DN Praying According to God's Word 3/4/2008

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DRAWING NEAR

March 4

Praying According to God's Word

"I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which
was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for
the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy
years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by
prayer and supplications" (Dan. 9:2-3).

God's sovereignty doesn't eliminate the need for prayer.

Have you ever wondered if it's biblical to pray for things that God
has already promised in His Word to do? Is it proper to pray, say,
for the salvation of sinners, knowing that God will redeem all the
elect anyway, or for Christ's return, knowing that it is a sure
thing? Daniel gives us a clear answer.

God prophesied through Jeremiah that the Babylonian Captivity would
last seventy years (Jer. 25:11-12). When Daniel read that prophecy,
he realized that the time was near for his people to return to their
homeland. That inspired him to pray fervently.

In Daniel 9:19 he cries out, "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord,
listen and take action! For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay."
He was in tune with God's Word and understood that somehow his
prayers were part of God's plan.

The exact relationship between God's sovereignty and our prayers is a
mystery, but it is clear that somehow God's Word and our prayers are
co-laborers in achieving God's will.

Like Daniel, you and I live in a time when many of God's promises
seem near to fulfillment. Never before have world events pointed so
dramatically to the nearness of the return of our Lord. Consequently,
this is not the time for complacency or over-enthusiastic
speculation. It is the time for careful Bible study and fervent
prayer.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for His faithfulness and the sure promises of His Word. Ask
Him for spiritual wisdom and insight to discern His will and then
live accordingly.

For Further Study:

Jeremiah 24:1-25:13 gives some background to Judah's captivity in
Babylon. After reading those verses, answer these questions:

To what kind of fruit did God liken Judah? What did God say would
happen to King Zedekiah? What warning did the prophets give to Judah?
What was Judah's response? How would God deal with Babylon?

Drawing Near, Copyright c 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.

All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org

~~~


Jeremiah 24:1-25:13 (NKJV)
1 The LORD showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before
the temple of the LORD, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had
carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from
Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe;
and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they
were so bad.
3 Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said,
"Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot
be eaten, they are so bad."
4 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Like these good figs, so
will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah,
whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land
of the Chaldeans.
6 'For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them
back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I
will plant them and not pluck them up.
7 'Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and
they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall
return to Me with their whole heart.
8 'And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad';
surely thus says the LORD; 'so will I give up Zedekiah the king of
Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land,
and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
9 'I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the
earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a
curse, in all places where I shall drive them.
10 'And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among
them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and
their fathers.'"
25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of
Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of
Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),
2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to
all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:
3 "From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of
Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the
word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising
early and speaking, but you have not listened.
4 "And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets,
rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined
your ear to hear.
5 "They said, 'Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil
doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your
fathers forever and ever.
6 'Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do
not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not
harm you.'
7 "Yet you have not listened to Me," says the LORD, "that you might
provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
8 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Because you have not
heard My words,
9 'behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says
the LORD, 'and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and
will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and
against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and
make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
10 'Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice
of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride,
the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
11 'And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment,
and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 'Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed,
that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of
the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,' says the LORD; 'and I will make
it a perpetual desolation.
13 'So I will bring on that land all My words which I have
pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which
Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.

These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.

In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.

If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.

You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:

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You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
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In Christ,



Peter

Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase@xxxxxxxxxx

STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/2425

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There is a living God. He has spoken in His word. He means just what he says, and will do all that He has promised. - Hudson Taylor
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