2013 September 14 - Morning Manna

Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. (Daniel 9:17-23)

Today's Morsel: We're never going to know the impact of our prayers until we get to heaven. One of the things I've learned about prayer is that it must not be my will, but God's will. Because God knows the things we have need of, and because His ways and thoughts aren't ours, it is best that we pray for His will to be done. I could be praying for someone to be set free from an institution, and they could be a murderer. And the list could go on. We usually pray based on what we hear, not on firsthand knowledge. And so I've begin to pray for the will of God to be done and thanking Him for what He will do should it be His will. I think that's how Jesus said that we should pray. Daniel was a man of prayer. He was praying and interceding for his sins as well as the sins of others when Gabriel came to give him skill and understanding of his vision. Maybe you are waiting on an answer from God for your dream, vision, or request. Let me encourage you, don't lose heart but keep praying that God's perfect will will be done, and you too will receive a comforting answer.

As my good friend, Arlie Enis, said, "Prayer is the premium that keeps my policy paid up."

Sing: Are you weary, are you heavy hearted? Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus; Are you grieving over joys departed? Tell it to Jesus alone.