²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly^[a] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.^{(A) 24} Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.^(B)

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,^(A) who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.^{(B) 6} But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,^(C) because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

¹⁴ This is the confidence^(A) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.^{(B) 15} And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know^(C) that we have what we asked of him.^(D)

Sin, Confession and Redemption

Submit Yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrels^(A) among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle^(B) within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill.^(C) You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive,^(D) because you ask with wrong motives,^(E) that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit^(A) himself intercedes for us^(B) through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts^(C) knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes^(D) for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Daniel’s Vision of a Man

10 In the third year of Cyrus^(A) king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar).^(B) Its message was true^(C) and it concerned a great war.^[a] The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

² At that time I, Daniel, mourned^(D) for three weeks. ³ I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips;^(E) and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank^(F) of the great river, the Tigris,^{(G) 5} I looked up^(H) and there before me was a man dressed in linen,^(I) with a belt of fine gold^(J) from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like topaz,^(K) his face like lightning,^(L) his eyes like flaming torches,^(M) his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze,^(N) and his voice^(O) like the sound of a multitude.

⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it,^(P) but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone,^(Q) gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left,^(R) my face turned deathly pale^(S) and I was helpless.^{(T) 9} Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.^(U)

¹⁰ A hand touched me^(V) and set me trembling on my hands and knees.^{(W) 11} He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,^(X) consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up,^(Y) for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid,^(Z) Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble^(AA) yourself before your God, your words^(AB) were heard, and I have come in response to them.^{(AC) 13} But the prince^(AD) of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael,^(AE) one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain^(AF) to you what will happen to your people in the future,^(AG) for the vision concerns a time yet to come.^(AH)”

¹⁵ While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless.^{(AI) 16} Then one who looked like a man^[b] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak.^(AJ) I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish^(AK) because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. ¹⁷ How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”^(AL)

¹⁸ Again the one who looked like a man touched^(AM) me and gave me strength.^{(AN) 19} “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,”^(AO) he said. “Peace!^(AP) Be strong now; be strong.”^(AQ)

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”^(AR)

²⁰ So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece^(AS) will come; ²¹ but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.^(AT) (No one supports me against them except Michael,^(AU) your prince.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.^{(A) 2} He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice^(B) against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”^(C)

⁶ And the Lord^(D) said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out^(E) to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man^(F) comes,^(G) will he find faith on the earth?”