4 Ways to Pray When the World Feels Against You

We learn from Daniel to earn respect from those around us. We pray to earn respect. Not just from those who think the way we do, but from those whom we consider to be against us.

Daniel 6:3-4 reads: “Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent” (Daniel 6:3-4).

Daniel entered a hostile environment, yet he chose to distinguish himself with exceptional qualities. Daniel stepped up in his role; he was honest. The passage mentions this twice. He worked diligently. He could be trusted. He distinguished himself so the king was favorable towards him.

It’s interesting to think that Nebuchadnezzar hand-picked Israelites who were taken into captivity (Daniel 1:3-4). They would likely be confrontational towards him in losing their freedom to worship, practice their beliefs, and live as they pleased. In Babylon, Daniel and his friends were given Babylonian names and received three years of training in the Babylonian language and literature. In other words, they experienced forced assimilation.

However, we see God chose Daniel for this role. It was not Nebuchadnezzar making the appointment. God was in full control of events. At the beginning of the book of Daniel, just a few words tell us God was in charge of what was happening.

“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God” (Daniel 1:1-2).

The Hebrew word for “Lord” in Daniel 1:2 above is not the usual YAHWEH. Instead, it is the word ădōnay. ădōnay means “owner, ruler, or sovereign.” 

It might have looked like Nebuchadnezzar was commander in chief, but we are told God   presided over the Babylonian invasion, God also supervised Daniel’s election. God singled out Daniel for the job.

Daniel did not fight against the culture of the Babylonians. He excelled within it through his trustworthiness and his diligence. He served God through his role.

When we know that God is in control, working out his plans and purposes through us, then we too can have an attitude like Daniel. We are to look beyond our current situations and know that our strength is found in God, through Jesus, who has “overcome the world.”

Lord God,

You are sovereign over the world, nations, cultures, communities, and homes in which we live. Give us the wisdom to rest in this knowledge. May we be like Daniel and distinguish ourselves from those around us, to be exceptional in all that we do. May we be honest and conscientious. May we earn respect from those who love us and those who hate us, those with whom we are friendly and those with whom we are hostile.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Daniel was determined, but perhaps not in the way we think. And so, we pray to live with determination.

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (Daniel 6:10).

The words “just as he had done before” tell us about Daniel’s attitude and his determination.

This is not the first time the Bible speaks of Daniel’s firmness in purpose. Daniel 1:8 says Daniel “resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.” Other translations use the word “purposed” or say Daniel “made up his mind.”

I’m inclined to think Daniel’s resolve and purpose started before he got to Babylon. He decided at some point in his young life as he learned about God, as he was taught the Jewish faith, that he would be wholeheartedly devoted to God. Daniel took care that his heart was right before God.

Maybe the long journey to Babylon gave him an opportunity to think and consider what was ahead and how he would respond. Perhaps he used it as a time to pray and promise God he would remain faithful. Daniel’s new life may have made him look like a Babylonian on the outside, but what was going on inside mattered more.

It’s an invitation for us to work out our beliefs, and purpose in our hearts to follow God, both when it is easy to do so and when our beliefs are challenged. Then like Daniel, when we are faced with situations or surrounded by people who dispute our beliefs, we can stand firm.

But there’s one more thing we learn from Daniel’s determination to put God first. When required to do more than he could take, when asked to do something that contradicted his faith, Daniel did so with respect: "he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”

Sometimes we can get so caught up with doing what we believe to be right, we forget about the condition of our hearts and showing respect to those around us. Use this prayer to purpose in your heart to follow God at all times and in all ways.

Lord God,

Your word says that people look at the outward appearance but you look at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). I resolve right now to do what I can to have a heart that is pure (Psalm 24:4). Forgive me when I think what I do and what I fight for is more important than determining who I am in your eyes. Purify my heart today so I bring honor to your name and in doing so, consider others before myself.

Amen.

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Daniel humbled himself before God. So, we pray in humility.

Daniel prayed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws” (Daniel 9:4-5).

Even though Daniel expressed sin, wrongdoing, wickedness, and rebellion, we know Daniel was upright, following God’s commands and laws. We have just seen that in how Daniel refused to defile himself.  

Daniel could have complained to God when he understood that he was suffering for the ungodliness of God’s people. Instead, Daniel confessed as one of them and pleaded with God to have mercy “in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes”  (Daniel 9:3). 

Often we see the trouble in our world as not our sin but the problem of others, of their lack of godliness. Often we are tempted to point the finger at other people in our nation and our communities, or even in our families. We think they are the ones who need to get on their knees and confess to God. 

Daniel’s example is a lesson for all of us, regardless of how godly we are. We are to let go of our pride, to humble ourselves before God and ask for his forgiveness, even when things are not our fault. 

The reward is that our prayers of humility are answered, as we see with Daniel’s prayer:

“While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill — while I was still in prayer, Gabriel…instructed me and said to me, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision’” (Daniel 9:20-23).

Take a moment now, in your own words, to pray with humility before God.

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Daniel focused on God, seeking him in full commitment. So, we pray wholeheartedly.

“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).

Daniel focused on God, who directed the whole world and also his own life. He determined in his heart to follow God. He prayed fervently. 

We would do well to follow Daniel’s example and turn our faces to the Lord God, who is owner, ruler, and sovereign. So often our focus is on what is happening around us and in the world instead of the One who is in us and over us, who controls all things. 

Jesus gave us two commands for when we experience trouble in this world. We are to remain in him (John 15:4). We are to love one another (John 13:34). 

Finally, Jesus told us: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

Lord God,

May I shift my focus onto you and not what is happening around me. You are sovereign. When I remain in you and your Son, I will have peace. Fill me with Your peace even in the middle of trouble.

Amen.

When you feel the world is against you, remember to pray wholeheartedly. Pray to earn the respect of all around you. Pray with determination to put God and his ways first in your life. Pray with humility, not seeing yourself as better than others but in need of God’s forgiveness as much as others. Then wait to see how God will give you peace through his sovereign power in the middle of the trouble in our world.

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