53rd Week, Daniel Chapters 8-12 (Click on Title for Video Intorduction)

 Click on Title for Video Introduction

Monday, Daniel Chapter 8

Daniel 8

Verse 18

Mindy Strayer

February 7, 2005

Verse 18:  While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.

THOUGHT

Daniel probably found the vision emotionally and spiritually draining because it was bizarre and terrible. The angel would not let Daniel sleep with his face to the ground. He made Daniel rise to his feet, kind of like getting him in the ready position. The angel had an important explanation from God that Daniel needed to hear and understand. What good would Daniel be to God with his head down acting all tired and worn out?

Sometimes God wants to speak to us and give us understanding when we just don’t feel like it. There are a million and one reasons that could keep us from standing to our feet and being attentive to God’s voice. Jobs, kids, friendships, recreation, illness, meetings, class. The list could go on and on. How badly do we want to pursue God and to understand Him better?

Sleep is important, jobs, kids, friendships, recreation, class (the things of life) are important. But we must remember who is MOST important. Who is it that we need most to hear from? Who is it that we most need to understand? What God has to say is always important, and we must be ready at any given moment to listen and try to understand.

PRAYER

Oh God, our hearts desire so badly to know and understand You better. But sometimes we let life’s events get in the way of our relationship with You.  Help us to be diligent in our search for knowledge and understanding of what You would speak to us about. Forgive us if we should allow other things to take priority over You. We love You, Lord, and we are so grateful that it is Your desire for us to be standing on our feet, ready to hear and understand Your will. AMEN

Tuesday, Daniel Chapter 9

Daniel 9

Verses 3 & 23

Mindy Strayer

February 9, 2005

Verse 3:  So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

Verse 23:  As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given.

THOUGHTS

This man Daniel really knew how to pray. He took praying to God very seriously. You can tell that Daniel prayed with a great sense of urgency in his heart for God’s mercy upon Israel. He confesses sin, acknowledges the justice of God, and pleads for God’s promises of mercy. 

In all of our prayers we need to be careful to confess our sins, and confess our faith in God and our dependence on Him.  Then we should express our sorrow for sinning and that we are determined not to commit the sin again. For when we pray to God and earnestly seek Him with our whole heart, He will most definitely listen.  In His grace He will show us His greatness, His goodness, His majesty and His mercy. Aren’t you glad that God acts out of who He is and not out of what we are?

Gabriel told Daniel that as soon as he began to pray, an answer was given.  God responded to Daniel’s cry for mercy. He saw that Daniel had humbled himself and opened up his whole heart to God. God saw in Daniel’s heart, through his mourning of his own sins and those of others, a great concern for the glory of God, the welfare of the church, and the souls of his people. God is very ready to hear prayer and give an answer. 

I read this next statement somewhere and thought it was awesome: “If we pray fervently for that which God has promised, we may by faith take the promise as an immediate answer to the prayer, for God is faithful and He will keep His promise.”  God will answer us. He probably won’t have Gabriel fly down and talk to us like He did for Daniel, but He will answer.

PRAYER

Oh God, we humble ourselves in Your mighty presence. We acknowledge that we are sinners, and that we need Your mercy. Forgive us Lord we pray. We pray for a heart like Daniel. May we seek You with everything that is in us. May we be as concerned for others welfare as that of our own. Thank You for Your faithfulness. In Jesus Name. AMEN

Wednesday, Daniel Chapter 10

Daniel 10

Mindy Strayer

February 10, 2005

THOUGHT

Chapter 10 gives us a look into the battles on earth between kingdoms and groups of people really being the battle between the supernatural powers of good vs evil.  On the surface the wars look like man vs man, but with deeper meaning and insight, and a clearer understanding of God’s Word, we see that the war is between God and Satan. 

The angel tells Daniel, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”  Then the angel talks about being resisted by Satan’s demons, and being detained until help from God’s other angel, Michael, came. The battle is God vs Satan or good vs evil.

It is important also to point out that sometimes answers to our prayers might be slowed because of obstacles that are unseen. It is not that God is not in control of when he answers. Satan does not prevent God from doing anything. God is ruler over all; remember that the victory is God’s.  Jesus finalized that when He died on the cross. But God holds the past, present, and future in His hands. He is in control of everything big and small, whether they seem important or insignificant. He always answers at the perfectly orchestrated right time.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of prayer.  With the direction of the Holy Spirit and Jesus as our Mediator, we can share the joys and hurts of our lives at any time and any place.  May we learn to wait upon the Lord.  Help us to seek the answers to our prayers.  Keep us in the Word.  Teach us to pray daily.  For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever.  AMEN 

Thursday, Daniel Chapter 11

Daniel 11

Mindy Strayer

February 10, 2005

THOUGHT

Chapter 11 really WOWed me once I got done reading it. It was not the stories themselves that excited me. It was the fact that God gave an account of future historical events. He did this to help, not only Daniel and the people of his time, but everybody until the end of the earth, in order to strengthen our faith by knowing that God really does know ALL!

God answers Daniel’s prayer by giving him a panoramic view of the history that will unfold in the future, but He also lets him see the tiny details of what will occur. God tells him the kingdoms that will rise and then fall and when and why. In terms of all of history, God gives a summary of events. He also gives very specific details.

Sometimes God will answer our questions with a broad, seemingly general answer that might take time and more prayer to understand. Lots of times, however, God will answer our prayers very specifically, giving us a very clear understanding of the answer, or giving us a specific action to take. Whichever way God answers our prayers, we can trust Him that His answers are always right and perfect for us.

PRAYER

God, thank You for showing us that You are in control of everything big and small. We thank You for the truth of Your Word. We thank You for answered prayer. Most importantly we thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who gave us the victory over evil when He took our place on the cross. Help us to live our

lives with confidence and faith in You, knowing that You have everything mapped out exactly how it should be. Help us to spread the good news of the victory available to all people who come to You in faith accepting Christ as Lord.  AMEN 

Friday, Daniel Chapter 12

Daniel 12

Verse 13

Bart Strayer

February 13, 2005

Verse 13:  “And you? Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.”

THOUGHT

There were so many great lessons to take from Daniel’s life.  He was a devoted follower of God.  For his whole life he was determined to remain faithful to God and to administer His will. God had chosen Daniel to advise his captors with his God-given wisdom, and Daniel had done just that.

Verse 13 reminded me that there are very few things in this world that are worth worrying about. When worries and stresses start filling my life, it is good to stop and step back and assess the priorities of my life. The only thing we need to stress about is: “Are we doing God’s will?”  Unfortunately, we have made personal plans without asking God first, and now we find ourselves “swimming against the current” to accomplish them.

Remember, things can go wrong and people can violate you, but the only thing important in this life (your salvation), can’t be taken from you.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank You for salvation through Your Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. Thank You for inspiring us through Daniel’s life so we may read about how he followed You through all the tough times. As we continue this week, open up the words of the Bible so we may be molded into the people You want us to be. We thank You for this time together. We pray all of this in Jesus Name.  AMEN