The Prayer of a Righteous Man…….

“Hear what is right, O Lord.  Listen to my cry. Hear my prayer, for it does not come from lying lips.  May You decide in my favor.  May Your eyes see what is right.  You have tested my heart.  You have visited me during the night.  You have tested me and have found nothing wrong.  I have decided that my mouth will not sin”.     Psalm 17:1-3 NLV

Who do you turn to when you need someone to pray for you?

Are you the kind of person people turn to when they need prayer?

Daniel was.   In Daniel 4:18 the king turned to Daniel with a need.  “O Belteshazzar, (Daniel’s Babylonian name) that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had.   Now tell me what it means, for no one else can help me.   All the wisest men of my kingdom have failed me.  But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”  (NIV)

King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream plagued him to the point he turned to his advisors for help, when they could not help, he turned to Daniel.

What are the characteristics of people that make you trust them enough that you will turn to them with your prayer concerns?

Nebuchadnezzar turned to Daniel because “the spirit of the holy gods is in (him).”

When you are looking for prayer support, do you want people who will seek God with all their heart? 

People like Jeremiah 29:12-13 talks about.  “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.   You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Do you want people who are willing to wait upon God? 

People like David, who wrote: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.” (Ps 40:1 NIV)

James 5:16 (b) affirms the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Are you likely to ask someone to pray for you, who do not keep God’s commandments or someone who does keep God’s commandments?

John wrote, “…friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.”  (I John 2:21-22 NIV)

Would you say people who met these qualifications are people who seek the Lord and are willing to wait upon Him?  People who keep His commandments are close to Him and have a humble spirit. Do you they live an easier life than those who do not meet these qualifications?

Another way to ask the question is; would you like to be the kind of person whose prayers are answered?

On the surface, most of us would say yes, I want my prayers answered.   I want to be a prayer warrior.  

What about Daniel, what was his life like?