Daniel’s prayer: praise & confession
Turn in your Bibles to Daniel 9. Daniel is right after Ezekiel, but before the minor prophets & the NT.
As you do, I’ll refresh your memory on the past 2 weeks. We have been exploring the mystery of prayer, conversation with God. We aren’t making a rulebook on prayer but simply making suggestions for making the most of our conversations with God. We started out by saying that prayer should be more relational than ritual. Rather than reciting prayers that have been written by others, a healthy prayer life consists of authentic heartfelt prayers that originate with us. We further noted that prayer should be reciprocal. I suggested extreme caution with throwing around the phrase, “God told me.” We don’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what we think was the still small voice of God was indeed the voice of God. But we do have God’s word revealed in the Bible and our part of the conversation with God should be in light of and in response to what He has said. We also shouldn’t make the focus of our prayers lopsided. It shouldn’t be all about us and what we want. Our prayer life shouldn’t be reduced down to “God can you, God will you, God can I please have?” While requesting of God is part of prayer and even encouraged, it shouldn’t be the totality of our prayer lives.
This morning I’d like to make further suggestions about making the most of our conversations with God in light of Daniel’s prayer.
NOT THE MANDATORY MODEL.
Know this: The Bible doesn’t teach that Daniel’s prayer is the model prayer. The Bible doesn’t say, you must pray like Daniel or that you have to follow Daniel’s format or that your prayers must consist of what Daniel’s prayers consist of. This isn’t a “you must” sermon. This is a “look at what Daniel does” sermon. And I personally think that Daniel’s prayer does reflect a healthy conversation with God and so I do think we can learn from it. So we will be drawing out of Daniel suggestions for prayer, not mandates.
Daniel’s prayer is:
· Relational
· Reciprocal
· Packed with praise
· Contains confession
· Consistent with God’s character, his will and history
· Motivated by God’s glory & good of His people
CONTEXT.
Before we jump into this prayer, I’d like to give you the historical context. Daniel is a Jew under the OC. In the OC, God promised His people Israel that if they were disobedient to the Law of Moses, He would bring curses on them, including destruction at the hands of a foreign army, resulting in exile and captivity. God’s people walked in disobedience. Jeremiah the prophet warned the Jews that they needed to repent because God was going to bring King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians against them to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, but they didn’t listen, so in 586 BC, the nation was destroyed and many carried off into captivity in Babylon. Among the captives, was Daniel. Then in 539 BC, God brought the Medes against Babylon, destroying them and handing over the kingdom of Babylon to Darius the Mede (Daniel 5). So Daniel was in Babylon when it was taken over by the Medes and the Medes inherited not only Babylonian slaves, but the Jews who were captive to Babylon. That’s the context. That’s what is going on historically when Daniel prays this prayer.
Daniel 9 1 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— 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.
In verse 2, we find that Daniel understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years.
Daniel’s prayer is based on what he understands God to be saying.
Our prayers don’t have to be about what is written in God’s word. But if they are, if we do make a request of God based on what He has said it is important for us to correctly understand what he said lest we have a misplaced hope or faulty expectations of God.
Suppose I was reading the prophet Malachi and decided that I wanted to make a request of God based on that. I would read that a day was coming when the wicked would be trampled down under the feet of the righteous and that Before that great and dreadful day of the Lord, he would send the prophet Elijah. Based on my understanding of that, I might pray, “God send Elijah.” But that would be based on a wrong understanding of Malachi, since Jesus already interpreted Malachi for us. John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come.
So, again, our prayers can be about anything. They don’t have to be about the things written in the Bible. But when we do pray about things in the Bible, when we ask God for things based on what is written, it is important to begin with a right understanding. Otherwise we will have misplaced hope and faulty expectations of God.
When we do pray based on what God has said it is important to have a right understanding of what God said.
Daniel prayed based on what was written in Jeremiah and his prayer is based on an understanding of what is written.
Right off the bat we see that Daniel’s prayer is reciprocal. Daniel’s words are in light of and in response to God’s words. Now Daniel shares his prayer.
4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
“O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, Note the elements here as Daniel addresses God: confession and praise.
These 2 elements really make up the DNA of Daniel’s prayer. You will see them throughout. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed. Confession is the first element we notice.
