Harvesting Fruit

"Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate."(Dan. 9:17)

Keddie's thoughts: "True prayer appeals to the glory of God's name. You will have noticed that the recurring argument is not "save us for our own sakes," but, rather, save us for "Your own sake" - i.e., for God's righteousness, compassion, reputation, and glory! Our sins, sad to say, inevitably give "great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme" (2 Sam. 12:14), whereas genuine godliness is a winsome witness to the world. This is why Jesus says to us: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt: 5:16). Ask yourself constantly whether your thoughts, words, and deeds will cause others to glorify your Savior God. Christians! You are God's ambassadors and your whole carriage and behavior will therefore either enhance or diminish the name of God before the world."

Candy's thoughts: Keddie's reflection on this passage in Daniel is a sobering one. Which of us can say "Yep - that's me - always enhancing the name of God before the world!" It seems that as Christians we need to pray Gal: 5:22-23 constantly: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." A harvesting of those virtues would go a long way toward glorifying God and bringing contentment and less strife into our own lives.

From Prayers of the Bible: 366 Devotionals To Encourage Your Prayer Life