SERIES: 27 Daniel - I Dare You MESSAGE: I Dare You: Pray! Part 2 SPEAKER: Skip Heitzig SCRIPTURE: Daniel 9:4-19

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1 SERIES: 27 Daniel - I Dare You MESSAGE: I Dare You: Pray! Part 2 SPEAKER: Skip Heitzig SCRIPTURE: Daniel 9:4-19 MESSAGE SUMMARY Just as a square has four sides and is incomplete without all four sides, so too does effective prayer. Daniel leaves us with a great example (and a simple one at that). Though we can pray anywhere and anytime, these four elements form a great baseline for us to emulate. When you talk to God, make certain the signal is clear, your heart is pure, and your confidence is sure. OUTLINE I. Humble Adoration (v. 4) II. Honest Confession (vv. 5-15) III. Heartfelt Petition (vv ) IV. Holy Motivation (vv , 19b) DETAILED NOTES I. Introduction A. Prayer is a very controversial thing to get involved in 1. Schools 2. Government 3. The U.S. rebelled against Great Britain B. Prayer in the name of Jesus Christ 1. Upsets people 2. It causes a public furor 3. According to U.S. News & World Report: All prayers in a public forum have to be pre-approved and edited according to policy 4. Washington Post told of a public prayer at a high school graduation C. Daniel faced persecution; in his time, you couldn't pray to any god except the king D. Why do you think prayer is so controversial? 1. Satan knows his end is near 2. We typically only engage in prayer when the bombs are falling 3. Costa Rican Tomato frog too little, too late II. True, effective, communication with God A. The model prayer is the one Jesus prayed (see Matthew 6:9-13) 1. Most of those same elements are in the prayer that Daniel prayed 2. A prayer of balance Page 1

2 3. Charles Spurgeon said, "Prayer is a rope that you pull down below, that rings up above in the ears of God" B. Four strands of that rope we pull on 1. Humble Adoration a. Recognize who you are talking to the King of Kings b. You could be praying to yourself i. Jesus told of a Pharisee who prayed with himself (see Luke 18:9-14) ii. R.A. Torrey writes, "We should never utter one syllable of prayer in public or private until we are definitely conscience that we are coming into the presence of God and actually praying to Him" c. It gives you the needed perspective i. Look at a large crowd, the Bible directly in front of Skip's face he can't see the crowd; but if he pushes the Bible out toward the crowd, he can now see everything ii. Sometimes we have our problems right in front of our face and we can't see how big God is iii. In Acts 4, the people cannot speak the name of Jesus publicly, then they pray and get the right perspective iv. The Jews begin their prayers by recognizing God as King of the universe d. Great and awesome God i. Great in magnitude ii. Great in importance e. The Lord is righteous f. The Lord is merciful and forgiving g. Daniel uses terms of adoration h. Too little time is spent in adoration i. For most people, prayer is like an aspirin or an emergency room ii. For others prayer is like a first class hotel name it and claim it command God's power by their words i. The longer we know God, we should be progressing in our prayer maturity i. Babies cry, "Waaaaaa" ii. Use your words, "I want that" iii. As you grew older, you learned to communication differently iv. Mature communication v. Dwight Moody's eight-year-old son said, "I don't want anything, I just want to be where you are 2. Honest Confession a. Daniel confesses how the Jews blew it over and over again Page 2

3 i. "I admit that I was wrong" the six most important words you can say ii. They are the hardest to say iii. Jesus taught that confession was necessary (see Matthew 6:11-12) iv. Jesus also taught them to pray in plural--you are a part of something bigger; we v. That is how Daniel prays--he included himself vi. Daniel locked arms with sinners, "I'm in this with you guys" b. Daniel's confession followed adoration c. Isaiah 6 is a perfect example; Isaiah is full of adoration, but then he recognizes he is a man of unclean lips d. Leonard Ravenhill said, "The self-sufficient do not pray, the self-satisfied will not pray, and the self-righteous cannot pray." e. Why does Daniel need to pray; doesn't God already know? f. Daniel uses the word shame (embarrassment, guilt)--it's a word of conscience i. In this day and age it's believed that we should not feel guilty ii. Famous TCBY yogurt ad "All of the pleasure, none of the guilt" iii. Understand a) There's bad guilt (an insecure person who feels guilt about everything) b) There's good guilt (when people feel guilty because they are guilty) c) Good guilt drives you to the Savior to get it taken care of g. Daniel stops and prays i. Pigeons walk funny because they can't focus when they're walking in order to focus, they have to stop completely ii. In our prayers,we have to stop and look upward; stop and look inward 3. Heartfelt petition a. Now he looks outward he prays for what he sees happening around him b. As Daniel prays, it is very specific (listen, look, act, do it) c. Amen means "so be it" or "do it" d. Prayer is getting in on things with God e. Sometimes our prayers can be weak or vague bless everyone, everywhere with everything f. In a restaurant: "I have an unspoken food need, bless me" g. Be specific Page 3

4 h. His prayer was sympathetic, he prayed for others intercessory prayer; It's the hardest form of prayer i. Worship is easy ii. Personal petition is easy iii. Paul said that intercessory prayer is labor (see Colossians 4:12) iv. If you don't add intercession to your life, you will become more and more self-absorbed a pew potato v. A prayer list will help vi. That's how Jesus taught us to pray: "Give us this day our daily bread" (see Matthew 6:11) 4. Holy Motivation a. "For the Lord's sake" b. There is an emphasis on "Your" c. Daniel's motivation was for the glory of God d. One of the reasons our prayers are ineffective is that we pray with the wrong motives e. Weigh your requests on whether they further the kingdom of God f. James writes that we lust and do not have, our motives are wrong, and we only ask for our own pleasure (see James 4:1-3) g. Daniel began with God and adoration, he ends with God and giving Him glory h. It's the same pattern that Jesus taught (see Matthew 6:9-13) 5. Pull the rope, pull it frequently a. Adoration b. Confession c. Petition d. Holy motivation III. Closing A. A man went fishing with his friends; he didn't like church or God all that much; storm came and he started praying B. Don't be on a crisis cycle C. It's a wonderful place to be when you hang out with God, just to hang out with Him D. Come alongside God and say, "Do it!" Publications Referenced: U.S. News & World Report, Washington Post Figures referenced: Charles Spurgeon, R.A. Torrey, Dwight Moody, Leonard Ravenhill Cross references: Isaiah 6, Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 18:9-14, Acts 4, Colossians 4:12, James 4:1-3 Page 4

5 Topic: Prayer Keywords: Daniel, glory, intercede, intercession, prayer Page 5