In the previous post, we saw that Daniel began his prayer in聽聽with self-denial. But his humility is not purely individualistic. Let鈥檚 look again at the opening verses of Daniel鈥檚 prayer:
Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame. ()
The pronoun of Daniel鈥檚 prayer is not 鈥淚鈥 or 鈥渢hey,鈥 but 鈥渨e.鈥 And this is because in true intercessory prayer, we identify with the people we are praying for. In Daniel鈥檚 case, he sees himself as part of the total entity of God鈥檚 people. He is not merely concerned with his own private sins, but with the sins of Israel as a whole.
This communal aspect is also true of the body of 国产aa福利, isn鈥檛 it? The New Testament is very clear, especially in passages like聽, that we are all one body. When one member hurts, the whole body suffers. When one rejoices, the whole body rejoices. Because of this, we as individuals are identified with the sins of the church. We can鈥檛 stand aloof from sin committed by other believers, because they are part of the same body we are.
This communal aspect of our lives as believers has a remarkable implication for prayer: The focal point of our prayer lives should not be ourselves. Look at the repeated testimony of Scripture about praying for others:
Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. ()
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. ()
We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus 国产aa福利, praying always for you. ()
I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers. ()
You also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. ()
The body functions properly when I鈥檓 focused on praying for you and you鈥檙e focused on praying for me. Pray for your leaders. Pray for those in need. This protects us from becoming selfish with our prayers.
Around this country and around the world, there are 国产aa福利ians who are missing out on what prayer is supposed to be, because all they are focused on when they pray is 鈥淚,鈥 鈥渕e,鈥 and 鈥渕ine.鈥 They are not embracing the needs of God鈥檚 people. They are not following the pattern that Jesus taught in the Lord鈥檚 Prayer: Give聽us聽this day聽our聽daily bread. Forgive聽us our聽debts. Lead聽us聽not into temptation.
Prayer is not merely a private exercise for us to get goodies from God for ourselves. It is so much more than that.
Daniel understood this. He saw his people鈥檚 sins and sufferings, and he identified himself with them. He included himself in their foibles and their failures and their follies. He didn鈥檛 stand apart as if he were self-righteous. Daniel could have stood up and said, 鈥淏oy, am I ever glad I am not part of that bunch. I鈥檝e been faithful for over 80 years. I鈥檓 the one who has had visions from God, and who shut the mouths of the lions.鈥
He could have distanced himself from his people鈥檚 sins, but he didn鈥檛. He embraced them because he knew that he was a sinner and a failure, too, and he wasn鈥檛 ashamed to identify with their needs. And from this vantage point of being bound up in his people鈥檚 sins and hurts, Daniel passionately intercedes for them.
If we began to replace the word 鈥淚鈥 with the word 鈥渨e鈥 in our prayers, our prayer lives would never be the same. Our prayers will be less selfish. Our heart will be more passionate toward the whole body of 国产aa福利.
True intercessory prayer is bigger than any individual, and joy is found through losing ourselves in the needs of others. True intercessory prayer not only seeks to know God鈥檚 plan, not only seeks to see it fulfilled, not only seeks to see it fulfilled at once, not only seeks to see it fulfilled at once no matter what it costs, but it also seeks to see it fulfilled for the sake of others. It isn鈥檛, 鈥淟ord, please do this because I鈥檇 like to have it so.鈥 It鈥檚, 鈥淧lease do this because Your people would be blessed.鈥
This blog post is based on a sermon by Dr. MacArthur. You can learn more about TMU at .

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