Collegiate Day of Prayer Global: 40-Day Prayer Guideনমুনা

Day 9: Those of Understanding Raised Up in Prayer

By Belinda Gracia (JARS International Ministry, Indonesia)

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

— Daniel 1:17

… but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.

— Daniel 11:32b (NASB)

Prayer is much more than requesting something. When we pray for renewal and revival, it is the way of aligning our hearts to His heart and with His timing. Instead of asking what we want, we open our hearts to understand what He wants to release in our generation and nation. We align our hearts with it and step into that alignment by our yes.

Aside from all the gifts the Lord had given to Daniel and his friends, Daniel chose “to walk as a man of understanding” amid all the pressures of the wickedness of men, society, and culture. He chose to fix his eyes from a place of prayer, aligning his heart with God’s promises and words. He wrestled until he saw God’s promises fulfilled. Daniel acted boldly because he knew his God through the intimacy he had with the Lord. He understood God was in charge even though circumstances did not look like it. He prayed and acted accordingly as he aligned his heart with God’s heart for his generation.

I experienced the same thing, giving up my youth to be molded as a person of understanding. God turned my prayers into an invitation to obey when I aligned my heart to His heart for my generation. Immediately after graduating from university, God called me to lay down my life for the next generation. He asked me to give up my idea of joining a ministry school abroad in 2014 with this question: “Would you build something from your nation, for your nation?”

I had no idea it would take lots of counter-culture and boldness to stand in the gap for my generation. In the prayer room at our church, my friends and I committed to building our organization, not knowing it would equip many young people in the islands to live wholeheartedly for Him. They became men and women of understanding who dared to align their yes with God’s desire. We labored in a place of prayer to see God’s fulfillment for our nation—that of seeing Indonesia as a receiver nation to be a sending nation.

While battling with Covid in 2020, God spoke again: “Would you become the answer to your prayer, lay down your leadership in the organization, and go set the path for many Indonesians to be sent out by first being sent out to one of the countries in West Asia?”After years of aligning my heart with His heart, creating boldness to say yes, and having an understanding of time and season for our generation, now we are witnessing the ripple effect of that yes for the next generation.

This is how revival and renewal throughout the ages will take place—with people of understanding who are willing to stand up and obey.

PRAYER POINTS:

• Pray for men and women of understanding to be raised in this generation, who will choose to live set apart and align their hearts in a place of prayer, wrestle with the promises of God, and weep and pray until it is fulfilled.
• Pray for these men and women on campuses to boldly fix their gazes and hearts on Him, rather than on society, culture, or pressure in the world.
• Pray that the knowledge of God will increase upon this generation through the Holy Spirit so that they will posture themselves with zeal upon God’s character and promises to be revealed in this generation.