Daniel: Daniel 9:1-19
We want to become a praying church. A people who allows prayer to be the power of what we do together, who pray Scripture-fed and Spirit-led prayers, who seek intimacy with God that leads to fulfillment of his purposes in us, through us, and around us. We want to seek his face, cultivate his presence, and position ourselves to meet with him. To that end, we’re looking at biblical prayers from all across the Storyline of Scripture. Each week we’ll look at the context (understand where we are in the story and how that shapes the pray-er and his/her prayer), the content (what is emphasized, requested, described, etc.) of the prayer, and the connections (how we can or should use each prayer as a model for our own engagement with God). We’ll practice praying together each week, using the prayer as a model. This week we look at Daniel's prayer of confession in Daniel 9 which teaches us to seek God with our whole heart, with our Bible open, in humble confession, according to God's promises.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Read Daniel 9:1-19
Read Daniel 9. What prompts Daniel's prayer (v.1-2)? Check out the backstory in Jeremiah 29.
The first part of Daniel's prayer (v.3-15) is all confession. What do you notice about his prayer? What are the main themes?
In v.16-19, Daniel "pleads God's promises," asking God to do what God has promised to do. What do you notice? What is he asking?
What collective sin do we need to confess? What Biblical promises can we plead before God? Do it together!
August 13, 2023 - Steve Hart