No one knew what prompted him to say it, [was it football season??] and naturally everyone at the table burst into laughter! Being the "entertainer" personality of the family, the laughter was the applause he needed to continue adding "Hut! Hut! to all of his future prayers. It still makes me smile every time I hear it!
In a way, the phrase added to his prayers makes sense when you look at it from a football analogy. Typically, "Hut! Hut!" is a phrase used by the quarterback to bring his team members to attention and signals the start of their play. It is a short and sharp command similar to the "Atten-HUT" used by the military and signals to the players it is time to battle it out on the field.
Translate this to Daniel's prayers and we see him handing things off to God, allowing Him to direct the future events tied to the prayer. This is probably something many of us forget to do at the end of our prayers!
Today my dear friend Alice directed me to read the prayer of another Daniel, one who lived in Bible times. You can find the prayer recorded in the book of Daniel, chapter 9 and verses 4-19. In this prayer, Daniel is pleading for the Israelite people who are in captivity in Babylon. His is a prayer of repentance followed by a cry for mercy.
Alice encouraged me to pray this prayer of Daniel, inserting the names of our current leaders, states, counties and cities. When I did so, I was challenged, humbled and made very aware of the fact we face difficulties as a nation because of unrepentant hearts. Worse yet, it uncovered the fact we are in the shape we are because we have not given attention to God's truths (see verses 11 and 13 of Daniel's prayer). Without God's Word as our absolute "true north" everyone ends up doing whatever they feel is right in their own eyes, leading to a chaotic and jumbled atmosphere in which to live.
Take time to read Daniel's prayer from the Bible and use it as a model to pray for our nation. Make it not only a corporate prayer, but also a personal one as you ask God to point out in your own life areas which do not align with His Word. Here is a link to the passage in Bible Gateway's online Bible: Daniel 9 - Bible Gateway Although I prefer to read from my Bible which is actually a book I can hold, the beauty of reading from Bible Gateway online is you can easily change to a variety of translations, giving you a broader perspective of the passage.
Your assignment for the day? Go ahead and pray the prayer of the Old Testament Daniel, and while you're at it, add a resounding "Hut! Hut!" at the end, leaving the outcome in God's hands! This Daniel will be ever so pleased you've chosen to follow his example:
Translate this to Daniel's prayers and we see him handing things off to God, allowing Him to direct the future events tied to the prayer. This is probably something many of us forget to do at the end of our prayers!
Today my dear friend Alice directed me to read the prayer of another Daniel, one who lived in Bible times. You can find the prayer recorded in the book of Daniel, chapter 9 and verses 4-19. In this prayer, Daniel is pleading for the Israelite people who are in captivity in Babylon. His is a prayer of repentance followed by a cry for mercy.
Alice encouraged me to pray this prayer of Daniel, inserting the names of our current leaders, states, counties and cities. When I did so, I was challenged, humbled and made very aware of the fact we face difficulties as a nation because of unrepentant hearts. Worse yet, it uncovered the fact we are in the shape we are because we have not given attention to God's truths (see verses 11 and 13 of Daniel's prayer). Without God's Word as our absolute "true north" everyone ends up doing whatever they feel is right in their own eyes, leading to a chaotic and jumbled atmosphere in which to live.
Take time to read Daniel's prayer from the Bible and use it as a model to pray for our nation. Make it not only a corporate prayer, but also a personal one as you ask God to point out in your own life areas which do not align with His Word. Here is a link to the passage in Bible Gateway's online Bible: Daniel 9 - Bible Gateway Although I prefer to read from my Bible which is actually a book I can hold, the beauty of reading from Bible Gateway online is you can easily change to a variety of translations, giving you a broader perspective of the passage.
Your assignment for the day? Go ahead and pray the prayer of the Old Testament Daniel, and while you're at it, add a resounding "Hut! Hut!" at the end, leaving the outcome in God's hands! This Daniel will be ever so pleased you've chosen to follow his example:
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