Our Partnership in Heaven: Empowering Prayer (Daniel 10:1-11:1)

Main Point: Because heaven listens and responds, God’s followers must pray.

OUTLINE:

I. What Prayer is Revealing (5-9)

II. What Prayer is Affecting (13-14, 20-21)

III. How Prayer is Answered

A. First Touch: Unconditional Love (10-12)

B. Second Touch: Unexpected Relationship (15-17)

C. Third Touch: Unrealized Position (18-19)

Beyond the Walls (Grace and Growth)

Weekly Meditations:

This week, we will focus on prayer. We can learn so much from the prayers of God’s people; their prayers and scripture should inform our prayer life. I encourage you to read the passage, work through the questions, and pray.

Days 1-3: READ  Nehemiah 1:1-2:8

At some point in their lives, many Christians are tempted to ask God, “Why aren’t my prayers answered?” though when we do so, we may actually mean, “Why aren’t they answered in the way that I want?” However he answers, he always answers in accordance with his will. Sometimes God answers “no,” and the Bible gives some reasons why. Frequently, he answers “yes,” but not instantly. And at other times God may first need us to be prepared to be part of the answer before he will respond to our prayers.

 Personal Reflection. In what ways have your feelings for someone encouraged or discouraged you in your prayer for them?

1. Based on what you know from the passage, how did Nehemiah’s concerns and motives affect what and how he prayed?

2. The news that Nehemiah heard in 1:2–3 drove him to definite action (see 1:4). What sort of news would drive you to pray with the same urgency?

3. Look carefully at the lengths of time (1:1; 2:1) over which Nehemiah prayed. Why might Nehemiah have had to (or wanted to) pray for a long time about the issues that concerned him?

4. Nehemiah 1:5 shows us the first stage of Nehemiah’s prayer. How can focusing on God at the beginning of our prayers enable us to pray more confidently?

5. Nehemiah referred to God’s promises and previous dealings with the children of Israel (1:8–10) as part of his prayer. In what ways do your knowledge of God’s actions and character affect the way you pray?

6. Nehemiah 1:11 and 2:4 give us an understanding of how Nehemiah saw God in control of the circumstances he faced. How does our understanding of God’s sovereignty affect the way we pray for situations?

7. In 1:11–2:8 we see Nehemiah taking steps to tackle the problem of Jerusalem’s walls being broken down (1:3). In light of the enormous human and practical odds Nehemiah was up against, what do you think gave him confidence to embark on the task God had given him to do?

8. Nehemiah’s fear in 2:2 indicates the risks he was taking in approaching the king on this issue. Why do you think Nehemiah was allowed to speak and ask for help?

9. What does Nehemiah’s request show us about his thinking and prayer prior to his audience with the king? 

10. How can Nehemiah’s example help your prayer life?

Ask God to help you focus on what he has revealed of himself in the Bible and to help you use that understanding when you pray.

Day 4-6 READ Luke 11:1-13

Confidence is a vital factor in human relationships. The confidence that we can trust our friends to keep a promise or to help us out in difficult circumstances enables us to feel secure. And more important, it enables our friendships to grow in an environment of openness. Just should also characterize our relationship with God. Even though we let him down, he wants us to live in the knowledge that he is absolutely reliable. He hears our prayers, longs to answer them in accordance with his will and is totally fair.

Personal Reflection. What aspects of the character of God and prayer would you most like reassurance about?

1. What different aspects of prayer can you see within the model that Jesus gave his disciples in verses 2–4?

2. In what ways do the different aspects and emphases in the prayer provide a model for your own prayer life?

3. Why do you think the friend overcomes his initial reluctance to help his neighbor (vv. 5–8)?

4. The friend gives his neighbor “as much as he needs” in answer to his request (v. 8). What does this passage teach us about how and why our prayers are answered?

5. Luke 11:9–10 considers the issue of persistence in prayer. What does it say that persistence in prayer involves? 

6. Jesus teaches on prayer because a disciple asks for teaching in verse 1. In Luke 18:1 he reminds them that “they should always pray and not give up.” We are all tempted to not pray or stop praying when we should pray. In what practical ways can we resist such temptation?

7. In what ways does this passage help you to be more confident about prayer?

8. What aspects of prayer do you find easier, and what harder? Try and explain why you think that might be so. 

9. What practical steps do you need to take  to develop your prayer life?

Reread line by line the prayer in Luke 11:2–4, pausing between each line to personalize it in some way. For example, after “our Father” you might like to thank God that he has chosen you to be his child.

These questions come from About Prayer: An Adventure with God