Cross Road
Baptist Church
© 2017
Sermon Text
Keep On Praying
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Daniel 6:10
And He spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.
Luke 18:1
What is it that keeps you from praying?
What would you do if you were forced to park half a mile from the Church and there was no other way to attend worship except to walk, would you walk the distance to Church? What would you do if you were told that it was against the law to pray to God, and pray instead to the ruler of the state, would you still pray? This is a decision that we must ask because whenever we choose to live for God, there will always be barriers to block our path. Daniel faced just such a barrier but he chose to keep on praying to his God.
These types of decisions separate show worship from true worship. Show worship is only concerned with being seen, heard, or regarded highly by those around us. True worship is based in a deep commitment to honor God. Daniel had learned and was faithful to the decree Moses gave hundreds of years earlier. If the children of Israel found themselves in captivity, they were to repent, pray, and turn again to God. When the children of Israel return unto the Lord your God and shall obey His voice according to all I command thee this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul … then the Lord your God will turn your captivity … and gather you from all the nations whither the Lord your God has scattered you. Deut. 30:3-4.
Daniel knew what he was praying about. His need to pray was greater than the decree against prayer. Some would argue that he could have and should have closed his windows and prayed, that way he could have avoided trouble. Again, this man was acting faithfully on what he had heard. He had heard Solomon’s prayer proclamation to the Israelites. If they (the children of Israel) return to Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land … and toward the City which Thou hast chosen … then hear from Heaven … and forgive Thy people. 2 Chronicles 6:38-39. Daniel knew the importance of his prayers with his windows open toward Jerusalem. He did not want anything to block his prayers. Some would say, “I thought we were to pray in secret?” Daniel was praying in secret, he just had his windows open while he was praying. It is alright for people to know that you are praying even if they don’t know what you are praying about. Keep on praying Daniel.
We need to address our lack of prayer. What is it that keeps us from praying as we ought? We know that prayer is a wonderful privilege given to God’s people, yet we fail to pray as we ought. Some have the impression that prayer is a simple and easy thing to do. Don’t you realize that prayer is engaging in spiritual warfare against the enemy of righteousness? Satan will use every barrier and stumbling block he can to hinder your prayers. For that reason, God’s people need to know the barriers to prayer.
First, there are the People barriers. Daniel’s co-workers at the Babylonian Administrative Department did not like the fact that prayer was working. Daniel was being considered for a big promotion and they knew that meant this man of God would become their Executive Officer. They wanted to do what ever they could and the only thing they could do was to try to attack his prayer life. You see they only wanted job security, but Satan wanted to destroy Daniel because the prayers were ruining his evil plans. Angels were engaging in warfare in the spirit world because Daniel and others were praying the devil’s kingdom down. By the way, if we don’t pray, some of the warrior angels might be placed on inactive reserve due to our lack of prayer. Daniel knew the plot of these evil people, but he was not deterred. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Daniel not only prayed every day, he also prayed three times a day on his knees. As I read this, I am extremely embarrassed. I don’t pray as I ought, but by the Grace of God I am going to commit to prayer.
Don’t think that people are the only barriers to prayer. Problems present such a barrier that they take the place of prayer. Why are problems such an obstacle to prayer? One reason is that we can stop thinking about people, but we give problems our full attention. We worry about problems but not pray. We talk to people about our problems but fail to talk about them to the Lord. We allow the problems to fill our mind, but fail to allow prayer to cleanse our heart and soul. Problems become personalized while prayer does not. Problems become embedded into our psyche while prayer becomes just a passing thought. Why do we allow problems to destroy us while prayer knocks at the door? It is as Jesus said, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Sadly, we allow the weakness of the flesh to dictate that we should think about the problem rather than prayer.
This brings us to the second reason that problems become such a strong obstacle. We rely on the flesh more than spiritual strength. We think that things in the natural will make things happen in the spiritual. That is simply not true. God did not create the world that way. God created everything from the spiritual. For the Bible says, things that are made are not made by things that appear. If we are to gain the victory over our problems, we are to unravel them spiritually. This reminds me of the thread that ran through the farm fertilizer bag. You could tear the bag apart, but that required much strength. You could cut the bag, but that would spill the fertilizer. When I discovered that the bag of fertilizer was held at the top by one small thread, and all that was required to open the bag was to pull the string – that revolutionized things. Prayer is that way. Prayer unravels every problem when we place them before the Lord. It repairs the damage by bringing us before the Great Physician. Prayer is not the miracle but it certainly is the pathway to the miracle.
