A Humble Prayer

"We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."
Daniel 9:18b&19

I think we need to talk about prayer more. Virtually everyone, Christian or not, prays at one time or another. As Christians, we believe that God hears and answers prayer. We do not pray to make ourselves feel better, we pray because we are looking for help from our Mighty God.
    There are many different views regarding our 'position' when we pray. I am not referring to our physical position, although this has also been debated. I am thinking of how we approach God. Daniel said that he was not asking from the position of righteousness. He was appealing to God's mercy. We are righteous before God, not because of what we do, but because of faith in regard to what Christ has done for us. I think Daniel was referring to self-righteousness. If we pray, believing that we have earned something, or that we deserve something, we are full of pride. Daniel's prayer came from the place of humility. He recognized God's authority and his own weakness.
    When we pray, we are not begging. Notice how bold Daniel was when he prayed: "O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act!" These are not the words of someone begging for anything, they are powerful, yet humble words, calling on God to respond. It was not for Daniel's sake that he prayed, it was for God's people. He understood prayer because he was a man of prayer. He knew how to speak to God because he did it often.
    We need to be people who pray. We need to learn to be humble when we ask God, but bold in our approach. Prayer connects us with God. It is not simply launching words in the air or venting frustration. Prayer is powerful and God responds to them because of his great mercy and love. We have full assurance that our prayers are heard by God and that he will respond, A foundation of our faith is this: God answers prayer. Since we know this is true, we must pray and we must pray often. Make it a regular part of your day.