The next element we see is praise. As Daniel addresses God he doesn’t simply say, “Lord” or “God.” He says “O Lord, the great and awesome God.” He is praising God. He also identifies God as the God who keeps his covenant of love. As Daniel addresses God, his prayer is already packed with praise.
Daniel continues in verse 5: 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 fathers, and to all the people of the land.
Again, confession. Look how many different ways Daniel puts this:
· sinned
· done wrong
· been wicked
· rebelled
· turned away
· not listened
WE LANGUAGE. Daniel is confessing the sins of the covenant community. Note the “we” language:
· We have sinned.
· We have been wicked and rebelled.
· We have turned away from your commands and laws.
RIGHTEOUS DANIEL IN THE “WE” I find this interesting that Daniel is praying and confessing the sins of Israel. I’m not aware of a specific verse that calls Daniel upright and blameless, but from what I recall in reading the book of Daniel, he is certainly a man of integrity.
· He refused to eat defiled food
· refused to bow down to the statue, so he was thrown into a fiery furnace
· refused to cease praying at the decree of the king, so he was thrown into a lion’s den.
Daniel seems to be a man of high integrity devoted to God, even when faced with severe consequences. I would venture to say that Daniel, as an individual, had not partaken in the sin, wickedness, rebellion and turning away of his people. Yet he says “We.” He includes himself in the “we” because he is a part of the body. There is a corporate body of individuals.
I think this is very mature of Daniel, very humble. A self-centered Daniel might have said, “God, you know that I am a blameless and righteous man before you. Here I am in exile. Why have you brought this trouble upon me, though I have done nothing to deserve it? Those people are wicked, but not me.” But he didn’t. He included himself in the confession. We, Israel, of whom I, Daniel, am a part, have sinned and done wrong. I confess that we have done wrong.
Again, this isn’t a model prayer that we are mandated to mimic, but I definitely see in Daniel’s prayer traces of great maturity and humility worthy of imitation. If we were pray in the same fashion of maturity and humility, we might make confession in a similar fashion. After all, we are individuals who make up one Body of Christ. You and I may be innocent as individuals of certain things that the Body of Christ is guilty of as a unit.
The Body of Christ is certainly guilty of:
· bloodshed in the name of Jesus
· crusades
· inquisitions
· hypocrisy
· acting holier than thou
· anti-homosexual violence
· bombing of abortion clinics
· hurting people
· judging people.
While we may not be guilty as individuals for those things, the church as a corporate entity has been guilty of those things and we might, like Daniel, confess those things as part of the corporate body that is guilty of them.
“Lord, we confess that as your church we have been guilty of hypocrisy, hurting people, judging people. Often times, God, the outside world claims that our actions are among the reasons they don’t come to you. Help us, God to change that. Help us to be people of integrity, loving individuals who attract people to you.”
So after Daniel confesses the sins of Israel, including himself in the “we” statements, he continues: 7 “Lord, you are righteous, (praise) but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. (confession) 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. (confession) 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, (praise) 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. (confession)
Again, in this section, we see praise and confession as well as reciprocity. Reciprocity. Daniel’s prayer is reciprocal; his confession isn’t just random and disconnected. It interacts with God’s word.
BASED ON THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. Daniel’s confession is directly rooted in Deut 28. It is also confession that though the prophets came and warned Israel, they remained disobedient. So this prayer, this confession, is reciprocal in the sense that it is in response to what God said in the Law and Prophets. Daniel isn’t concerned only with what he has to say. What he has to say is rooted in and in response to what God has said.
He not only speaks to God, but listens to what God has said. He isn’t oblivious to what God said. In other words, Daniel doesn’t ask God, “why are we in captivity…aren’t we your chosen people? How could you let this happen?” Daniel’s confession is rooted in and informed by His understanding of God’s word.
KNOWING GOD’S WORD MAKES FOR RICHER DEEPER CONVO. If Daniel didn’t know the Scriptures, he couldn’t carry on a conversation like this with God. But he does know the Scriptures, which means He knows about God’s character, His acts in history, and His will, and knowing this of God makes for a richer conversation. The more an individual knows the Scriptures, the better he can know God’s history, His character, and His will. This makes for richer, deeper conversations with God.
