The Mysterious Power of Prayer is Proven and Undeniable (Daniel 8 - Hosea 2)
Like an introverted friend, the power of prayer can sometimes surprise you! When you ask to see them they show up and are an overwhelming blessing and joy, challenging the way you see the world.
While we will never be able to predict the answer to our prayers, we can identify the points the Bible reveals about them!
It’s never too late to start!
Download your first two weeks free by signing up below (or buy Book One of the Family Bible Plan)!
Like an introverted friend, the power of prayer can sometimes surprise you! When you ask to see them they show up and are an overwhelming blessing and joy, challenging the way you see the world.
While we will never be able to predict the answer to our prayers, we can identify the points the Bible reveals about them!
It’s never too late to start!
Download your first two weeks free by signing up below (or buy Book One of the Family Bible Plan)!
A one-time thing?
In the prior chapters of Daniel, we learned he sought the Lord in prayer, understood the importance of it, rallied his friends to also pray with him, and showed us it was his standard practice to continually converse with God.
After all, praying is one of the most powerful ways we can connect with God.
Establishing a relationship...
Daniel came to God regularly as well as special occasions in which he asked for specific answers of God.
If we take a brief walk through the life of Daniel as displayed, he:
- chose to not defile himself before God when he wasn’t sure of the consequences;
- was enabled by God with wisdom and the understanding of dreams/visions;
- encouraged his friends to plead for mercy from God, and he received the answer to the mystery vision;
- praised God for revealing it to him and gave the proper recognition to Him;
- was an upstanding citizen and employee; and
- was set up to sin against God but stood firm in prayer, and was protected ‘because he had trusted in his God‘.
Clearly, Daniel had a personal relationship with the Lord.
Does having a personal relationship automatically entitle you to the power of prayer?
Perhaps, but we see it time and time again in Daniel’s life that God honored his requests multiple times. Daniel lived a life seeking God and wanting to give Him the glory.
Power of prayer...
You may be wondering what Daniel prayed to have God give him so many yes answers.
In Chapter 9, a detailed prayer is given. In it, Daniel includes humility, worship, confession, and petition.
The power of prayer for Daniel rested in the sovereignty of God over all situations. A God with whom he felt fortunate to have a relationship with.
But why Daniel...
The archangel Gabriel came to Daniel to share that his prayer had been answered when he had started praying.
Woah! He wasn’t even done praying when God had answered him.
And why was that?
To be loved...
The Hebrew word for ‘loved’ in verse 23 is ‘chamad’.
A verb meaning [in part] to take pleasure in, to desire, ... to be desirable, to desire passionately.
The verb can mean to desire intensely even in its simple stem....
The passive participle of the simple stem indicates someone beloved or endearing...
The passive stem indicates something that is worthy of being desired, desirable.
The plural of this verbal stem expresses satisfaction or reward for keeping God's Law.
The Lord took pleasure in him; He desired a relationship with Daniel and was satisfied with him!
To be sure...
And as if one defining moment spoken by an angel who ‘stands in the presence of God‘ wasn’t enough, the message is clearly conveyed three times all with the same Hebrew word.
Power of Prayers Unanswered...
It can be easy to forget that our lives are intertwined on deep and surface levels with everyone around us.
While we cannot make sense of the threads connecting us, God does. A level of faith is needed when praying with this concept in mind.
Daniel received first-hand experiences of the power of prayer answered as ‘yes’. Perhaps you are wondering why God isn’t saying yes to you.
When you start reading Hosea, one would not assume that he would feel God gave him ‘yes’ answers. He was ordered to marry an unfaithful wife. He was also ordered to send her away.
Ultimate good...
Hosea was commanded to send her away for her reform, not as though it was just a punishment.
You see, we do not understand the deeper workings of God or how He works in the people around us. Hosea demonstrated in his life an example for others to emulate as well as a symbolic picture of God with His people.
We can demonstrate a similar type of trust in God through prayer… that no matter the answer we receive, that we accept it in faith that it is ultimately for our ultimate good or for someone else’s.
The power of prayer in this light bolsters faith and gives the glory and power to God to do with your life as He wills.
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