DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Focus on Prayer
By Kathleen Serio
This passage reminds me of the Confession that we pray during services on Sunday. We confess our sins and humble ourselves before God. There is something so comforting for me in the pattern, the repetition of those words that we say. It allows me to hear God more clearly. Like many people, I can get distracted when I pray, but during times of more formal prayers, I find a focus that I don’t always have other times.
I think the beauty in formal prayers, prayers that we have to catch ourselves from simply repeating instead of truly praying the words, is that, since our mouths are following a script, our ears are opened to pay more attention. It’s like when you get blindfolded and you can hear just a bit clearer. Or how turning down the volume in the car helps you read street signs. By talking to God through a guided prayer, we can hear Him speaking to us more clearly while still being focused on Him. Granted this may just be my experience, but it is an experience I am thankful for.
I’d like to think this is how Daniel felt when he prayed this prayer. When he tells God how much the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, no matter where they reside, have messed up, he understands why God has punished them as He did. He isn’t angry about how God responded to their actions on earth. As Daniel was confessing all of this to God, and as he was speaking the truth of how great and miraculous God is, Daniel was opening himself to listen. He was using this formal prayer to put himself in a space dedicated
to the Lord and making himself bare for God to work with. Daniel removed all of the earthy distractions and went into a place with himself and God alone. He spends three paragraphs talking with God before he asks anything. Three paragraphs of reminding himself just who it is he is talking to, and when he does ask God for help, he does so knowing that no amount of asking or pleading for help is enough. He knows that the only way God’s people can do better is for God to give them the strength to do so.
PRAYER
God, thank you for the wisdom you have left us in the Bible. Thank you for the guidance from the Holy Spirit that allows us to gain from your Word what it is that you want us to. Thank you for the gift of your mercy. Help us to come before you as Daniel did, to repent and humble ourselves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KATHLEEN SERIO
I grew up at UALC and have been blessed to have many role models in this church. They encouraged me to pursue my passions including volunteering with Young Kids’ VBS, HSM, teaching Sunday School, small groups, Operation Christmas Child, mission trips, ushering, and more. It has been a joy to go from participating in ministries as a kid to becoming a leader as an adult.
This is a great perspective on rote prayers that I had never considered before. Thank you for sharing this!