Daniel 9.1-19

We are going to do something a little bit different in response to the passage this week…I want to invite you to follow Daniel’s example and pray. We’ll use Daniel’s prayer as a guide.

We’ll start with adoration…in adoration we praise God’s character. “I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments… 7Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord…9To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness…” Now spend a few minutes praising God for who He is in your own words.

Next we’ll move to confession…in confession we acknowledge our sins against God and against others. I love the fact that Daniel includes himself in his prayer (we 8x), acknowledging, “I’m part of the problem, fix me.” “5we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. 7Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day— to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. 11Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. 14Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.” Now spend a few moments confessing where you’ve blown it in your relationship with God and others. Then move to a time of confessing where we as a church have blown it…both as a local expression and as the church in America.

Next we’ll move to thanksgiving…in thanksgiving we thank God for what He has done. “15And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.” Spend a few minutes thanking God for His work in your life, in the life of our church and in the nation.

Finally supplication…in supplication we bring our requests before God, humbly yet boldly approaching the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Faith believes, accepts and approaches God as our covenant God in and through Jesus. “16O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Now spend some time praying for our nation…for our leaders, just laws, for repentance, restoration and revival, for the recent Supreme Court decisions, for wisdom on how we should respond as a church…how we can best engage the culture, remembering that there is only one eternal kingdom. All the kingdoms of the earth will one day fall…our hope is not in the things of this world, but in the One who came to rescue us and lead us to the eternal kingdom…King Jesus, the Head-crushing Seed of the woman. Amen, come Lord Jesus.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Daniel series entitled Reclaimed. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster