BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession…We have sinned, and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments.” – Daniel 9:4-5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Daniel’s prayer here is not the prayer that makes God angry. Some people think “If we just pray, God will hear our prayer.” My dear friend, it is not so. Prayers of a wicked people anger God. They make the matter worse. It’s an affront to God.

The Bible says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). “The LORD is far from the wicked: but He heareth the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29). Again, God says, “He that turns away his ear from the hearing of the law, his prayer shall be an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). Prayer could actually become an abomination to God. The psalmist said, “Lord, how long will you be angry at the prayers of your people?”

ACTION POINT:

Have you ever thought that a prayer of yours, rather than enlisting God’s mercy, might stir up God’s anger? Nothing angers God more than for a people stuffed full of sin and self to be imploring God to do something good for them when they stand in need of judgment. Confessed sin will be forgiven, but it must be confessed. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

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