Read Daniel 10:1-3. What do we again find Daniel doing?

Daniel does not spell out the reasons for his extended mourning period. But such a fervent intercession is most likely motivated by the situation of the Jews, who have just returned from Babylon to Palestine.

Read Ezra 4:1-5. What challenges are the Jews facing upon their return?

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

We know from Ezra 4:1-5 that at this time the Jews are facing strong opposition as they attempt to rebuild the temple. The Samaritans send false reports to the Persian court, inciting the king to stop the reconstruction work. In the face of such crises, for three weeks Daniel pleads with God to influence Cyrus to allow the work to continue.

At this point, Daniel is probably close to ninety years of age. He does not think about himself but about his people and the challenges that they face. And he persists in prayer for three full weeks before receiving any answer from God. During this time, the prophet follows a very modest diet, abstaining from choice food and even ointment. He is totally unconcerned about his comfort and appearance, but he is deeply concerned about the welfare of his fellow Jews in Jerusalem a thousand miles away.

As we look into Daniel’s prayer life, we learn some valuable lessons. First, we should persist in prayer, even when our petitions are not answered immediately. Second, we should devote time to pray for others. There is something special about intercessory prayers. Remember that “the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10, NKJV). Third, prayer prompts God to do something concrete and real. So let us pray always, all kinds of prayers. In the face of unbearable trials, big problems, and overwhelming challenges, let us take our burdens to God in prayer (Eph. 6:18).

<–Sabbath Monday–>

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/DmQKWQmyBhE/

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Eph. 6:12, Dan. 10:1-21, Ezra 4:1-5, Josh. 5:13-15, Rev. 1:12-18, Col. 2:15, Rom 8:37-39.

Memory Text: “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” (Daniel 10:19, NKJV).

Daniel 10 introduces the concluding vision of Daniel, which continues in chapters 11 and 12. We are informed at the outset that this vision concerns a “great conflict” (Dan. 10:1, ESV). While Daniel 11 fleshes out some details of this conflict, Daniel 10 shows its spiritual dimensions and reveals that behind the scenes of earthly battles rages a spiritual conflict of cosmic proportions. As we study this chapter, we shall see that when we pray, we engage in this cosmic conflict in a way that has profound repercussions. But we are not alone in our struggles; Jesus engages the battle against Satan in our behalf. We shall learn that the ultimate fight we are engaged in is not against earthly human powers but the powers of darkness.

As the apostle Paul put it centuries after Daniel: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12, NKJV). Ultimately, our success in the conflict rests on Jesus Christ, who alone defeated Satan at the cross.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 14.

Sunday–>

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/PN75YGv_1hI/

Angel in Angola’s Airport

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

Do angels live in airports?

A TAAG Angolan Airlines airplane deposited me late one evening in Angola’s capital, Luanda. I had a two-hour layover before catching the next flight to the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe to collect mission stories.

Image © Pacific Press

At the designated time printed on my boarding pass, I joined a long waiting line to the departure area. But when I offered my boarding pass, the airline representative turned me away with a slew of Portuguese words. Seeing my confusion, she summoned a security officer, who explained that I needed to wait 20 minutes.

Twenty minutes later, the airline representative accepted my boarding pass and directed me into a crowded room. I waited 15 minutes.

Then another airline representative called out, “São Tomé!” I joined a crowd waiting to take an escalator down to the departure area on the ground floor. But this airline representative, guarding entry to the escalator, rejected my boarding pass with a fresh slew of Portuguese words. No security officer was present to interpret, and I guessed I would have to wait 20 minutes.

Other passengers streamed down the escalator, and soon only a few people remained in the room. I decided to go. Nobody remained to check my boarding pass. At the bottom of the escalator, I joined a chaotic line of waiting people.

The minutes ticked by, and no bus came to take us to the plane.

Then a young man with brown hair and a tan knapsack slung over his shoulder cut in front of me in line. Idly, I wondered why he hadn’t gone to the back of the line. After a few minutes, he looked at me and said, “My English”.

