SESSION 5

SIMPLIFIED STUDY

PREVAILING IN PRAYER

Drive the stake of your faith deep down into God’s promises. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t collapse. Don’t settle for less than prayer that moves Heaven and changes nations.

Anne Graham Lotz

BIBLE STUDY

Begin this session by having someone in the group read Daniel 9:21–23 aloud (see next page), and then work through each of the steps together following the method you learned in the workshop. Once you have spent a few minutes discussing the passage, watch the teaching from Anne.

STEP 1	STEP 2
Read God’s Word Passage: Daniel 9:21–23	What Does God’s Word Say? (List the facts.)
²¹ While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
²² He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
²³ “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision . . .”
STEP 3	STEP 4
What Does God’s Word Mean? (Learn the lessons.)	What Does God’s Word Mean in My Life? (Listen to His voice.)
STEP 5
How Will I Respond to God’s Word? (Live it out!)
Name: _____________________________ Date: _____________

VIDEO TEACHING

The following outline may help you as you watch the video teaching.

I. God answers prayer immediately . . .

II. God answers prayer ultimately . . .

III. God answers prayer specifically . . .

GROUP DISCUSSION

Take a few minutes to discuss at least one of these questions with your group.

1. What encouraged or challenged you in this study?

[Your Response Here]

2. What did you learn that was a new thought to you?

[Your Response Here]

WRAPPING UP

To prevail in prayer . . . [is] to put your arms of faith about your Father’s neck and cling tightly to Him until He blesses you. But to prevail, you must be sure that what you are praying for is something you know God wants to give you. And how do you know what He wants to give you? You base your prayer on God’s Word. Then you hold Him to it through prevailing prayer.

—Anne Graham Lotz, The Daniel Prayer, page 172

Remember that when Daniel made his request to God, he was praying back a promise the Lord had already made in the Scriptures. Daniel could approach God confidently because he knew that he was praying for something that God already wanted to give. His act of prevailing in prayer was a means by which he was holding God accountable to His Word. Today, consider what it would look like for you to pray in the same way. Then pray accordingly. In the upcoming week, write a prayer to God based on the promises you have discovered in God’s Word.

MOVING FORWARD

When you pray the Daniel Prayer, you may receive an immediate answer to your request. However, there will be times when prevailing in prayer doesn’t lead to an instantaneous response. In the final session of this study, we will examine another episode in Daniel’s life when the response to his prayer was not as forthcoming. We will see that we, like Daniel, will often have to battle in prayer against the spiritual forces that are opposing us.