Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 469 | Throwback - Will They Find You Praying?
Transcript
- 0:00Music.
- 0:07Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
- 0:11where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
- 0:18Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
- 0:22Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
- 0:25or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
- 0:31to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
- 0:38Living a life for Christ. She's a happy girl.
- 0:38Music.
- 0:48She's a happy girl.
- 1:02When we read in the Bible about Daniel, we see that he knew that God could be
- 1:07reached in time of trouble.
- 1:09He also knew that he had to be faithful and bold in his beliefs.
- 1:14All of Daniel's attributes and beliefs caused him, through faith,
- 1:18to forsake all to live solely in the ways of God.
- 1:22Join us in this program while they find you praying,
- 1:26as Kim Miller of Woman at the Well Ministries takes us through Daniel 6.11,
- 1:31which says, Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
- 1:38Hello and welcome to this broadcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
- 1:41and this is one of the most moving, touching accounts in the scriptures for
- 1:47me. because I know that Daniel was a strong man.
- 1:53I know that Daniel exhibited amazing amounts of courage.
- 1:57And I know that Daniel was able to succeed in what he started out to do.
- 2:05And I know that Daniel did all of these things because he tapped into the power of God.
- 2:11Because he walked into the will of God. Because he knew the will of God.
- 2:16Because Daniel spent much time praying.
- 2:20Daniel had a practice. that was well known and that practice is such an amazing
- 2:28strength to not just Daniel but to anyone who would dare to be a Daniel.
- 2:33Daniel prayed three times a day and he didn't care who knew it and in fact if
- 2:40you read the account in Daniel chapter 6 you'll see that everybody who knew
- 2:45Daniel knew Daniel prayed and they knew to whom he prayed.
- 2:52Daniel had found favor in the Lord and Daniel had been set up above the other
- 2:58three presidents and he was preferred above them and this made them very jealous.
- 3:06And let's stop there for a moment. Many of us who have done work for the Lord
- 3:10have found people who try to nitpick and stand in the way and stumbling blocks.
- 3:16And unfortunately, perhaps even for some within the sound of my voice,
- 3:20you've let those people rob you of the glory of working for the Lord.
- 3:27And they've hurt you in such a way that you've allowed them to stunt your growth
- 3:33or allow them to stop you from doing what you've been asked to do.
- 3:36And And I just ask you right now to just stop and have a moment of prayer and
- 3:41just ask the Lord to strengthen you so that you could go about and do what he
- 3:46says and to help you defeat the devil.
- 3:49The Bible says that he walks around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
- 3:53And many times he devours Christians, unfortunately, through other people who
- 3:58call themselves Christians.
- 4:00But you just need to plug on and you need to keep going forward.
- 4:04And you need to realize that the approval you need is not from man,
- 4:08but from nail-scarred hands.
- 4:11And Daniel prayed to his God, regardless of what anyone said.
- 4:17And these people were so upset because of the favor he had found.
- 4:22And Daniel didn't seem to fret about that.
- 4:25There's nowhere in the story where it says Daniel was concerned about what other
- 4:31people thought. dandall truly was focused.
- 4:36On God and he knew God and I
- 4:39think to myself how is it that Daniel
- 4:42shows us how he come to
- 4:45know God and it's through that constant communication that he had those planned
- 4:51meetings now we can pray with to God at all times in fact he says to pray without
- 4:56ceasing but when we have set appointed times in our schedule to stop and pray.
- 5:05One, we won't forget and we won't get too busy because it's an appointment we're going to keep.
- 5:11And two, it shows that we really mean business.
- 5:16And it allows us to plan our time that we actually spend in front of the throne.
- 5:22It's not requirement, but when you spend time with people you love, you draw closer to them.
- 5:28And the Bible says, if you draw close or nigh unto God, he'll draw nigh unto you.
- 5:34And so Daniel's success in life was completely dependent upon his relationship with God.
- 5:41And I believe his relationship with God was highly dependent upon the time he
- 5:47spent with God in prayer.
- 5:50And so these folks in the land, these other
- 5:52presidents they were very upset at the
- 5:56favor the king had showed daniel and
- 6:00so they got together and they say in verse 6
- 6:035 they say then said these men we shall
- 6:06not find any occasion against this daniel except
- 6:10we find it against him concerning the
- 6:13law of his god daniel was an
- 6:16upright man he followed the rules of the land until they contradicted his relationship
- 6:24with god and what god had told him to do you see he was found doing good the
- 6:31bible says don't let your good be evil spoken of.
- 6:35You see, Daniel was doing what God told him to do, and Daniel knew what God
- 6:40wanted him to do because Daniel was spending time in prayer.
- 6:44The Bible says that they realized the only way they were going to cause him
- 6:49a problem, the only way they could remove him out of their way,
- 6:52and remember what they didn't like about him, was the favor he'd found in God,
- 6:57the blessings God had given him.
- 6:59And the only way they were going to be able to trip him up was to find some
- 7:04way to make a law concerning his practice against God.
- 7:09And so they knew that he prayed three times a day.
- 7:13And I wonder, do the people who are around you, clearly these people were not
- 7:19Daniel's friends, but they were his so-called co-workers, his acquaintances.
- 7:24They knew Daniel served God and was dedicated and focused to God to such an
- 7:32extent that they knew if they did something concerning his God and the rules that deal with his God,
- 7:40that they would get him. They knew it.
- 7:43Do the people you work with, the acquaintances around you, know you serve a living, risen Savior?
- 7:53Do they know that you love him? Are they able to realize that the thing that.
- 8:00Would trip you up would be for them to set some law against your God?
- 8:07Because you're so dedicated that regardless of what the law said,
- 8:12regardless of what your friends and family thought, regardless of what your co-workers would say,
- 8:19regardless of what it might cost you in promotion, reward, or fame,
- 8:24you would follow God, even in the midst of ridicule.
- 8:30Do you have that reputation among not just your closest friends or your family,
- 8:38but those extended around you?
- 8:40Perhaps you don't have it with them, but do you have it with your family?
- 8:45Do you have it with that person closest to you?
- 8:48You see, Daniel had found favor in the Lord, and he was highly,
- 8:52highly successful in his life because he had a personal relationship with God,
- 8:57and he prayed with him three times a day and he communicated frequently and
- 9:03often and he didn't just talk,
- 9:05he listened and he followed what God had for him.
- 9:09That's the key to success in life, my friend.
- 9:12It's not working day and night for the world or for your job.
- 9:18It's not seeking worldly fame or fortune.
- 9:21It's having a strong personal relationship with
- 9:24God that comes with the conviction that you're going
- 9:27to follow what he says and you love him
- 9:30and trust him and have enough faith in him to believe
- 9:33that if you do that he'll take care of you and
- 9:36the bible says delight yourself in the lord he'll give you the desires of
- 9:39your heart he will take care of
- 9:42you god will take
- 9:46care of you you must
- 9:49believe that daniel did
- 9:53and so what they did was they talked the
- 9:56king into making some kind of decree that if you prayed to anybody else except
- 10:01their false gods when you heard a sound of the music that you'd be thrown into
- 10:08the lion's den and daniel the bible says look at this in verse 10.
- 10:15Now, when Daniel knew the writing was signed, he knew the law.
- 10:22He knew the consequences.
- 10:25He went into his house and his windows being open in his chamber.
- 10:30He kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before
- 10:39his God, as he had always done, as he had done afford time.
- 10:43Look at what he did. He knew the law.
- 10:47He knew the consequences for serving and praying to his God.
- 10:52And the Bible says he prayed and he gave thanks.
- 10:58You see, he knew impending doom was going to come, but nothing would be as bad
- 11:04for him as losing favor in God's eyes.
- 11:07Can you say that can you
- 11:11say that you would give this whole world but give me jesus are you willing to
- 11:18throw away fortune and fame are you willing to throw away your own desires to serve and follow jesus.
- 11:29And that's the dedication and love that Daniel had.
- 11:35And you know, right, many people say, well, he knew he wouldn't get hurt in
- 11:39the lions. And of course he knew that. He had talked to Jesus.
- 11:42He had prayed to God. And he had the faith that his God would take care of him.
- 11:47And when he threw him in the lion's den, he just laid down and went to sleep.
- 11:53You know, some of my favorite memories of my mother is coming upon her and listening to her pray.
- 12:00Some of the most amazing memories I have of my father is sitting around him and hearing him pray.
- 12:08There's nothing as amazing as watching someone love on Jesus and seeing the
- 12:16effects of that time they spend with God as he's loving on them.
- 12:22You see, I hope somebody can say one of my greatest memories of so-and-so is
- 12:29I came upon him or her, and she was praying, and how much precious it is when
- 12:35they're praying for you.
- 12:36But my friend, Daniel was on to something.
- 12:40He prayed, and it was an appointment he kept.
- 12:44Jesus will keep his appointment with you. Are you keeping yours with him?
- 12:58Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
- 13:03quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
- 13:06We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
- 13:09our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
- 13:12You can find our app by searching for Women at the Well Ministries in your app
- 13:16store or through our website at watwm.org. We're on Facebook at facebook.com slash W-A-T-W-M.
- 13:25If you visit our website, you'll be able to subscribe to Bible Bits,
- 13:28a daily devotion written by Kim and delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
- 13:33Woman at the Well Ministries is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving our Heavenly Father.
- 13:39And it is through your loving and generous support that our ministry continues to bless others.
- 13:44To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our
- 13:48website. Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
- 13:54We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
- 13:59Remember that God loves you. You are loved.
- 14:08Music.