Joshua prayed—and the sun stopped in
midsky. Daniel prayed—and the angel Gabriel revealed future events.
Cornelius prayed—and millions of Gentiles received the life-giving
message of Jesus Christ.
Over the years, I’ve seen God work in supernatural ways in answer
to prayer. At other times, I haven’t In His sovereignty, God answers
prayers according to His perfect will and timing. The Apostle Paul
experienced this: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it
away from me.” But God replied to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for
you” (2 Cor. 12:8-9).
In the lives of Joshua, Daniel, and Cornelius, however, God
appeared to move heaven and earth in answer to prayer. Obviously,
their requests fit God’s will and timing. But what else
characterized the prayer lives and prayers of these men who brought
God’s heavenly power down to earth? What can we learn from them that
might allow us to impact our generation through prayer?
A Lifestyle of Prayer
Joshua, Daniel, and Cornelius all prayed regularly. In Ex. 33:11,
Joshua was described as the young aide of Moses who “did not leave
the tent.” His experience as Moses’ aide at the tent of meeting, and
his mentor’s example of face-to-face meetings with God, no doubt
impressed upon Joshua a lifestyle of prayer. We know that Daniel was
tossed into the lions’ den because he continued to pray to God three
times a day, even when forbidden to do so (Dan. 6:10-16). And
Cornelius is described as a man who “prayed to God regularly” (Acts
10:2).
God’s supernatural answers to the prayers of these men were not
the result of onetime encounters. Rather, they were acts that flowed
out of a daily prayer relationship between a prayerful man and his
Creator.
Biographer N. G. Dunning said of prayer warrior Samuel Chadwick,
“He was mighty in public prayer because he was constant in private
devotion.” The lifestyle of prayer, being constant in private
devotion, is essential for any person who desires to be used of God.
Without it, we lose touch with our Master, and our days are filled
with personal agendas. With it, we can become holy instruments by
which God brings His eternal purposes into our temporal world.
A God-Honoring Life
At the time of his prayer to stop the sun, Joshua was engaged in
carrying out God’s command to destroy one of Israel’s enemies (Josh.
10:8). His prayer did not come out of his own desire, but rather in
solid obedience to his Master’s plans and a desire for God’s glory
in victory. Daniel’s use of his God-given gifts and his stand for
righteousness brought God’s praise to the lips of two pagan kings
(Dan. 2:47, 6:26-27). And Cornelius’ habits reflected the care and
goodness of God as he “gave generously to those in need” (Acts
10:2).
This trio of men did not cry out to God from self-centered
hearts. Instead, they obeyed His commands, did not compromise on
what was right, and helped those who were less fortunate. Their
prayers flowed out of hearts and lives that glistened with God’s
glory.
Our godly motives and good works do not earn us the right to
force God into action. In Acts 10:4, however, Cornelius was told by
the angel that his gifts to the poor had “come up as a memorial
offering before God.” Just as Cornelius’ compassionate giving was an
offering to God, so our right motives and conduct can be offerings
to Him also.
Words That Reflect Our Heart
A lifestyle of prayer and a God-honoring life are important
components of prayers that impact our world. But so are the words
themselves, because they reflect the inner attitudes of our heart.
Since very little is recorded of Joshua’s prayer in Joshua 10 and
nothing is recorded of Cornelius’ prayers in Acts 10, Daniel’s
prayer (Dan. 9:4-19) is our best example of the three.
1. Praise. Daniel starts by exclaiming, “O Lord, the great
and awesome God.” He doesn’t begin by asking for forgiveness or with
a request. He enters God’s presence with praise.
In their book Praise: A Door to Go’s Presence, Warren and
Ruth Myers discuss the importance of praise when we come before God:
“Praise and thanksgiving help us rise above self-centeredness to
Christ-centeredness.” Praise lifts our hearts and minds out of our
worldly setting and transports us into the heavenly one, where we
can focus solely on the God we worship.
A lifestyle of praise to God is fitting and right. Why? Because
God is worthy of our praise. He is a sovereign, powerful, just, and
loving God who works for our best. Those who practice praise in
their lives are most likely to know and experience His majesty. A
good example is Anna, an elderly widow who “never left the temple
but worshiped night and day” (Lk. 2:37). When she encountered the
infant Jesus, God allowed her to recognize Him immediately as the
Savior for whom they had been waiting.
2. Holiness. Daniel ends the first sentence of his prayer
in confession: “We have sinned and done wrong” (Dan. 9:5). But he
doesn’t stop there. Daniel took the sins of his nation so seriously
that he acknowledged their wrongdoing in 12 of the 16 verses in this
prayer. His fervent and thorough confession clearly reveals an
attitude of holiness.
Interestingly, Daniel, who was called “highly esteemed” (9:23) by
the angel Gabriel, does not confess his personal sins, but the sins
of his nation. He considered their sins to be his sins. His desire
for holiness extended beyond himself to include others. Dr. David
Otis Fuller, in his foreword to A Treasury of Prayer by
Leonard Ravenhill, speaks of the need for this kind of confession in
our own time: “Our nation is doomed and damned unless born-again
Christians, with their backs to the wall, fall upon their knees
beseeching a holy God for mercy.”
When we (or our nation) have sinned against God and man, a desire
for holiness should always result in confession. This means agreeing
with God over our wrongdoing, turning away from it, and yielding to
His lordship in our lives. Confession is a breath of fresh air that
dispels the stench of sin. Those who desire holiness will clear the
air frequently with it.
3. Sincerity. Daniel ends his prayer with a plea for God’s
mercy: “Open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears
your Name” (v. 18), and “O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord,
hear and act!” (v. 19). These pleas display what is perhaps one of
Daniel’s greatest qualities: sincerity. His earnest pleas flow out
of a heart that sincerely wants to see God’s name honored throughout
the earth.
My wife recently commented on the different ways she hears people
pray at our church. Some, she said, sound as if they are praying to
the congregation and from a list. But some really talk to
God. Their sincere words lift the whole congregation into His
presence as they plead for His will in our lives.
Sincerity means that we need to remember we are talking to our
God and that He is listening. God knows our heart and is immensely
pleased when we come to Him in complete openness, making our prayers
warm and personal. Lack of sincerity brings coldness and sterility
to prayer. It does nothing to enhance real communication with a
relational God.
4. Humility. Through praise, confession, and sincerity
runs the common thread of humility. Humility allowed Daniel to put
down pride and give God His rightful glory. It led him to avoid
self-righteousness and admit both his and his nation’s wrongdoing.
And it caused him to plead for mercy like a man on death row. An
attitude of humility held Daniel’s whole prayer together.
Prayer warrior E. M. Bounds once stated: “Humility is a rare
Christian grace, of great price in the courts of heaven, entering
into and being an inseparable condition of effectual prayer.”
Without humility in prayer, we cannot give God rightful glory. Nor
can we earnestly desire holiness. And without this “rare Christian
grace,” we can forget about having a heart that flows with
sincerity. Our prayers need to start with humility, dwell in it, and
finish strongly with it. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to
the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). When we practice humility, God’s
storehouse of grace is opened to us.
The prayers of Joshua, Daniel, and Cornelius brought God’s power
down to earth. May our own lives and prayers be so focused as we
wait in faith for God to answer according to His perfect will and
way and timing.
About the Author
DOUG WENDEL is a Navigator staff member at the University of
Oklahoma, where he and his wife, Karen, minister to East Asian
students.
Doug says he wrote this article “because the prayer of a
righteous man is powerful and effective.” He wishes more people
would realize the power of God that we have at our fingertips
through prayer.