I had no idea what he meant. I guessed that he only spoke Portuguese.

The man gestured toward the crowd around us.

“This flight is to Portugal”, he said, speaking in slightly accented English. “São Tomé is over there.” He pointed down the hall.

“Thank you!” I exclaimed — and ran. Sure enough, a bus stood waiting down the hall, and its doors closed shortly after I boarded.

Seated on the sparsely filled airplane, I thought back to the stranger in the airport. How did he know that I spoke English? I hadn’t communicated with anyone. How did he know where I was going? My boarding pass had been tucked in my pocket. Why did he cut in front of me in line and single me out of the crowd?

Arriving in São Tomé, I told my story to local church leader Eliseu R. Xavier. He declared that God had sent an angel. If I had missed the flight, he said, I would have been stranded for three days in Luanda. The airline only flies to São Tomé three times a week.

I have no doubt. Airports are home to angels.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

All Rights Reserved. No part of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide may be edited, altered, modified, adapted, translated, reproduced, or published by any person or entity without prior written authorization from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/fOjI7uy3O7Q/

Further Thought: 

Below is the chart explaining how the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 ties in with and forms the starting point of the 2,300-year prophecy of Daniel 8:14. If you count 2,300 years from 457 B.C. (remembering to delete the nonexistent zero year), you get 1844; or, if you count the remaining 1,810 years from A.D. 34 (2,300 minus the first 490 years), you come to 1844, as well. Thus, the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 can be shown to start in 1844.

Notice, too, how the 1844 date fits with what we saw in Daniel chapters 7 and 8. That is, the judgment in Daniel chapter 7, which is the same thing as the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel chapter 8 (see the last two weeks’ lessons), occurs after the 1,260-years of persecution (Dan. 7:25) and yet before the Second Coming of Jesus and the establishment of His eternal kingdom.

Image © Pacific Press

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/cu0MazTirQs/

The answer to “How does intercessory prayer work?” is often given as, “I don’t know, but it works. When I turn on a light switch I don’t understand how electricity works, but the light still comes on.”  God does not use force, and I have heard that by intercessory prayer we invite God to make radical changes by invitation; so that it is not force. That is a theory but whether it is true or not, I know intercessory prayer works.

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

When I was in my early twenties I was a part of a Bible study group. A certain young lady in our group stopped coming to the study and then dropped out of church all together. Our study group started praying for her. I also prayed on my own. Every night I would pray, “Lord please send your Holy Spirit to work on *Tammy’s heart.” I prayed that night after night for I can’t remember how long. Then one night my phone rang. It was Tammy, telling me she was tired of what she referred to as her heathen friends. She said she wanted to come back to church. We decided to meet that evening at a restaurant. At the restaurant Tammy said, “I want to tell you something but you will think it’s crazy.” I assured her I would not think she was crazy. She told me, “I just feel like the Holy Spirit has really been working on my heart!” I was overjoyed! She repeated back to me the very words I had been praying every night. Intercessory prayer works. Now remember that God never uses force. The people we pray for still have free will, but God surely leaves nothing undone that can lead to conversion. Tammy came back to church and our Bible study group. 

In Matthew 9, a group of friends boought their friend to Jesus on the mat he was lying on. He needed physical and spiritual healing. It is interesting that Scripture says, 

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2 NLT 

He did not just see the man’s faith who was sick. I’m not even sure he had faith. But when Jesus saw their faith He worked miracles in the man’s life. Again I may not be able to explain how intercessory prayer works, but I can observe it working. 

The story of Job tells us how important intercessory prayer is. Let’s take a look,

After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.  So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. Job 42:7-8 NLT 

God would not accept Eliphaz’s sacrifice unless Job prayed for him. Interesting. The book of Job also gives an example of how God blesses us when we pray for our friends. 

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! Job 42:10 NLT

When we intercede and pray for others they are blessed and we are blessed too. 

*The name “Tammy” is an alias. 

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/OaJsN94y2Ko/