A Repentant Prayer

Daniel Chapter 9:1-19

Oh God, King of the Universe, thank you for sending your Son, my Messiah, to die on the cross for me. Your name is great amongst all nations, and I await for the day that you will establish your eternal kingdom here on Earth. May Your will be done always across the universe. Bless me with provision for a healthy body, and please forgive the wrongs I have committed against you or any person in my life. Keep me on the narrow path that leads straight to You. May Your Kingdom reign eternally. May you come quickly full of power and glory forever. Amen.

What does your prayer life look like right now?

"A True-Hearted believer does not live for himself. Where there is an abundance of grace, a great strength of mind in the service of God, there is sure to be a spirit of unselfishness...Daniel's prayer should, by the blessing of God's spirit, inspire us with the spirit of prayer; and that his example, in forgetting himself, and remembering his people, should help us to be unselfish, and lead us to care for our people---even God's people---to whom we have the honor and privilege to belong."

(Spurgeon, Sermons on the Book of Daniel, 99-100)

Daniel 9:1-19 teaches us how to pray fervently. It teaches us how to pray for others fervently. It also teaches us how to pray for our nation fervently. As christians, we find our selves following the Lord's prayer dutifully. Give respect to God first. Pray for His will to be done. Ask for our needs to be met. Receive grace and mercy for our sins and those who sin against us. Prayer for protection from evil. Circulating all the way back to praising God for who He is again. This is not bad. In fact this is how Jesus told us to pray. Daniel did not have access to this style of prayer. Jesus wouldn't arrive on the scene for a several hundred more years. Daniel did have access to Moses, the Torah. He prayed the scriptures, and in this prayer taught us a passionate, repentant prayer that is a powerful reminder of prayer's effectiveness in changing our own spirit.

Let Your Prayers Flow out of Scripture

Daniel 9:1-2

Daniel is in service to Darius the Mede in his very first year at this point in Daniel's account. It is approximately 12 years after the vision from chapter 8, and Daniel is in his early 80s. "He outlived the Babylonian Empire and now serves Medo-Persia (Akin, pg 109)."

Daniel is reading scripture-Jeremiah 25:1-14 to be exact.

It is weird to think that Daniel is reading the same things we are just in a more recent translation. He knows that according to scripture this will last seventy years so he is in year 67 of exile. The end of this time is coming. He knows it and believes it because God's covenant is trustworthy. He does not break His promise; although, His people do constantly. "Confidence in the promises of God did not move him to complacency. It drove him to action and to his knees. Immersion in scripture will energize prayer (Akin, pg. 110)." A question posed by Akin in his commentary, I believe needs some reflection and thought.

"Do I struggle to pray as I ought because I do not know scripture as well as I should?"

If posed this question, then my response would be thus:

I do not believe that I lack an abundance of knolwedge of the scriptures. I have read the Bible, and read my Bible daily. I have memorized scripture. I attend church weekly and spend a good amount of time in study of scripture. However, I struggle to pray. Do I think these are related? No. I think the reason I struggle with prayer is due to my knowledge of God's omnipotence and omnipresence. Sometimes I think, I do not need to say aloud what he already knows within my heart. I know that this is true, but it does not meant that I don't need to get on my knees for others and myself.

Fasting, Sackcloth & Ash

Daniel 9:3

I remember times in my past where I have been on my hands and knees before the Lord, begging and pleading for myself or someone else. I have fasted for others. I have sat in silence waiting on the Lord to speak. Daniel took this task of prayer for his nation seriously. According to David Helm, " Fasting is the withholding of food from the body for the sake of prioritizing something else, such as prayer. Sackcloth was a rough material, most likely made from animal skins that would have been an irritant to the skin, and was a mark of repentance. Ashes symbolized complete ruin. In other words, the posture Daniel took was of visible lament (Daniel for You, 159)."

Daniel is deeply burdened for the state of his nation. He knows the end of exile is coming, but the peoples have not repented of their sin. Daniel went to the throne of God for others. Jesus did the same thing in Luke 22:39-44 when he went to pray for God's will. He asked for strength to endure his crucifixion. Strength was provided. So if Jesus can go to God, asking for strength, who is part of Himself, then why do I have a hard time? Why is prayer hard?

Confess....Yes You! Confess!

Daniel 9:4-14

This section of the prayer of Daniel is broken into two parts:

1) corporate confession of sin

2) acknowledgement of God's character and mighty acts of salvation

in three movements, much like the formation of a song:

vs. 4 Adoration

vs. 5-14 Confession

vs. 15-19 Petition

Bryan Chapell says, "Daniel confesses the reality of his sin and the people's sin because he has been called to carry their burden as his own even though he did not cause the burden. He feels responsible for the people under his care. (Gospel According to Daniel, 158)." He is confessing the sin of not holding to the marital covenant with God established in Ezekiel 16:8. He confessed that they did not keep the Lord' commands. Nor did they listen to His prophets who warned of the outcome of their disobedience. Daniel gets it. He knows and acknowledges that the children of Israel deserved what they received. Much like a child who is warned not to run down a rocky hill at top speed. You will fall down a father would say to his child, and when that child does, no matter how much it hurts, the child had to live with the consequences of his or her actions. They were warned what would happen, and when disobedience ensued the consequences prevailed.

Billy Graham once said, "To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees."

What does this mean for our nation?

What does it mean for the church?

What does it mean for you?

Honor Your Name, O God

Daniel 9: 15-19

Daniel is asking Lord to turn his favor back on His people. The name of the Lord and the peoples of Lord have been made a mockery. Now, for your honor O God, hear our prayer. Forgive us. Restore us so that all may see that You are God. King of the Universe.

HEAR ME GOD! LOOK WITH FAVOR GOD! LORD ACT!

This is a wonderful reminder, to me especially, that God wants to hear from his children. Daniel interceded for a nation in which he aligns himself with and feels responsible for. We would do the same thing for our own children. We pray for them for health, for spiritual maturity, and much more. We need to be on our knees praying. Corrie ten Boom says it best,

"Don't pray when you feel like it.

Have an appointment with the Lord

and keep it."

Let's go to the Father in prayer:

Father, Adonai, King of the Universe, thank you for your word. It is truly a blessing to have your word available to us so that we can seek a deeper relationship with you. The kingdom that you have promised is much desired, but I pray that you will help me to tell others about it. Please help me to go wherever you tell me to go. Thank you for you love, mercy and grace! Amen.

Resources:

Akin, Daniel L.. Exalting Jesus in Daniel. Christ Centered Exposition, edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida. Nashville. : B&H Publishing Group, 2017.

Chapell, Bryan. The Gospel According to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2014.

Helm, David. Daniel for You. Purcellville, VA: The Good Book Company, 2015.

Spurgeon, C.H. C.H. Spurgeon's Sermons on the Book of Daniel. Edited by Charles Thomas Cook. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1966.

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