50 Days of Prayer for Fellowship CRC

Dan. 9:3, “Then I turned to the Lord God to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.”

Most of our prayers are rather routine, in that we pray the same sorts of things regularly for ourselves, for our family of friends, for our church, for the world.  Nothing wrong with that. But sometimes a burning issue comes to us that needs to be brought before God.  It is helpful to formulate a question as you come to God in prayer; if you don’t know the question, how will you know the answer when God gives it?

Some questions, of course, are weightier than others.  Daniel’s question was weighty, and it was not hard to see why. He and his people were being held captive in a foreign land!  Daniel says in v1 that Darius the Mede had just become ruler over the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonians). Imagine the anticipation of the captives which had accompanied that transition of power: “could this mean our freedom?”

But no, they were still being held Captive, so Daniel studies the words of the prophets who came before him, and takes what he finds there to prayer.  But not just a 2-minute prayer. Daniel gave up food and normal clothing, trading them for sackcloth and ashes, to focus his prayers. We are not told how long this prayer lasted, but Daniel was known for taking many days and weeks for his prayers.

What question is God formulating in your mind during these 50 Days of Prayer? If you don’t know, ask God if there is a question that He wants you to bring to Him. It could be a question for yourself, for the church, or for the world, or something else. When it comes, write it down! Ask God every day for the answer. Write down the answer when it comes. Share the question and answer when you receive it.

So we pray,
Father God, in this confusing world, some things are too big for us to understand. But not for you! To make sense of it all Lord God, we know we need to come to you, but so often we do not know how. Is there a question that we should bring to you in prayer today, this week, these 50 days? If so, gracious King, give us the question and the perseverance to seek an answer through prayer and supplication. Amen.