“Lord, hear and act!” – Daniel 9:19
If you are like me, it’s my guess that you have a list of things you’d like God to act on. Some of the things on my list are: my Dad’s Alzheimer’s, broken relationships, Covid, friends that post too much about politics, my never-ending battle with weeds in my yard, my lack of motivation to work out, my kids’ grades, my kids’ attitude, my kids’ laziness… and on and on. “God, how long must I suffer?” Ok, maybe that is a little dramatic.
However, the truth of the matter is that we all have problems in our lives, both big and small, that we simply cannot control. They are problems that we just can’t fix; difficulties that are so deep seated that if God doesn’t act, they will haunt us for the rest of our lives. Pretty soon, you just resign yourself to the fact that nothing will ever change and that you just have to live with your problems.
And the sad truth is that this is what we do. We give up, and we just end up coping. I wonder what would have happened to Daniel if he had just given up. His situation was much worse than ours, but what if he had decided that all hope was lost and just decided to throw in the towel? But the fact that he doesn’t, gives you and I hope today. You see, at the very point at which Daniel realized that he was in over his head… when he realized he couldn’t do anything anymore, he turned to the One who could.
Not only did Daniel pray, but he confessed and fasted and humbled himself. He prayed as if his prayers were actually heard. He prayed as if his prayers could move the hand of God.
And when Daniel cried out, “hear and act,” the God of the universe heard and acted. In fact, our passage says multiple times that “while” Daniel was in prayer, God acted. The truth is that Daniel’s prayer moved the hand of God!
I want you to hear something very important today. Daniel is not special in this sense. It wasn’t because of who Daniel was that caused God to act. God acted because of who God is. And God is a God who responds to the prayers of his people. Prayer moves the hand of God. There is nothing that you are going through that is too big or too small to bring to God in prayer. James 4:2 tells us, “you do not have because you do not ask.”
So, do you want God to act? Well… what is God hearing from you today? Maybe it is time to pray like God actually hears and acts.
Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor