Now practice Read, Find, Pray.
Daniel 9 shows Daniel putting these 3 actions into practice. For context, Daniel is an old man. Probably 70 or even 80 years old. To those who are this age today…life expectancy for Daniel’s time was 40. So, yeah, Daniel was a relatively much older man than you!
The Babylonians took Daniel from his home land of Israel during a hostile takeover when he was a teenager. Because of Hearing & Following God, he became influential in multiple pagan kingdoms. Even rising to #2 in command more than once.
And yet, he faced difficulty because he Heard & Followed God. He…
Stood his ground to eat only vegetables,
His buddies were thrown into the fiery furnace and survived,
He interpreted the handwriting on the wall when Thing from Addams Family showed up,
And he survived the lion’s den.
And from this place in life, we read Daniel 9.
What book did Daniel READ? What does it mean to you that through all the above, he still took time to read Scripture? What do you take from Daniel reading scripture in his position in society?
What One Thing did Daniel FIND in what he read? What does it mean to you that Daniel didn’t just read to check off a box?
What did Daniel PRAY? What stands out to you in this prayer?
Now, double click down into Daniel 9:20-23…
What did God do for Daniel when he was done praying?
What did the angel Gabriel say to Daniel about how God views Daniel?
What does this say to you about how God views you and what he wants to do for you?