Jesus told His disciples that prayer was the most important endeavor that they could undertake. Daniel understood that and he gave himself to prayer. We, like the Disciples, find it hard to pray. Our Lord gave us a personal warning and encouragement to pray. And He spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. The parable spoke about a widow who was not important, but she so worried the hard hearted judge of the city that he gave in to her request. We should learn the lesson, and not allow ourselves to be disarmed, distraught, and distracted by the things of this world. Keep on praying.
Keep on praying even when things go well for you. Prosperity can become such a great barrier because when we are full, we think every thing is fine. Some times our greatest dangers come in times of prosperity. When we go through problems, we often feel like the turtle. Everything is slow and difficult to move – so we take every step seriously. But when there are times of prosperity, we often feel like the hare. So why take the race of life seriously. Hence we end up loosing the race because we feel like we are fast enough, bright enough, or simply enough to make it. Don’t be lulled to sleep by the occasional prosperous times. Be on your guard and keep on praying. That way when bad times come, you will already be in full stride. Keep on praying.
If we get past the barriers, we then must ask about our motivations to pray as we ought. While many only view prayer as they would a “fire alarm” to be used only in emergency. Prayer is so much more than that. Daniel knew about prayer.
The Worth of Prayer
One theologian has said, “God does nothing on Earth apart from prayer.” If that is true, what is it that we need to see on earth? For starters, we need God’s Kingdom and not just God’s Blessing. Even with the blessing, we can’t enjoy them as long as evil continues to run rampant in the land. We need to see love toward one another because the world is filled with so much hate. We need to see peace instead of war. We need to see health and healing instead of sickness. Many of the world’s diseases are man-made. Man creates a get-rich quick product that is simply for profit, while it destroys lives. Yes, we should pray for God to rule this world in righteousness and power.
We should pray for God to fill the land with His awesome glory. That way, men will not have to question if there is a God or what He is like. That day is coming where God will reveal Himself. Until then, we should pray and keep on praying until it happens.
So pray for God’s hand to move in the affairs of this Earth. Keep on praying because the prayer benefits far exceed the prayer barriers. When we think of prayer we need to first think about God’s pardon. God grants our Pardon through prayer.
Have you wondered what Daniel prayed? Well in Chapter 9 of the book that bears his name, Daniel prayed and confessed his sin and the sin of his people. He asked God for pardon because he understood they were in captivity as a result of rebellion against God. Even though he did not cause the rebellion, he was a part of a nation that went astray from God. It is all our responsibility to pray for pardon before God. When we fail to seek pardon, we are saying to God that “we are good enough.” Keep on praying for pardon. If we say that we have not sinned we are deceiving ourselves. If we say we have no sin – we call God a liar. Keep on praying for God’s pardon. Lord knows we all need it. Remember the sinner who prayed. He could not as much as look up to Heaven. Yet he asked God for mercy. That is a prayer we should all make. Keep on praying.
Keep on praying and presenting your Petition to God. Daniel realized that the only way spiritual supplies of mercy, forgiveness, and favor could be transferred to Israel was through prayer. We petition God to ask the Judge of Everything to grant our request. A petition means it is a legal document. Therefore, when the Judge of all Eternity rules in your favor the ruling is final. Daniel recognized that God was needed not only to keep him out of the lion’s den, but to deliver Israel from their captivity. The seventy years were almost expired and it looked like nothing was taking place. Prayer was the petition to ask the God of Heaven to move. In our lives, things look like they are not happening. We must keep petitioning God even when there are postponements and delays. God’s delay is not His denial. Keep on praying.
Keep on praying for God’s presence. If everything else was going great, we need to still prayer for God’s presence in our lives. The only way we can make it is to have God’s Presence through prayer. God promised not only to bless you but to also be with you. I can make it without a lot of things, but I can’t make it without God. I need Him every hour. I can make it without a lot of clothes, money, and even friends. But I need God all the time. Keep on praying for God’s presence.
Keep on praying for God’s power. There comes a time when you need to understand that God not only wants to bless you and be with you, but He also wants to use your life as a testimony. Daniel was praying that God would help him to hold out. Daniel was praying in his house. And when they came to get him from his house, he prayed before the king. When they threw him into the lions den, he was still praying. When they took him out of the lions’ den, he was still praying. The reason why the lions could not eat Daniel was because prayer reached Heaven and Heaven sent Angels that shut the lions’ mouths. God’s Power is given through prayer. It is no secret what God can do. He will answer your prayer, but you must keep on praying.