DRAWING NEAR
March 1
Unceasing Prayer
"Pray at all times in the Spirit" (Eph. 6:18).
Spiritual victory is directly related to the quality of your prayer
life.
Prayer is communication with God, and like all communication, it can
be developed to maximum efficiency or allowed to languish. Which you
choose will determine the quality of your spiritual life.
Ironically, the freedom of worship we enjoy in our society and our
high standard of living make it easy to become complacent about
prayer and presume on God's grace. Consequently, many who say they
trust in God actually live as if they don't need Him at all. Such
neglect is sinful and leads to spiritual disaster.
Jesus taught that "men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke
18:1, KJV). "Faint" speaks of giving in to evil or becoming weary or
cowardly. Paul added that we should pray at all times in the Spirit,
with all prayer and petition, and "be on the alert with all
perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18).
First Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." That doesn't
mean to do nothing but pray. It simply means living in a constant
state of God-consciousness. If you see a beautiful sunrise or a
bouquet of flowers, your first response is to thank God for the
beauty of His creation. If you see someone in distress, you intercede
on his or her behalf. You see every experience of life in relation to
God.
God wants you to be diligent and faithful in prayer. With that goal
in mind we will devote this month to a study of prayer from two
texts: Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9:1-19, and the disciples' prayer in
Matthew 6:9-13. Both are models of majestic, effective prayer.
As we study those passages together, be aware of your own pattern of
prayer. Examine it carefully for strengths and weaknesses. Be
prepared to make any necessary changes.
Suggestions for Prayer:
Thank God for the privilege of communing with Him in prayer. Ask Him
to reveal any areas in your praying that need to be strengthened.
For Further Study: Read Daniel 9:1-19.
What prompted Daniel's prayer? What was Daniel's attitude toward
God? Toward himself and his people? What did Daniel request?
Drawing Near, Copyright c 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Daniel 9:1-19 (NKJV)
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage
of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books
the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through
Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer
and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O
Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with
those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
5 "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and
rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
6 "Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in
Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the
people of the land.
7 "O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as
it is this day; to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to
which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they
have committed against You.
8 "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes,
and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
9 "To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have
rebelled against Him.
10 "We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His
laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
11 "Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so
as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written
in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us,
because we have sinned against Him.
12 "And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and
against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great
disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what
has been done to Jerusalem.
13 "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come
upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God,
that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.
14 "Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it
upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He
does, though we have not obeyed His voice.
15 "And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land
of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this
day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly!
16 "O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your
anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your
holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our
fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around
us.
17 "Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his
supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on
Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our
desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not
present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds,
but because of Your great mercies.
19 "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not
delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are
called by Your name."
Matthew 6:9-13
9 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed
be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil
one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
http://www.gty.org/Gospel/
http://www.nwbible.org/
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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