"Now God allowed Daniel to receive favor and compassion fromm the palace master."
(Daniel 1:9)
(Daniel 1:9)
Four young men... in a foreign land... against their will... forced to serve their new king. This is where Daniel & Co. found themselves. They were chosen as part of a group of the "best and brightest" (of the captives) to learn the ways of Babylon & commit to a lifetime of service to the king. The three-year training began with daily "royal rations" of food & wine. The only problem was this went against Daniel's Jewish dietary laws. So he asked the palace master if he could have an alternate "vegetarian menu." The storyteller says that "God allowed Daniel to receive favor and compassion from the palace master." Excellent!
Which got me thinking... a friend of mine (who is also a pastor) was looking to acquire a new worship space for his church. After many, many months of searching & praying... they were finally close to an agreement. A really great property! But an adjacent retailer had a contractual stipulation that would not allow "houses of worship" anywhere nearby. My friend & his church prayed fervently. God allowed them to receive favor & compassion from the retailer.
I wonder how often we, as humans... as people who claim to be followers of Jesus... are faced with a potential roadblock or hurdle or challenge... and we freeze up!? WE get stopped in our tracks. 'Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be," say to ourselves. And yet, what if we, instead, would look to God in prayer and commit the situation to Him? What if we prayed for God to grant us favor & compassion from some entity that holds power over the situation?
All things are possible with God. We just don't trust that promise enough. All things may not be probable. But it seems like we could do a bit more in the "intercession department" (I know I sure can!).
PRAYER: Lord God, today the Cal-Pac cabinet is meeting with the Conference Board of Congregational Development to discuss the many proposals submitted this fall. Among them is our request to launch/fund a satellite ministry. Please grant us favor & compassion in the eyes of the Conference Leaders. And no matter what their decision, keep us faithful to Your calling for our church. We want to do Your will. AMEN.
Which got me thinking... a friend of mine (who is also a pastor) was looking to acquire a new worship space for his church. After many, many months of searching & praying... they were finally close to an agreement. A really great property! But an adjacent retailer had a contractual stipulation that would not allow "houses of worship" anywhere nearby. My friend & his church prayed fervently. God allowed them to receive favor & compassion from the retailer.
I wonder how often we, as humans... as people who claim to be followers of Jesus... are faced with a potential roadblock or hurdle or challenge... and we freeze up!? WE get stopped in our tracks. 'Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be," say to ourselves. And yet, what if we, instead, would look to God in prayer and commit the situation to Him? What if we prayed for God to grant us favor & compassion from some entity that holds power over the situation?
All things are possible with God. We just don't trust that promise enough. All things may not be probable. But it seems like we could do a bit more in the "intercession department" (I know I sure can!).
PRAYER: Lord God, today the Cal-Pac cabinet is meeting with the Conference Board of Congregational Development to discuss the many proposals submitted this fall. Among them is our request to launch/fund a satellite ministry. Please grant us favor & compassion in the eyes of the Conference Leaders. And no matter what their decision, keep us faithful to Your calling for our church. We want to do Your will. AMEN.
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