“O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” – Daniel 9:19
As we continue through Daniel chapter 9, there are four significant things about Daniel’s character and consistency that must be noted:
- He’s surrounded himself with godly friends. They pray together, serve together, and suffer together. Ultimately, your life is largely defined by the company you keep.
- He’s ultimately committed to the study of God’s Word. In this chapter, he’s in his 80s, and he’s spent his whole life studying the Bible despite being in a pagan land away from home.
- He fasts. This may seem crazy to you because in America, we buy food by the pallet and have all-you-can-eat buffets and food delivery, where you don’t even have to expend calories to drive and get your food. Fasting can stop the routine of life and reset our relationship with God.
- He prays. When I first became a Christian, this didn’t seem that important because I figured, “If God knows everything, why does He need to hear from me?” I realized that God doesn’t need prayer; I do. You’re inviting God into your circumstances, and it often reveals our motives, desires, fears, and longings.
Here, Daniel prays not only for his people but for himself; he is interceding for them or going to the Lord on their behalf. This is a picture of how Jesus interceded for us by dying on the cross for our sins and intercedes right now in Heaven, bringing our needs, struggles, and fears to the Father on our behalf. Daniel was the godliest man on earth at this point, and he could’ve easily said, “Lord, help everyone else to be like me,” but he doesn’t. This is the difference between a repentant and a religious person: a religious person prays about everyone else’s sin while a repentant person also prays about their own sin. That’s why the Christian life requires humility because, no matter how long you’ve been a Christian, you’re still a sinner, and the only perfect One is Jesus.
Daniel’s prayer illustrates God’s covenant love for us. His actions towards us are not dependent on our actions toward Him. In most of our relationships, if we do something wrong, someone changes their heart towards us. Their heart hardens and closes, or they fight back. God’s heart is unchanged because He has the perfect Father’s heart for us, His children. The language of covenant is the old Hebrew word hesed, translated in various English translations as covenant love, lovingkindness, mercy, steadfast love, loyal love, devotion, commitment, loyalty, and reliability. Or, as my favorite translation of this word The Jesus Storybook Bible says, “never-stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.” That’s the kind of love God has for you.
Come back tomorrow where we will look at yet another prophecy from Daniel.
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