On Sunday as we journeyed through the second half of Daniel 9, I was struck by the precision and accuracy of God to predict future events. It is truly astounding that not only does He hold the power to decide ahead of time what will happen, but that He chooses to involve men like Daniel to hear and know His future thoughts.
We have that same privilege of knowing the heart and character of God in His Word. We get to see hidden mysteries and secrets that have been kept from humankind until the prophets revealed them.
This week, I was paying special attention to Pastor Jason’s point about God not just revealing what would happen to Daniel in the 70 years that were relevant to him, but that God was revealing beyond that…the 70 x 7.
This made me ponder the idea of praying beyond what we initially see…something I am covering this very week in the prayer class. I love how God ties together points and lessons and frameworks all at the perfect moment where it will make sense to our human minds.
But back to what struck me in the message…if we are to live in that eternal perspective — we must pray beyond what we can see.
It’s essential that we look at a situation not only for the prayer request at hand…those are still very important to God and we should voice them, but there is also this “eternal thinking” that must come into play. Asking ourselves: what will this mean for future generations? How does this request impact things eternally?
Daniel was given information that went far beyond even his lifetime…so what did he do with that? What do we do with that?
What if God gives us a picture of something bigger than us, even beyond our lifetime?
We pray for the future and for those it will impact. We dream and think and pray alongside God in His big, big plans. Isn’t it beautiful that He involves us? I can’t think of any other religion that takes a powerful, omniscient, mighty and majestic God and marries that with the human mind…with human reasoning and thought. He is a mighty God, but He also cares about little old us!
The very fact that God chose Daniel to know this information is tender and thoughtful in and of itself. When He reveals something to you, be ready to hold that information with utmost care. Pray beyond what you see. Think bigger. And know that God will forever and always care enough to communicate these things with you.
We have that same privilege of knowing the heart and character of God in His Word. We get to see hidden mysteries and secrets that have been kept from humankind until the prophets revealed them.
This week, I was paying special attention to Pastor Jason’s point about God not just revealing what would happen to Daniel in the 70 years that were relevant to him, but that God was revealing beyond that…the 70 x 7.
This made me ponder the idea of praying beyond what we initially see…something I am covering this very week in the prayer class. I love how God ties together points and lessons and frameworks all at the perfect moment where it will make sense to our human minds.
But back to what struck me in the message…if we are to live in that eternal perspective — we must pray beyond what we can see.
It’s essential that we look at a situation not only for the prayer request at hand…those are still very important to God and we should voice them, but there is also this “eternal thinking” that must come into play. Asking ourselves: what will this mean for future generations? How does this request impact things eternally?
Daniel was given information that went far beyond even his lifetime…so what did he do with that? What do we do with that?
What if God gives us a picture of something bigger than us, even beyond our lifetime?
We pray for the future and for those it will impact. We dream and think and pray alongside God in His big, big plans. Isn’t it beautiful that He involves us? I can’t think of any other religion that takes a powerful, omniscient, mighty and majestic God and marries that with the human mind…with human reasoning and thought. He is a mighty God, but He also cares about little old us!
The very fact that God chose Daniel to know this information is tender and thoughtful in and of itself. When He reveals something to you, be ready to hold that information with utmost care. Pray beyond what you see. Think bigger. And know that God will forever and always care enough to communicate these things with you.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.