DAY 17

“Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God. When we know we are praying the promises of God, we can pray with holy confidence. We don’t have to second-guess ourselves, because we know that God’s word does not return to Him empty.35 This doesn’t mean we can claim the promises of God out of context. But our problem typically isn’t overclaiming the promises of God; it’s under-claiming them.”

- Mark Batterson

TODAYS READING: Daniel 9

PRAYER: "God, as I open myself up to you in these moments to read this passage fresh and anew, I ask that you reveal to me that which you would have me learn today. Help me see. More than that, I pray for transformation as I take what you show me and apply it to my life. Amen."

Spending a consistent daily time in God’s word and prayer is probably one of the greatest challenges of a believer’s life. It is often fraught with great obstacles, even though prayer can bring us great peace.

Every great man or woman of God would testify that one’s life and its fruit are directly related to a life of prayer. Someone once said this, “I have seen many men work without praying, though I have never seen any good come out of it; but I have never seen a man pray without accomplishing great work.”

God delights in us when we pray and no great thing will be accomplished in us or through us without it. So when we come to Daniel 9, we discover a great man of God and a pattern of prayer that is there to help us as we also turn to God. It is a pattern, like so many other prayers in the Bible that have several components to it.

First we see in the beginning of the chapter that Daniel’s burden to pray came after he spent time in the word of God. Specifically, Daniel was reading the book of Jeremiah, where we find God’s judgment on Israel that resulted in Israel being exiled for 70 years. Vs. 2 we read, “I Daniel perceived in the books of the number of years that according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet…” (Jeremiah 25:11-12)

Remember that Daniel here was in his 70th year of exile from Israel and his own exile to Babylon was part of this judgment that Jeremiah prophesied about. So when Daniel read the word of God, he was immediately convicted and led to prayer. And in his prayer we discover several other aspects about prayer.

After reading Jeremiah, we see Daniel come to God in confession of sin. Vs. 3-4, “I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes and I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession.”

Another aspect of prayer we find in Daniel 9 is worship. Continuing in vs. 4 we read how Daniel acknowledges God as “great and awesome, keeping his covenant and steadfast love.” Daniel understood that he was turning to God who is not only all-powerful and awesome, but faithful to His word, merciful and able to forgiven and restore.

Finally, we see Daniel intercede on Israel’s behalf that God would forgive, fulfill His word and bring Israel back to Jerusalem and their homeland. Vs. 17, “O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to His pleases for mercy and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary.”

So let us learn from Daniel. How the word of God guided Daniel in prayer, our need to also acknowledge sin and confess, a reminder of God’s character and attributes, His power, love, and mercy, and finally our need to intercede on behalf of this sin sick world and God’s people. And while prayer may be one of the most challenging areas of our lives, it is no doubt the one area that will produce the greatest fruit for our lives!

Daniel’s earnest persistence in prayer is based on his faith in the righteous God Who cannot lie. He is convinced that God will be true to His covenant word and he pleads accordingly. He not only serves the Lord throughout his lifetime in Babylon, but he prays in anticipation of the promised deliverance.

He understands that the only hope of the nation is found in the grace and mercy of God—and that this is his only hope as well. It is no wonder, then, that this prayer spoken so many years ago still throbs with life and stirs the emotion for the believer who reads it. Daniel’s prayer needs to be read and re-read because it is an Old Testament paradigm when it comes to grappling with God amid the complexities of life and looking for a better day when God fulfills His word to those who bear His name.

Daniel was not disappointed. Not only did God answer his prayer and bring the exile to a close and Israel back to their land, but He sent the angel Gabriel to Daniel while he was speaking and praying, confessing his sin and the sin of his people Israel with the most astounding message. In the days to come, God tells Daniel, He is going to do more than He has been asked.

There would come a day when He would finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for wickedness, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, and anoint the Most Holy Place (9:24). The ultimate answer to Daniel’s prayer and the dilemma caused by God’s righteousness is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, His life, death, resurrection, and ascension on high.

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