Series: Stand—Stories of Courage from Daniel
Week 4: Stand In (Faith)
Daniel 10-Old man-Standing in faith has been praying for God to rebuild Temple-Jewish freed.
Then Daniel has another vision- of war & hardship.
Daniel sought God in prayer-a 21-day fast-no lotions (no baths). At the end of these 3 weeks Daniel sees a man. Daniel 10:5-8a (sounds a lot like John’s vision in Revelation 19 of Jesus)
Daniel is the only one that saw this vision. Sometimes God has something just for you-others wouldn’t understand.
Daniel 10:8b-9
How do you stand firm in faith, when you’re praying, and you don’t see anything happen?
3 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN STANDING IN FAITH
- GOD CARES ABOUT YOU MORE THAN YOU DO. Daniel 10:10-11
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me;
From shades of night to plains of light,
Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!
The hand of God never extends to condemn. It always extends to lift.
You are very precious to God. Not only does God love you-he likes you.
- GOD IS DOING MORE THAN YOU UNDERSTAND. Daniel 10:12-13
Talking to those who have been praying for a long time about something. Why bother? God’s not going to do anything. Nothing’s going to change. God probably doesn’t even care.
Since the first time you begin to pray-your prayer has been heard in heaven. God loves a persistent, faithful prayer. The First time you prayed-God heard the cry of your heart! Daniel 10:13
When did Daniel start praying?-21 days ago
Daniel prayed, and he continued to pray, and he continued to pray. And what did he see? Nothing. Not a thing. He didn’t see anything. But just because he didn’t see anything did not mean God was not doing something.
- GOD’S STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN YOUR WEAKNESS.
**Weight lifting story.
Until you understand your weakness you won’t appreciate God’s strength.
Daniel 10:17-19
Until you understand your weakness you won’t appreciate God’s strength.
God may do exactly what you’re praying for, or He may not.
But just because you don’t see anything doesn’t mean He’s not doing something.
People are going to ask How are you doing this?-Your Answer: God is with me.
- God cares about me more than I do.
- God is doing more than we understand.
- God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness.
Truth: From the moment you first prayed-heaven has heard your prayer.