Short prayers based on the book of Daniel
<aside> 🙏🏻 “The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.” (Daniel 1:2)
Sovereign Lord, in all things you are in total control, working out your decrees so that your Name is glorified, and good comes to your people. We praise you that all the events of history and our lives are planned by you, and will take place because you cannot be frustrated. Help us to find comfort in this, that even though we know very little of what you have planned, we can be sure that what you have purposed will come to pass and all your promises will be kept. May we, instead of worrying what you may have planned for this world and for us, focus on doing what you require of us, living in this world but not like this world. Holy Spirit, lead us to increasing faithfulness to all that we have been commanded to do by our Saviour. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8)
Help us, our God, to be determined that we will not to lose our identity as one of your people. We confess that we find it hard to be in the world but not of the world, for it is so much easier to think and behave like everyone else does. Lift our eyes to our Saviour, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lived in this world and was tempted in every way, but never once gave in, remaining faithful to you always. Lord, we long to be like Him, so enable us by your Spirit, to stand firm against temptation; strengthen us to obey your commands; and provide ways of escape when we feel the pressure to compromise our faith. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days.” (Daniel 2:28)
We praise you, God in heaven, that you are the revealer of mysteries, and in Jesus, who we meet in every book of the Bible, you have revealed to us what would otherwise be hidden. We thank you that because we have your Word we are no longer in the dark. We can know you exist, and what you are like. We can know who we are, and how we are to live in this world. We can know why the world, why life, is the way it is. We can know what we need, and all that you have done to meet that need. And we can know what is going to happen in the future. Lord, you have been so kind to us, not only in revealing these mysteries, but through your Spirit, giving us understanding of them so we can know what they mean and put our trust in Christ to be saved. May your name be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to you. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.” (Daniel 2:44)
What a privilege it is, God of the heavens, to be part of this indestructible and eternal kingdom over which your Son, the Lord Jesus, reigns. What a joy it is to be ruled over by a gracious King whose commands are for our good, and who is committed to protecting and defending His subjects so that not one of them is lost. We give you our praise because we are only members of this kingdom by grace. Jesus, thank you, for your life, your death, your resurrection, that makes it possible for us, who are unworthy sinners, to be welcomed in. We pray that you would open the eyes of those who are blinded by Satan and bring many more into your kingdom before all your enemies are brought to an end. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” (Daniel 3:18)
We worship you, our God, for you are the one and only true and living God, the God of gods, and the King of kings, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Help us to have no other gods before you because you alone are worthy. You alone are worthy of our love, of our trust, of our obedience, and of our loyalty. And Lord, you are worthy of this even when faithfulness to you leads to us being sneered at, ridiculed, ignored, shut out, and losing everything, even our lives. We know that you are able to rescue us from the difficult circumstances of life, for you have proved your ability to save time and time again. Rescuing Noah and his family from the Flood, Israel from slavery in Egypt, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace. But if it is not your will, fill us, Holy Spirit, with the hope that the momentary struggle and temporary pain we experience in this life will come to end when Jesus takes us home, and would this help us to stand firm in the faith. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “I am pleased to tell you about the miracles and wonders the Most High God has done for me.” (Daniel 4:2)
To you Most High God, we give all the glory and praise, for you are the God who does wonders and miracles, of which the greatest is the salvation of your people from sin and death and hell. How great you are! We praise you for rescuing your people, but we also praise you, that each of us can say that you did that for me. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you loved me and gave yourself for me when you died on the cross. May we each be pleased to tell others about all the wonderful things, you, our Saviour God, have done and continue to do for us. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” (Daniel 4:37)
We praise you, our God, the King of the heavens, we glorify your Name, for all your works are true and all your ways are just. You are able to humble the proud, and to exalt the humble, and so we pray for humility in our lives. We confess our tendency to think about ourselves as more highly than we ought, and to think about ourselves above you and above others. Help us to look up and see how dependent we are on you for everything we are and everything we have because apart from you we can do nothing. We need your help in every way and ask that you would provide what we need each day. We pray this for our world leaders too, that they would humble themselves before you and seek your wisdom for all the decisions and tasks they have to do. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.” (Daniel 5:23)
Lord, it is good to stop, and to consider, and to name all the good things that you give to us. You hold our breath in your hands and everything good in our lives comes from you. We praise you for our breath, for the life you have given us to live, for clean water and food, for shelter over our heads, for medicine when we are sick, and for our friends and family. We praise you for all the resources you provide for us, for the beauty of creation we get to enjoy, for our ability to learn, and grow in wisdom. We praise you for your Son, for His death on the cross, for His glorious resurrection, for salvation from sin and death, and for eternal life. And we praise you that the goodness you show to your people will never run out and will follow us all our days and on into the new creation. Lord, draw more and more people to know that you are the provider of everything good that they might praise you for it. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10)
Lord, teach us to pray. Teach us the importance of prayer, that it is something worth risking our lives in order to do. Show us the awesome privilege it is to be able to pray to you, the God who created the universe, and to know that you hear us. We thank you that we can pray because you have make this possible. Jesus, we thank you, that you have opened up a way for us to have access to the throne of heaven, so we can draw near with our intercessions. Yet we confess that too often we are prayerless or we just go through the motions when we pray. Forgive us. Help us to set aside time to pray. May we not miss the wonder and weight of what we are doing as we pray, even as we pray right now. We need your help, our God, because life in this world is tough. Our enemy the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for opportunities to devour us. Protect us. Keep us in your love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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