Chapter 9 - The prayer of Daniel
Chapter 9
The prayer of Daniel
4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:
“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.(Dan 9:4,5)
19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”(Dan 9:18)
What was the secret of success in the life of Daniel? He achieved commendable success in living a holy life, faced trials courageously without wavering, received divine visions and revelations and exalted the name of the living God in front of Gentile kings - all because of his prayer life. Is your Christian life a success? If not, what is the reason? Let us examine our standing in the light of Daniel's experiences.
The necessity of prayer:
- God created man with a glorious purpose. God wanted man to be a partner in His life and nature and live a happy life in fellowship with Him. But man became separated from God and started living a self-centered life because of his disobedience of God's command. Man came under sin and death and lost his happiness and power. We can now be reconciled to God only by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We "who were far off are made near by the blood of Christ". We get the privilege to call God, Abba, Father. It is the responsibility of such privileged people to keep communion with God through prayer. Daniel used his privilege very rightly and without fail. Hence God called him, "man, greatly beloved" and talked with him.
- Man is God's creation. He has spiritual, mental and material needs. Jesus told His beloved disciples "without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Daniel knows very well of his life. In his prayer recorded in Dan 9: 4-10.
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:
“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.(Dan 9: 4-11)
He was placing his own needs and the needs of his people in the presence of God.
3. Surely, out God knows all our needs. But we express our dependence and trust in God through our prayers. We see that in the prayer of Daniel (Dan 9:14,18)
14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. (Dan 9:14)
18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. (Dan 9:18)
4. God desires that His children place their needs before Him with thanksgiving(Matt. 7:7 Phil 4:6)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.(Matt.7:7)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.(Phil 4:6)
God has promised that He will hear our prayers and answer them (John 16: 24,25)
24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.(John 16:24,25)
Daniel placed his needs before God with thanksgiving. He saw his prayer answered in his own lifetime when Cyrus, the Persian king, issued the order to restore Jerusalem and Temple.
5. Prayer is the solution to despair. Circumstances in the life of Daniel should have normally driven him to despair. When orders were issued to kill all the wise men of Babylon as they failed to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream and when he was put in the lion's den for not worshiping the Median king Darius, Daniel was not frightened or disappointed because he was a man of prayer.
The special nature of Daniel's prayer
We need to study the prayer of Daniel very carefully. We can learn many important lessons that we ought to remember for a life of prayer.
a) Daniel started his prayer after meditating on the Word of God (Dan. 9: 2,3)
2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.(Dan.9:2,3)
He read the scroll of the prophecy of Jeremiah, From Jeremiah's prophecy, he learned that the desolation of Jerusalem will end after 70 years. There are many promises and prophecies about the future in the Word of God. We will come to know of how and what we should pray by meditating on the Scriptures. The Word of God will help in renewing out hope and reminding us about God's provisions for us.
b) Daniel reiterates the greatness and exalted nature of God while praying (Dan. 9:4)
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:
“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,(Dan. 9:4)
When we approach God, we must be fully aware of our God's greatness. He is faithful and full of mercy. He loves us and desires. He is faithful and full of mercy. He loves us and desires to bless us with good things. At the same time, we must be conscious of His holiness, power, and glory.
c) Daniel understands the reason for the bad situation in which he and his people are currently placed. He confesses to God that they are in Babylonian captivity because of their sins (Dan. 9: 5-13)
5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.(Dan 5-13)
When we pray for deliverance from our problems, we must find out the reason for the situation and confess to God of our sins.
d) Daniel prayed after asking forgiveness of his sins and the sins of his people (Dan.9: 5,6, 11-15, 19,20)
19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill (Dan. 9:19,20)
Then God sends Gabriel to Daniel with a message. Consider how we pray. Do we pray like the Pharisee boasting about ourselves? Daniel trusted on the mercy of God and not on his own goodness. " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He who confesses his transgressions and forsakes them will receive mercy. We receive forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ.
e) Another feature of Daniel's prayer is his stress on the authority of God in everything. Note the expressions of 'your people', ' your holy mountain of Jerusalem', and ' your holy temple'
f) Gabriel arrived with God's message while Daniel was praying at the time of the evening sacrifice in Jerusalem (Dan. 9:21,22)
21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.(Dan.9,21,22)
Even at his old age, he did not forget the times of sacrifices although, in those days, there was no worship or sacrifice in Jerusalem. Moreover, it was his regular practice to kneel down and pray three times every day (Dan. 6:10)
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Dan.6:10)
We can learn the importance the importance of setting apart specific times for prayer and worship. Also, let us not forget the apostle's instruction of "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" (Heb. 10:24,25)
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.(Heb.10:24.25)
g) Daniel humbled himself before God when he prayed (Dan. 10:12)
12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.(Dan.10:12)
People of God get answers to their prayers when they humble themselves and seek God's face (2 Chronicles.7:14)
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.(2 Chronicles. 7:14)
h) Daniel's strength was in his unwavering faith in God. His deliverance from the den of lions was an example of his faith (Dan. 6:23)
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.(Dan.6:23)
i) Daniel spent several days in fasting and prayer before God (Dan.10:2-4)
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.(Dan.10:2-5)
Daniel teaches us the need of fasting and prayer for days or weeks to receive revelations from God and solutions to our problems. Our Lord Jesus and apostles have set us examples in this aspect
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.(Matthew 4:1,2)
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.(Acts 13:2,3)
The main purpose is to achieve victory over the forces of the devil.
The answer to prayer:
The book of Daniel reveals the truth that God hears and answers prayer. Daniel and his three friends prayed for the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and they got the answer in the same night. Daniel prayed to know the time of deliverance of his people from Babylonian captivity. But in answer to his prayer, God revealed all the events that would happen till the establishment of Messiah's kingdom on earth. Glory to God who is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Eph.3:20)
We have learned that the secret of Daniel's victory was his life of prayer. Shall we make a decision now to follow his example?
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