This is true of conversations we have with people. When we don’t know somebody well, our conversations with them consist of very surface-level issues. “So, how about the weather? Glad we got some rain.” That’s just the nature of conversation. When we first meet someone we don’t ask them to share what keeps them up at night, their fears, marital issues, and all that. It takes a while to get to know someone. Over time, through more and more conversations we get to know them, their character, their past, their concerns, we can have deeper, richer conversations with them. The conversations I have today with Breann are far different from those we had when we first met.
It’s no different with God. When I first met God my conversations with Him were no deeper than “How about that weather. Thanks, God, for the rain.” And there was nothing wrong with that. That’s the nature of relationships. And as I read His word more, I got to know Him better, his will, his history, his character, and my conversations with God moved beneath the surface to a deeper level.
· Daniel’s prayer reflects the fact that he knows God.
· He knows God because he knows God’s word.
Familiarity with the Scriptures will make for deeper, richer conversations with God that go beneath the surface.
DON’T BE DISCOURAGED.
If you’re not that familiar with the Bible, don’t let that discourage you. I don’t want you to walk away thinking you can’t have great conversations with God if you’re not a Bible scholar. Be encouraged and know that just as your conversations with people grow in time as you get to know them, so will your conversations with God as you get to know Him and that is really exciting.
So again, we have seen Daniel’s prayer is packed with praise and confession, and reciprocal as it is in direct response to what God has said in his word. Daniel continues in the same fashion: (mid v11)
“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. (confession) 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Reciprocity. Daniel points to God’s actions as fulfillment of God’s word.
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 upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
Again, Daniel is confessing the sins of Israel, praising God for His righteousness and covenant faithfulness, and it’s all rooted in and in response to God’s word, very reciprocal.
15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.
Once again, praise and confession. Lord, you brought your people out of Egypt. Look at your mighty work. You made for yourself a name that endures. Very God-centered, packed with praise.
And again, confession: We have sinned. We have done wrong.
You may have noticed a pattern by now that Daniel’s prayer consists of praise and confession. I’d like to point out that praise and confession are healthy elements of conversation with other people.
Words of affirmation and encouragement go a long way with people. It’s important for me to complement my wife on her cooking and give her praise, to praise her for being a good mommy and doing dishes and laundry. This makes for healthy conversations and ultimately healthy relationships.
People need to hear praise. Now I don’t think God needs praise. He is secure in his Godhood and He is pretty self-sufficient. But He certainly does deserve it. He deserves our praise. Let’s give it to Him.
Like praise, confession is also a healthy part of our conversations with others. Last week I confessed to Breann that I really blew it by choosing the courses I did. She asked me to take a lighter course load this fall semester since she’s due with the baby. I took classes I thought would be easy, and tacked on an online class, but there is a lot of reading and it has put a strain on our family and she let me know it. Last week I confessed to her I should not have taken that online class. I really made a mistake and I’m sorry. That really made an impact on her. The next morning she told me how much she appreciated hearing that from me, just confessing that I had done wrong.
We have certainly done wrong before God. I believe we have already been forgiven and don’t need to ask for forgiveness every time we sin as if it hasn’t been covered by the blood. But I do think we should approach God with a humble attitude of confession, acknowledging that we have done wrong.
PRIMARILY REQUEST-MAKING? Before we jump back into Daniel’s prayer, notice that Daniel hasn’t asked for a single thing. Daniel’s prayer started in verse 4 and we have read through verse 15 and we have yet to see a request. If this was the only example of prayer we ever had, would we gather from this that prayer is primarily making requests of God? Not at all. Up to this point, all we have seen, is praise and confession all rooted in God’s word. It’s not until now in verse 16 that we get to Daniel’s request.
16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
So Daniel’s prayer doesn’t specifically ask God to restore Israel to their land, but that seems to be the implication. Daniel’s request is for God to turn away His wrath & have mercy. Daniel’s request is based on God’s character, history, and will. God, remember how you delivered your people before? I appeal to that. Not on that alone, but also on my understanding of Jeremiah’s prophecy that the desolation would last seventy years. God, act accordingly.
We sinned and turned away and have received the punishment you promised. We have been disciplined according to your word and will. Now turn your wrath from us, and look on us again with favor. We are about to get a glimpse at Daniel’s motives.
17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, O 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. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
Here we get a glimpse at Daniel’s motives. Daniel’s motives are rooted in God’s glory and the good of His people, which are intertwined. When the nations thought about a people group, they thought directly about the god or gods they served. At one point people thought about Israel and shook with fear. They serve Jehovah and he is no joke. Israel is no joke. Don’t mess with them. Their God is foreal. Did you see what He did to Egypt? Did you see what He did to Jericho and the Canaanites, Perizites, Hittites?
