Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem(11/27/21)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 11/27/21 | left that other site

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Daniel 6

Daniel in the Den of Lions

6 [a]It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

6 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.

10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

“May you prosper greatly!

26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God
    and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
    his dominion will never end.
27  He rescues and he saves;
    he performs signs and wonders
    in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus[b] the Persian.

Footnotes

a Daniel 6:1 In Aramaic texts 6:1-28 is numbered 6:2-29.
b Daniel 6:28 Or Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus

_______________________________________________________

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Our Father In Heaven,
Magnified and Sanctified is Your Most Holy Name!
You Alone Are Worthy To Be Praised And Worshiped,
For Your Alone Are Holy,
Righteous,
and Infinitely Just!
You Are Eternally Faithful,
You Always Judge Rightly,
With Grace and Truth,
Justice and Mercy,
Wisdom and Kindness,
Firmness and Gentleness.

In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
Deliver me in Your righteousness,
and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my Rock and my Fortress.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.

Let all that has been Concealed
Be Revealed.

Father, We Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem,
According To Your Will and Promise.
We Pray That You Will Forgive The Sins
of Our Own Nation,
and Lead us all to Godly Repentance.
Create in Us Clean Hearts, Oh LORD,
and Renew a Right Spirit Within Us.

This we Pray Together,
As We Await Your Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Set Up His Kingdom,
And Make All Things Right.

Let all that has Been Concealed,
Be Revealed.

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

[DarthVader]

Amen !!! <><

Psalm 20

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings,
and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.
Selah

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfil all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.

6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They will collapse and fall,
but we shall rise and stand upright.

9 Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

We all know the story of Daniel in the Lions' Den, but today, let's look at it afresh in regard to our study of Prayer. There are several kinds of prayer in this Chapter.

1. The Prayer of a Sanctified Life:

6 [a]It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Daniel wasn't just a talented, capable administrator. His integrity and wisdom set him apart from all the others. This led to his quick promotion but it also led to the jealousy and malice of his coworkers. If they had devoted even half the energy they spent on hating Daniel for his achievements, and used it to seek out Daniel's God, they may have become Great Men themselves...but no. Daniel's LIFE was a prayer. Although he practiced personal prayer on his own time, he also exuded prayer in his daily discourse with his collegues. They couldn't help but notice!

2. Prohibited Prayer:

6 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.



The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

I grew up during the Cold War and my childhood was filled with stories about Communism's persecution of Religion, especially Christianity. The USSR persecuted the Orthodox Church, Red China persecuted both Catholic and Protestant Missionaries, and Eastern Europe did more than its share in that as well. The persecution of Christians in Eastern Europe became very real to me when my dear friend left her lovely beach house in Virginia and began bringing Bibles into Iron Curtain Countries, risking arrest, torture, and death. (she ended up dying in my arms in an open helicopter over an erupting volcano, but that's a whole different story!) Lil was my hero. After the fall of the Soviet System, she switched her missionary work to Central Asia, in countries that had "stan" in their names, if you catch my drift. That was possibly even more dangerous than the Iron Curtain countries had been.

In our own country, there has been a steady drumbeat of religious persecution since the 60's. Participating in Public prayer can get you in a load of trouble. In our own culture, the "Lions' Den" could be a plethora of lawsuits and fines, job loss and "lawfare" that seem to be neverending. Lately, however, the Free World seems to be employing the tactics of the Iron Curtain Countries of the Twentieth Century.

3. Personal Prayer:

10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

There was nothing in the Book that told Daniel that he had to pray three times a day. Nor was it decreed that he had to face Jerusalem, or open his windows, or even pray out loud. These were personal choices that Daniel made to Honor God. Even though he was breaking the "law", he was not going to change his way of praying. He knew that it could mean his death, but he kept at it. He would not "adjust".

4. Petition:

16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

This Prayer of petition is from the Pagan King. Since the King believed in a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses, it wasn't unreasonable for him to believe that Daniel's God actually existed. The Ancient World associated gods with nationalities, and, since Daniel was a Jew, his God was the one Jews worshipped. But, just as not all Arabs are Muslims, not all Germans Lutheran, and not all Chinese People are Buddhists, this is an error. In order for God to BE God, there can be only ONE. Nevertheless, Darius says a prayer to Daniel's God, and it was heard.



5. The Proclamation of Thanksgiving and Praise:

“May you prosper greatly!

26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
27 He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

This is a Proclamation from the King. While it doesn't deny the existence of the Persian gods, it elevates Daniel's God in Praise and Thanksgiving. We get these kind of proclamations regularly from the White House, declaring a National Day of Prayer, recognizing The Thanksgiving Holiday, designating a Day of Remembrance, wishing certain ethnic groups good wishes on their holiday, and so on. There is no indication that Darius was converted to The One True God, but at least he made this declaration. From it we can assume that he really liked Daniel and was very happy that his God had delivered him from the mouth of the lion.

The story shows us how many kinds of prayer there can be, and the importance of how Prayer changes a Life. May all our prayers be that kind.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, DarthVader, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[TianaHighrider]

Laf, I accidentally had “Daniel” wrote down earlier with Goliath instead of David. Daniel was on my mind strong! Now I know why!

Blessings and prayers up ❤ 🙏

[NEWwoman]

Amen left that other site

As I’ve heard it said many times before — God is still on the throne and prayer changes things.

Joining in prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem and for our belove America.

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, TianaHighrider, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, NEWwoman, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Hiskid]

Amen

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Hiskid, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS