Discover the Power of One, Part 6

The Benefits of Prayer from Dr. Michael Yussa, today on Leading the Way. Dr. Yussa has a passion for prayer.

He'll often spend the early hours of the morning praying for his family, church, city, nation, and world. Today on Leading the Way, Dr. Yussa invites you to discover keys to experiencing a powerful prayer life through words found in the 10th chapter of Daniel. Please remember that Leading the Way relies on your prayers and your generosity to continue ministry in this area and around the world.

Get details about partnering with Dr. Yussa in the Open Door Campaign when you visit ltw.org. Now then, standing firm in prayer from the 10th chapter of Daniel. In the last message, if we looked at Daniel chapter 9, that is the prayer of Daniel. Daniel was on his face praying, although most of the people could not care less about him praying for them. But nonetheless, Daniel was praying for them. The reason they did not care is because they were oblivious to the desperate condition in which they were in. They were so blinded by the enemy that they could not see the danger that is lurking around the corner.

They were oblivious to the reality of their desperate condition. Beloved, I want to tell you something. It is of vital importance for you and I to understand that when our prayers are for our own wants, when all of our prayers are focused on our circumstances, when all of our prayers are give me, give me, give me, give me, God, then we haven't yet learned what it means to pray. But prayer that seeks the glory of God. The prayer that seeks the kingdom of God. The prayer that seeks the blessing of God upon others. The prayer that is offered on behalf of others. The prayer that is offered on behalf of the work of God.

The prayers that are offered on behalf of the preaching of the gospel around the world. That prayer not only honors God, but that is the prayer that God honors. And that is why it is called an intercessory prayer. That is why the Bible often speaks of praying for one another, praying for each other. That is the power of prayer, is that we intercede for one another.

That we're not lone rangers, each one on his own or her own. Praying for those even who cannot pray for themselves. I know some of you are saying, Michael, are you saying that I shouldn't pray for my needs? Are you saying that I shouldn't pray for myself? Are you saying that I shouldn't pray? No, no, no, no, no.

Watch my lips. No, that's not what I'm saying at all. But here's what I'm saying. If your prayer is totally focused on you and nothing else. If your prayer is only for the fulfillment of your wishes and your desires and your dreams and nothing else. Then there is something wrong with your prayer life.

That's what I'm saying. And that is why James the brother of Jesus said that this type of self-absorbed prayer will not be answered. Listen, James 4-3, he tells us, when you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your pledges. Here's the biblical principle that runs through the whole Bible. It is when we give that we receive. It is by dying to self that we receive life. It is by sacrificing that we are truly blessed. It is when we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness as we saw in the last message that all of my needs are going to be met with God and His majesty and His glory.

And it works the same way in prayer. Daniel's prayer was a model prayer because it was a selfless prayer. And because Daniel prayed this selfless prayer, God answered his prayer in a way that he never expected. He answered it in more abundantly than Daniel even dreamed of receiving an answer.

Something else I don't want you to miss here. In Daniel chapter 10 verses 1 and 2, it said that in the third year of the reign of Cyrus, the king of Persia, Daniel was praying and fasting for three weeks. On the third year of King Cyrus' reign, the king of Persia, Daniel prayed and fasted for three weeks. What was his prayer for? What was his prayer for? Was he praying for Cyrus to allow the Jews to go back to Jerusalem from Babylon where they have been enslavement and exile? Is that what he was praying for? No. But do you know why?

I'm going to tell you exactly why. When you go to the book of Ezra, which is the historic account of this chapter, Daniel chapter 10, you read there in 1-1, Ezra 1-1, it said that on the first year of the reign of Cyrus, a decree was issued for the people of God to go back. Now wait a minute, you've got to scratch your head here, okay? Now Daniel on his face praying on the third year of Cyrus' reign. But on the first year of Cyrus' reign, he issued a decree that nobody can change for the people of God to go back. It's been two years, Daniel. Wake up. Have you not heard the news?

It's been two years since Cyrus issued a decree and said people can go back. But why are you praying? Why are you interceding? Why are you pleading? What in the world is wrong with you, Daniel? Are you out of your mind? Are you lacking in faith?

Are you distrusting God? It's been two years since the decree has been issued. Why is he praying for something two years after it was being answered? Ezra and Nehemiah have already gone back with a contingency, very tiny one, of Jews back to Jerusalem at that point. But I know the natural reaction would have been, well, Ezra and Nehemiah and a handful of Jews went back to Jerusalem and that's enough. The natural reaction is to say to Daniel, Daniel, you should be rejoicing instead of fasting. I would have said, what's wrong with you, Daniel?

You should have been celebrating, not weeping. Daniel, you should be dancing and not sorrowing. What's wrong with you, Daniel?

Oh, but Daniel would have said to me, Michael, you don't understand. You don't understand. It is only a tiny minority, a handful of people availed themselves to this God-given opportunity. Michael, you don't understand. The vast majority of God's people have no desire to go back. The vast majority of God's people are living in compromise. The vast majority of God's people are so blinded as to the reality of their spiritual condition.

Michael, you don't understand. For 70 years, I have longed for my people and for me to return back to our spiritual roots. I have prayed for 70 years that my people be liberated from this exile. For 70 years in this pagan culture fighting temptation, fighting compromise.

And we want to go back to worship God in the temple. And now the opportunity is there. But very, very few people are taking advantage of the opportunity. Very, very few people care about the work of God. Very, very few people even aware of their desperate condition.

Now, beloved, I want you to listen to me. We at this moment of history in this great country, we live in a very similar time. We really do. We are in danger of a false sense of security.

We really are. We are in danger of stopping praying. We are in danger of stopping interceding for the kingdom of God and for the work of God and for this country. We are in danger of stopping interceding for the work of God and the kingdom of God. And to make things worse for Daniel, news were coming from Jerusalem about this handful of people with Ezra and Nehemiah.

And just a handful of them that availed themselves to Cyrus' decree and went back to their spiritual home. The news comes and says, Daniel, the walls are broken. Daniel, the temple is in shambles.

The workers are few and they are discouraged right now. The Samaritans are appealing to Caesar to rescind his decree. The opposition is so fierce that the handful of people who went back are now ready to give up the people in Jerusalem and losing hope. And that is why this aged man of God, Daniel, in chapter 10, goes on his face before God in prayer, in intercession, and in pleading with God. Did God answer him? Did God answer his prayer? Did he answer his prayer?

I mean, he gave him a vision of all vegans, which we're going to see in the next couple of messages. But today we're going to see what can happen when the righteous pray. Because of Daniel's selfless prayer, the pre-incarnate Christ showed up.

The pre-incarnate Christ himself showed up. Not in Jerusalem, the city of his praise. Not in the temple, the home of his worship.

Not even in the land of Israel. Where did he show up? He showed up in Iraq by the River Euphrates.

My friend, listen to me. Whenever you pray for the glory of God, Jesus is going to show up. Whenever you pray for the things that concern the heart of God, Jesus is going to show up. Whenever you pray on behalf of God's children, Jesus will show up.

Whenever you pray for the preaching of the gospel, Jesus is going to show up. And he's going to show up wherever you may be. If you're in the school, he's going to show up in the school. If you're in your prayer closet, he will show up in the prayer closet. If you're at work, he will show up at work.

If you're in your car, he's going to show up in your car. Well, you say, Michael, how do you know that this man that came to Daniel is a pre-incarnate Christ? Oh, very simply.

Actually, I have five reasons. Number one, the description that Daniel gives us matches the description of all the others who've been privileged to see the pre-incarnate Christ and the glorified Christ. Ezekiel, Isaiah, and then in the New Testament, John the Revelator had exactly the same description. He was wearing linen, white linen, which is the clothes of the high priest, not the clothes of an angel. Thirdly, his appearance filled Daniel with awe. His splendor threw Daniel off his feet.

His unveiled glory sucked the life out of Daniel and he fell on his face. Number four, Satan tried to hinder him, but he couldn't. Number five, which above all, the victorious pre-incarnate Christ gave Daniel supernatural strength to be able to speak to the king of glory. I actually have two things left to share with you about prayer.

And they come from Daniel chapter 10. Just two things. Number one, the power of prayer is in the persistence in prayer. Secondly, the power of prayer is dependent on the righteousness of the person who's doing the praying.

So let's look at the first one. The power of prayer is in the persistence of prayer. How long did the Bible say that Daniel was praying? Three weeks. Three weeks.

Okay. When did God hear Daniel pray? Verse 12. When did God hear Daniel's prayer?

First day. Let me read it to you, verse 12. Here's the pre-incarnate Christ still talking. He said, then he continued, Do not be afraid, Daniel, since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God. Your words were heard in heaven.

Listen to me. Satan and his demons may be working behind the veil in order to hinder answers to the prayer of the righteous. But they fail. They will ultimately fail. Satan and his demons may create a flurries of opposition. So while you're praying, all you see is opposition. All you see is obstacles.

All you see is impossibilities. But ultimately, they're defeated. Satan and his demons may increase his attack, but you will prevail. Satan and his demons may even fiercely use people, even if they are near and dear to us, in order to make our lives miserable.

But they will be foiled. Just as it happened here, Jesus said for 21 days. For 21 days, the pre-incarnate Christ said, was being hindered by the prince of Persia. That is the demon, the devil who's in charge of Persia. But he was foiled.

He couldn't stop him. Now please don't miss this. Don't miss this. Doing spiritual warfare in the life of the believer is not like eating broccoli. Some like it, most don't. No, no, no. I think that's how some people think about it. That's an error.

It really is a mistake. If Jesus is the savior of your soul, if Jesus is the lord of your life, whether you like it or not and whether you know it or not, you are in a state of spiritual warfare. You are in a spiritual conflict with the evil one. And the question is, do you know how to fight and win or are you defeated day after day after day?

That's really the question. Daniel was praying for the Persian king to come to the aid of his people and to come against the opposition of the Samaritans who were trying to get him to rescind the decree. At the very same time as Daniel crying out to God what he couldn't see or later on was able to see, Satan was working overtime, was working overtime. He was working overtime and he's trying to eliminate God's people altogether. But even though the Persian king was under Satan's control, the great God of heaven in response to Daniel's prayer changed the mind of Cyrus and got him to become an obedient to the living God. No wonder the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. The power of Daniel's prayer was in Daniel's persistence in prayer and that is why his prayer was answered. Secondly, the power of prayer is dependent on the righteousness of the praying person. Daniel understood the awesomeness of that prayer that he was praying because he wasn't praying, you know, God help my lower back and, you know, get my knees fixed or God make my toes straight. And God, you know, this is not what he was praying. He was praying a huge prayer. He was praying for God to change history.

He knew that. He understood that the awesomeness of the prayer that he's praying. Think of this, an 87-year-old man at a distant country praying and history is being changed. Isn't that incredible?

Don't wrap your arms around this one. Beloved, the power of prayer is incalculable especially when you pray big prayers, when you trust God for big things, when you ask God for his glory, when you ask God to manifest his power. He'll do it. Don't you think the devil knows what power the army of God would have if they unite in prayer? Don't you think the devil knows that?

And that's why you get thousands on Sunday but you get hundreds in a prayer meeting. You see, the devil gets it. We don't get it but the devil gets it. See, Satan is not stupid. He knows where our power is so he'll arrange all kinds of things to stop us from coming to the Lord in prayer. Satan gets it. He understands it. We don't. But there's something else about the power of prayer that you should not miss. It is very, very important.

I'm going to tell you why. Because when I talk about the power of prayer, it's not the same as other people talk about the power of prayer. I hear even people who are not believers talk about the power of prayer.

You know, I mean, to them it's just conjuring what you want and then you get it. Now, the power of prayer in the Bible is not that there is power in the prayer that was offered to God. No, no, no. The power of prayer doesn't even mean that the person who's doing the praying has power.

No, no, no, no. When we talk about the power of prayer, because that's a terrible mistake when people refer to the power of prayer. But when we talk about the power of prayer, it is the power of God working in response to a wholehearted commitment in prayer. That's what the power of prayer is.

Let me repeat that. The power of prayer is the power of God working in response to a wholehearted dependence on God in prayer. Not only that, not only all prayers that are dependent on God's power, but also not all prayers are effectual prayers. In James chapter 5 verse 16, here's what James said, the brother of Jesus. The prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective.

The old translation said, availeth much. What does he mean by the righteous person who prays? Here's what I'm going to tell you. Listen to me carefully. It means that only those who have no discontinuity between the way they pray and the way they live will be effectual in their prayer.

I want to repeat that. Only those who have no discontinuity between the way they pray and the way they live will be effectual in prayer. Now, God can answer anything he wants to. I'm only telling you of what I know from his word.

Only those whose lives are consistent, only those whose lives are pleasing to the Lord. You see, prayer is not a magic formula. Prayer is not some secret trick that you get in order to manipulate God, to get him to do what you want him to do for you.

No, no, no, no, no. That's paganism. The only powerful prayer, the only lasting prayer, the only effectual prayer is the prayer that is the expression of a righteous life. It's expression of a consistent life. It's expression of a godly life. Certainly, Daniel did not expect to see the pre-incarnate Christ right in front of him. You know, this is the great thing about God. Merely he was praying, God, show me your will, reveal your will for my people, but the pre-incarnate Christ showed up.

And because of Daniel's brokenness in prayer, because of Daniel's selfless prayer, because of Daniel's surrender in prayer, because of Daniel's perseverance in prayer, God unveiled his majesty to Daniel and assured Daniel that all would be well in the future because God rules the future. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for this episode of Leading the Way. Now, before I say goodbye, listen to a brief story that Leading the Way's international team heard recently. A young couple contacted Leading the Way because they were experiencing persecution from Muslim family members and friends since they became Christians.

Did you hear that? Persecution from family and friends. Due to the persecution, they were not able to attend church, and they shared their appreciation for Leading the Way because through listening, they are now able to learn and grow in their faith. One key ingredient of the Open Door campaign is to increase people and resources to reach Muslims with the gospel, just like those who are persecuting this couple. Would you consider joining Dr. Youssef in expanding ministry to Muslims in your neighborhood and in neighborhoods just like yours all around the world through the Open Door campaign? Get more details about all of the facets of the Open Door campaign. Visit ltw.org. You can also call us, speak with a ministry representative at the call center, 866-626-4356. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth all around the world. Learn more at ltw.org.