But in Daniel’s day the people of Jehovah got whooped on and were in captivity. So in turn, what did people think of Jehovah? He’s a weak God. The gods of Babylon were clearly mightier than Jehovah. Daniel is concerned with the Name of Jehovah, with his reputation with outsiders. Daniel’s prayer reflects this. For your name’s sake is the nature of Daniel’s prayer. For your name’s sake, turn your wrath from us, restore us, that we would no longer be an object of scorn to the nations and they would no longer think less of you. Do what you did to the Egyptians. Mock these false gods, deliver your people and show how mighty you are.
Daniel loves God. He’s concerned about God’s reputation with outsiders. This isn’t simply a whiny I don’t like it in Babylon and I want to go home kind of prayer. Yes, going back to the land was indeed for the good of God’s people, but it was also for the glory of God. Those things go hand in hand, since God’s people bear his name and people are connected to the God they serve.
WE BEAR CHRIST’S NAME. The same is true of us in a sense. We bear Christ’s name. We bear the name Christian. The root word there is Christ. We are Christ-ians. Therefore, when people think about us, they cannot help but think about Him. When they see us, they see Jesus. Based on what a lot of people say, they don’t see something attractive in Christians, though they should.
Not that we have to, but if we were to look at Daniel’s prayer as an example and pray in a similar fashion, we like Daniel would pray for God’s glory and our good. Like Daniel, our prayer can reflect a concern for God’s reputation among outsiders.
God, for your name’s sake, help us to live and act in such a way that non believers would see us, see you and like what they see. Love, humility, respect, integrity, selflessness. For your name’s sake.
That concludes Daniel’s prayer. I’d like to read through verse 23 and make note of one more thing before we close. Daniel continues: 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— 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. 23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:
Now, Daniel’s prayer here is a very significant prayer in Israel’s history. Not to say that our prayers aren’t significant. But my prayers aren’t in Holy Scriptures, I’m not a prophet, etc. So what we see here is pretty unique.
I’m not going to get into the fulfillment of this or the theology behind it, but, I simply want to point out that as soon as Daniel began to pray an answer was given. Not to get too far ahead of myself but what we see implied here, we have expressed in the words of Jesus, “your heavenly father knows what you need before you ask,” which is quite comforting!!!
This morning we have walked through Daniel’s prayer. While it isn’t specifically called a model prayer, I believe it is certainly worth examining and I believe we can learn from it.
Daniel’s prayer was relational – it came from Daniel’s heart. It was authentic.
Daniel’s prayer was reciprocal. It was in direct response to what God said in the Law and the prophets. We also see that it was connected to Daniel’s understanding of Jeremiah’s prophecy. We noted that a proper interpretation of God’s word is important, lest we make requests of God that are out of place and inappropriate, rooted in misplaced hope and faulty expectations.
Daniel’s prayer was packed with praise. Great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love. God, you are righteous. You have done as you said.
Daniel’s prayer contained confession. We have sinned, been wicked, rebelled, turned away, have not listened. We language. Though Daniel was a man of integrity devoted to God and more than likely didn’t participate in this rebellion, he includes himself in the confession as he is part of the corporate body. This is a sign of humility and maturity.
Daniel’s prayer was consistent with God’s character, His will, and His history. It didn’t make a request outside of God’s clear will. It didn’t put God to the test.
Finally, Daniel’s prayer was motivated by his love for God and God’s people. It was motivated by a desire for God’s glory and the good of His people which are intertwined. God, turn away your wrath and look with favor on your people and the land, for your name’s sake. www.ncfgeorgetown.com Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology Preterist church Austin Texas. Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ
Though I don’t believe it’s mandatory to pattern prayer after Daniel 9, I do suggest we can learn from it some ways to enhance our prayer life. I do suggest that adding confession and praise will help to make the most of our conversations with God. I do suggest that knowing God’s word, familiarizing ourselves with God’s character and history will help enrich and deepen our conversations with God. I do suggest that making requests motivated by His glory and the good of His people will help make the most of our conversations with God.
Our sermon audio and video files can be found at www.ncfgeorgetown.com/media.html
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