the heart (Lamentations 2:19)
· Sweating profusely (Luke 22:44)
These accompanying acts to prayer did not give any more favor to their prayers
before God. Remember that answered prayer does not depend upon personal
merit, but on the merits of Christ. All of the spiritual blessings that
we have and receive through prayer are in and because of Christ (Ephesians
1:3). God is impressed with the impeccable merits of His dear Son, not
with anything that we could do in the flesh. However, these accompanying
acts to their prayers were the manifestation of their sincerity, their
wholeheartedness, and their earnestness before God. Prayer was not an
afterthought. Prayer consumed their whole being. They were given
over to prayer, and God delighted in answering them. This is the spirit
we need in prayer today....prayer that consumes us, prayer that is preceded by
preparation, prayer that involves our whole being, prayer that is passionate.
Thirdly, in regards to the proper spirit of effectual prayer, I would
manifest that we need to cultivate a spirit of humility and contrition.
Humility speaks of a proper concept of ourselves before God. Without the
knowledge of God, we cannot have knowledge of ourselves. To know God is
to know ourselves. As we know God, we are brought to see our finiteness,
our unworthiness, our indignity, and our insignificance. "All
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing" (Daniel
4:35). Without Christ, we can do nothing, we know nothing, we have nothing,
and we are nothing (John 15:5). Humility also speaks of an utter
dependence upon God. A spirit of self-sufficiency is the opposite of
humility. We need God more than we know or understand. To depend
upon ourselves is to perish in pride, but to depend upon God wholly is life
everlasting. We must be weaned of self-confidence until we are saturated
with God-confidence.
Further, a spirit of contrition speaks of brokenness or of being crushed.
A broken and contrite heart God will not despise (Psalm 51:17). God works
favorably for the one who is of a broken and contrite heart (Psalm
34:18). God dwells with the one who is of a contrite and humble spirit
(Isaiah 57:15). Blessed are they that are poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3).
Daniel clearly manifests a spirit of humility and contrition by fasting,
wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes. David, the sweet psalmist of
Israel, said that he humbled his soul with fasting (Psalm 35:13). In
regards to the sackcloth, which was a coarse garment of goat's hair, it was
usually worn as a symbol of mourning and grief. Regarding the ashes, it
was an ancient custom to put ashes on oneself as a symbol of extreme grief,
penitence, humiliation, or sense or worthlessness. Daniel did not have a
high or elevated spirit in prayer, rather a lowly, dependent, broken, contrite,
and humble spirit.
Lastly, in regards to a proper spirit in true, effectual prayer, I would
urge us to seek a spirit of reverence toward God. Intimacy is not
contrary to reverence. The Spirit has been shed abroad in our hearts
whereby we cry, "Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6). We are to enter
His presence boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Our familiarity with God and our
intimacy with Him should never cause us to seek Him without a reverential
respect. Daniel prayed demonstrating tremendous respect for
Jehovah: "O Lord (Adonai),....the great and dreadful God....the
Keeper of the covenant....the Possessor of mercy and forgiveness...the God of
righteousness" (Daniel 9:4,7,9,14). He exalted the character and
attributes of God as he humbly took his proper place before Him. Our
prayers should be saturated with reverence and exaltation of God, His nature,
character and His glorious perfections. As we exalt Him, we humble
ourselves. As we praise Him, we show ourselves unworthy of praise.
As we glorify Him, we show forth our own indignity. As we manifest His
bigness, we declare our littleness. As we justify Him in all that He
does, we accept responsibility for our sins and their consequences. May
God grant us an ever-growing concept of His greatness, His majesty, His
eternality, His incomparability, and His infinite holiness and righteousness,
so that we might reverence His holy name now and forevermore.
True, effectual, life-changing prayer must have Biblical motivation along with
a proper Biblical spirit. May God teach us to approach His throne in
prayer with the proper, God-glorifying spirit (Jeremiah 30:21). Having
learned how to approach Him in effectual prayer, may all the honor and glory be
to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY!!!!!!!!