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And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. O my God, incline your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our supplications before you for our righteousnesses, but for your great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for your own sake, O my God; for your city and your people are called by your name.
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Today’s message
Many people ask: if God has already decreed, why pray? I answer with Daniel. He read in Jeremiah that the captivity would last seventy years. The deadline was set. Still, he threw himself into prayer. Why? Because the same God who establishes the ends establishes the means. Sovereignty does not eliminate prayer; it ignites the flame of intercession. When I pray what God has promised, I align myself with His heart. It’s not cold logic; it’s faith warmed by the Word. And such faith does not fold its arms. We bow before God and cry out.
Daniel did not pull prayer from his pocket. He opened the Scripture. Jeremiah 29 said: when seventy years are accomplished, I will visit you; you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. The promise came with a call: seek. Daniel sees the people distant, unbroken, and takes the gap. He remembers God’s deeds — the Exodus, the parting sea — and says: do it again, Lord. He does not ask for merit. He asks for God’s name, for God’s city, for the people who bear that name.
Assumptions of prayer
- Pray early and always: Daniel started young and maintained a faithful rhythm throughout his life.
- Live with integrity: victorious prayer does not coexist with a divided life; Daniel remained pure in Babylon.
- Read the Word: those who pray read the Bible; those who read the Bible pray — two wings of the same flight.
God's decrees encourage us to pray more fervently.
How Daniel approached God
- Intense seeking: set his face to the Lord; not dry formality, but total surrender.
- Fervent and urgent cry: prayer with supplications and fasting; those who fast have spiritual urgency.
- Brokenness: sackcloth and ashes; pride in the dust for God to lift up.
- Worship before asking: great and awesome God, faithful to the covenant.
- Specific confession: we have sinned, we have been rebellious, we have forsaken your commandments, we have not listened to your prophets.
- Petitions for God’s name: for the city, for the sanctuary, for the people — not for our righteousnesses, but for your mercies.
I want us to keep this in mind: the Bible leads the agenda of prayer. More Bible, more prayer. And when we pray the promises, we do not manipulate God; we submit to Him. Jonah saw Nineveh humble itself, and judgment was suspended. Abraham interceded, and God remembered him to deliver Lot. Pentecost was a promise, and the disciples waited praying. Promise does not dispense with knees. Promise calls for knees.
How do we apply this? We breathe prayer. We enter the Word to shape requests. We intercede saying we, not they. And we rest: God’s decrees encourage us to pray more fervently. Today, set your face to the Lord. Confess without makeup. Ask for His name over your house, your church, your city. Not for our righteousnesses. For His many mercies.
Did you know
- Jeremiah 29:10-14 was written to the exiles in Babylon, promising restoration after seventy years and calling the people to seek Him with all their heart.
- Fasting, sackcloth, and ashes were public signs of mourning and repentance in Israel, also used in Nineveh before Jonah's preaching.
Key phrases
- And it is precisely because He has decreed that we can pray and pray effectively.
- When you pray God's promises, you pray aligned with what God has promised.
- We do not present our supplications before you for our righteousnesses, but for your great mercies.
- More Bible, more prayer. More prayer, more Bible.
Translated from the Portuguese original.
Seek
To seek today
Go deeper
Go deeper
Por Que Orar Se Deus Já Decidiu Tudo? A Resposta de Daniel - HERNANDES DIAS LOPES
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