With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him (Daniel 11:32).
Sovereign Lord, You say of Yourself, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’" (Isaiah 46:10). You reveal Your purpose through prophecy for our benefit, our edification, our preparation, our peace.
Yet in all that, help us to grasp the significance of what prophecy teaches us about living in the present. The Lord Jesus gave His disciples much helpful information about the future, but He made it clear to them that their preoccupation was not to be with timetables and kingdom schedules, but with the assignments in their current reality (Acts 1:6-7).
So as we study the amazing events You reveal through Daniel and the other prophets, help us to learn the unchanging lessons for all times. Help us to study, and learn, and prepare.
Daniel, for instance speaks of a time when the difference between knowing God and not knowing God will determine if people will be deceived and corrupted by the flattery of an evil authority (Daniel 11:32). Regardless of the timetable for that prophecy—regardless of its fulfilment in a single instance or in multiple timeframes as many prophecies are—help us to move past times and schedules, and into the significance of how we should live in our age. Teach us the deeper truths that are applicable to our own current reality.
Father, we see increasing deception all around us. Show us right now, in our times, where we are susceptible to or exposed to flattery that could lead us into corruption. Show us where we we are open to manipulation and exploitation by evil authority.
O Lord, keep Your church from being deceived so we can be lights in this dark world! Help us to rely only on the light and the truth of Your word (Psalm 119:130). Help us to diligently study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15 - KJV).
Help us to be willing to throw out all that we have learned and believed and adopted that is not supported by Scripture. Help us to be willing to let God be true, and every human being a liar (Romans 3:4). Even ourselves. Let Your word expose every lie we believe. Deliver us from complacency and blind approval.
Drench us in Your truth, so we are not taken in by those who seem to flatter our "cause." Remind us, O God that our focus is the cause of Christ (Philippians 1:13 - NASB; Philemon 1:23 - CEB). Remind us that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Teach us how to live in the world yet not be of the world (John 17:15-21).
Help us not to be violators of Your covenant, but to be people who know their God. People like Daniel and John the Baptist, who had the wisdom and the courage to stand up to evil authority even at great peril.
Help us to stand under Your banner, our Lord, Jehovah Nissi. Help us to be dressed and ready (Luke 12:35) so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground, and after we have done everything, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).
Sound the battle cry! See, the foe is nigh; Raise the standard high for the Lord; Gird your armor on, stand firm every one; Rest your cause upon His holy Word.
Refrain: Rouse, then, soldiers, rally round the banner, Ready, steady, pass the word along; Onward, forward, shout aloud, “Hosanna!” Christ is Captain of the mighty throng.
Strong to meet the foe, marching on we go, While our cause we know must prevail; Shield and banner bright, gleaming in the light, Battling for the right we ne’er can fail.
O Thou God of all, hear us when we call, Help us one and all by Thy grace; When the battle’s done, and the vict’ry’s won, May we wear the crown before Thy face.
~ William F. Sherwin ~ Published 1869
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