Nov 23, 2020 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John

Those Unanswered Prayers…A Lesson from Daniel

There have been times when my prayers went into history without being answered. Often I felt like I was praying in a steel bubble; it felt like my prayers did not make it to heaven. All of us have been there at some point in our lives. Have you wondered why God did not answer your prayers? Here is a simple lesson from the Book of Daniel to give you hope and insight into what to do when you pray.

Daniel prayed three times a day by opening up his window toward Jerusalem & Heaven in order to ‘pray out loud’ to the Father of all creation and Lord over the earth. Why would anyone pray three times a day; can anyone have that much to pray about? Here are the lessons to be learned:

1. Daniel wanted to keep himself in a constant state of prayer. He was not just praying for himself but for everyone and everything.

2. Daniel did not pray often so he could repeat his prayers over and over again, but he prayed with passion and sincerity—these were heart and soul prayers.

3. Daniel was unashamed of his prayer life and his words to his God and Father.

4. Daniel’s prayers did not keep him from being imprisoned and out of the lion’s den (Satan’s plans were for Daniel to be killed), but his prayers prepared him for his future to be in God’s hands and will in any and all circumstances.

5. Daniel prayed for his enemies and blessed them; this is how God keeps us in His will and under His protection. (Daniel allowed God alone to be ‘The Judge’.)

6. Daniel did not obey the laws and commands of King Darius of the Medes when the king’s decrees were in conflict with his religion—Jewish laws.

7. Daniel prayers were often for forgiveness for his sins and iniquities (refer to my blog wwjwmtd.com, “A Happy Day” Nov. 22, 2020).

8. Daniel did not tempt God for his diet was based on biblical principles that strengthened his body to pray. He believed his body was a temple of the Holy Spirit, so he had to keep it worthy of God’s presence in his earthly body. Daniel did not tempt God but was thankful for what God had provided.

9. Daniel was not into ‘person worship’ or the ‘lifting-up’ of political leaders who wanted to be worshipped. Daniel gave all his praise and worship to God alone and only offered respect to those in authority. (Once again, today we have religious leaders giving up their authority to political and medical leaders instead of God. God will not help our pastors who elevate political leaders above God.)

10. Daniel knew that Israelites were the Body of God and make up the City of God as spoken by Abraham. God is not a building or a house of worship, but people are the buildings of God, not brick and mortar. Daniel kept himself connected to others in the Body of God—he did not need a building/church to worship God.

So, the next time you pray be passionate, forgiving, blessing others, and remember to place God above everything you are asked to do and be honorable/thankful to God who made you and keeps you.

WWJWMTD

What would Jesus want me to do?

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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