Daniel 6:10

1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

6 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.

10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Pondering Point

Read Daniel 6:1-10. In taking a look at Daniel’s prayer life this week, we find a “faultless man” with a consistent prayer life. We also find a person who will NOT be dissuaded from that life of prayer by others’ plans. He even stayed thankful despite his circumstances.

It is not likely that Daniel prayed to God only at his three determined slots, but these slots were part of his plan. He intentionally carved out time to give the Lord his full attention.

If you were to carve out three times devoted to God alone, where would they fit in your schedule? How long would it last? What would the prayers consist of? Would it be more listening or talking?

Jesus, who frequently talked of fulfilling God’s will, could be found seeking quiet time with his Father. With two such striking examples, how can we not want to emulate this?

Prayer

Lord God, as you emboldened Daniel in the face of adversity, help me to prayerfully stay the course with you matter what, trusting you to take care of me in the face of difficult times. Challenge me to carve out time for you and honor it daily.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Prayer

Lord God, I want to be in a position to hear your Word – and listen. I want to know the Word Jesus and listen to him. When it comes to the truths and promises of your Word – like Mary replied-- “may it be to me as you have said.” In the name of the Son of the Most High I pray. Amen.

Isaiah 53:1-12

1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Pondering Point

Read Isaiah 53:1-12. From this prophecy about Jesus’ life and death and resurrection, we know that from the beginning, it was God’s will to have Jesus suffer. A shadow of death was already cast in the form of a cross from the time he was born and given the name ‘Jesus’, foreshadowing how he would save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).

Often our identity in Isaiah 53 gets wrapped up in verses 4-6 where we are told that our sins and iniquities are what put the suffering servant in this position: Suffering for us. Yes we are sinners in need of a Savior who does end up suffering for us. But in Christ, our identity is way more than that. In Isaiah 53, our identity includes being healed ones and at-peace people. In Christ, we are no longer identified by our sins, but, as the Apostle Paul says, as new creations – the old is gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are given righteousness, holiness, innocence! We are given Christ-like-ness!

Prayer

Thank you Lord Jesus for taking on my sin and suffering for my sake. Thank you for letting me take on your righteousness and being blessed for your sake. Let no woundedness remain in me – be it in my mind, heart, spirit, or body. Heal me and give me total peace in your name. Amen.

Luke 1:26-38

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Whereas the priest Zechariah’s heart prayer was likely part of him for decades (to have a child), a similar heart prayer for Mary (to have a child) sprouts freshly from the message she received from the angel Gabriel. This is our story, during which she voices “may it be to me as you have said.” It’s improbable that Mary was already praying to be the mother of the Messiah, but being highly favored by God, she is now going to give birth to the Son of God. You can imagine that the prayers of her heart would grow for her son. She treasured the wide-ranging experiences in her heart (Luke 2:19) – comments, visits, and prophecies made about him before he was born, at his birth, and into adulthood. Your heart prayers may be very recent or decades old, but know that the Lord hears them too.

Prayer

Lord God Almighty, Let my heart take note of and treasure what you are doing in my life – and in the lives of my loved ones. Give me eyes to see how I am also favored thanks to Mary’s Baby Boy Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Prayer for the Pastor

This second prayer comes from Pastor’s personal daily prayer and he would relish you joining him in praying this prayer on his behalf.

Lord God Almighty, our Father and our God, I pray that you enable Pastor Paul’s mind (heart, soul, and will) to gain understanding – and that he humbles himself before You. God,

You are seeking after him and there are things happening around him that are calling for a deeper spiritual understanding and practice on his part. Help him to rise to the occasion.

Bless him as he comes to experience more of this needed spirituality in this climate of today. Help him choose to not settle for less, but hunger for you above all things. He comes at your request knowing that he cannot find you without the Holy Spirit. He needs you today.

Bless him to hear and follow. Show him the way and strengthen him as he pursues it. Guide him and enlighten him -- particularly in those spiritually dark places; encourage him when he gets weary, challenge him in the comfortable and ordinary places - and protect him, Father God, from his enemy, the evil one.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.