Relying on God's Character

GracetoYou.org ^ | 1993 | John MacArthur, Grace Community Church

[metmom]

"Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments. . . . righteousness belongs to Thee. . . . To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness" (Dan. 9:4, 7, 9).

God’s attributes authenticate your prayers.

Prior to the Babylonian Captivity God had warned His people not to adopt the idolatrous ways of their captors. Their gods were idols that could neither hear nor deliver them from distress (Isa. 46:6-7).

In marked contrast, our God loves us and delivers us from evil. When we confess our sins and intercede for others, He hears and responds. In Isaiah 45:21-22 He says, "There is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."

In his prayer Daniel mentions several attributes of God that have a direct bearing on answered prayer. In verse 4 he calls Him "the great and awesome God." That speaks of His power and majesty. You can pray with confidence because God is powerful enough to change your circumstances when it serves His purposes.

God's faithfulness is reflected in the phrase "who keeps His covenant" (v. 4). He always keeps His promises. He made a covenant with Israel that if they repented He would forgive them (Deut. 30:1-3). He promised never to forsake them (Deut. 31:6; cf. Heb. 13:5).

God's love is seen in His acts of mercy toward those who love Him (v. 4). His justice and holiness are inherent in the phrase "righteousness belongs to Thee" (v. 7). God's actions are always loving and righteous. He never makes a mistake (Gen. 18:25).

Verse 9 mentions two final attributes: compassion and forgiveness. Compassion is a synonym for mercy. Forgiveness means He pardons your wrongdoings by canceling the penalty sin has charged to your account. He reconciles you to Himself in sweet communion.

What a gracious God we serve! Rejoice in His love and lean on His promises. He will never fail you.

Suggestions for Prayer

Praise God for His attributes of power, majesty, faithfulness, love, holiness, compassion, and forgiveness.

For Further Study

Read Isaiah 44 which contains a stern warning for Israel to avoid the idolatry of Babylon during the Babylonian Captivity.

What promises did God make to Israel? How did God characterize idolaters?

[metmom]

Studying God’s Word ping

[Bob434]

[[He pardons your wrongdoings by canceling the penalty sin has charged to your account.]]

? Couple of points- God doesn’t cancel out the consequences of sin. Yes, God forgave Israel, but they still had to serve out the penalty of their sin (Generations died in the wilderness)

Christ has covered all our sins in regard to eternal life in heaven with God- but in the meantime, we must serve out the penalty/consequences of our sins- for instance, if a drug using Christian Destroys their liver or whatever, or gets say gets aids from dirty needle, then later repents- they still have to deal with the consequences of their sin- God won’t take away the disease just because we repent- If they get caught and thrown in prison- they will still have to serve out their sentence despite repenting-

[[God’s faithfulness is reflected in the phrase “who keeps His covenant” (v. 4). He always keeps His promises.]]

Yes He does keep
His promises- but they are usually conditional as in the following verse:

“if they repented He would forgive them”

Usually He tells them they must seek Him ‘With ALL their heart soul and minds”- this is serious business- Not many people want to follow ‘all the way’, so we don’t hold up our end of the bargain- We only walk 3 steps and won’t go any further, when 5 total steps is what it takes- We only wanna go just so far in obeying Him-

Jeremiah 29: 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

God promises to answer those that seek Him ‘with all their heart’

One has to wonder what about those that don’t seek Him with absolutely ‘all our heart’? Does He not even hear us?

Sorry to be a bit of a downer- but this issue has been punching me in the gut the last week or so- seems every lesson i read is about this issue lately