There
is real urgency about Daniel's prayer: "O Lord, look with favour on
Your desolate sanctuary ... O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord,
hear and act!" (Daniel 9:17,19). We do need to pray with urgency. There
are many who seek to lead us astray (1 John 3:7) - "Bloodthirsty men
hate a man of integrity and seek to kill the upright" (Proverbs 29:10).
Who can help us in this situation? - Only the Lord: "The reason the Son
of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8). He alone
will give us strength to "continue in Him, so that when He appears we
may be confident and unashamed before Him at His Coming" (1 John 2:28).
There is to be prayer from “every one who lives in the land” (Joel 1:14). It is to be personal prayer - “O Lord, I cry to You for help!” (Joel 1:19). These two belong together - prayer for the nation and personal prayer. This is expressed so well in the words: “O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me.” We hear the words, “Return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:13). They are followed by some wonderful words about the character of God - “He is merciful and compassionate, patient and always ready to forgive and to change His plans about disaster” (Joel 2:13). How do we know that God is like this? We look at what He has done for us - “Be glad and rejoice. The Lord has done great things!” (Joel 2:21). Looking at all that the Lord has done for us, we trust His promise: “Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32). This salvation is more than forgiveness for past sins. It’s more than the future glory of being in God’s ev...
Comments
Post a Comment