August 21: PRAYER BUILT UPON DIVINE PROMISES

And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Daniel 9:12-13

The book of Judges spanned almost 400 years of Israel’s history. Within it are seven cycles of sin to salvation, but following every round, God’s people fell back into sin. The twin results of abandoning God’s law are corruption from within and oppression from without. Overall, a graph would show the steady decline in Israel as a nation. In the end of the account, the setting aside of God’s law brought about a substitution of that which seemed right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25) in the mind of the individual.

Daniel’s prayer is a heartbroken confession of sin accompanied by a full vindication of the LORD’s course of action. Even though Daniel had suffered greatly as a result of others’ sins, he continued to live a godly life. He brought no accusations against anyone, nor did he plead for sympathy for himself as a victim. But he did beseech the LORD for a fulfillment of His promises.

Let us consider some elements of timing. Daniel’s vision of chapter 8 came in the third year of Belshazzar. This was near the end of Belshazzar’s reign. And though Nebuchadnezzar had held Daniel in high esteem, he was all but forgotten as far as Belshazzar, who “did his own thing”, was concerned. Then came the overthrow of Babylon and the kingship of Darius the Mede, cited at the beginning of chapter 9. It is likely that only about a year elapsed between the two chapters. Darius had come to a quick notice of the excellent spirit of Daniel and had chosen him for a high place of service in the royal court. Though very busy, Daniel still took time to continue his studies of the Scriptures and pray. This is how he saw that the LORD had already begun the process of bringing His people out of Babylonian captivity. The rebuilding of Jerusalem was surely just ahead! Daniel, a prophet himself, studied Jeremiah the prophet: seventy years accomplished in the desolations of Jerusalem (v.2), plain as day.

Daniel’s earnest prayers for the fulfillment of God’s promise are an example to us. We should not ignore the promises of God. In contrition, we should believe and look for them, seeking them while asking for His help to prepare for the fulfillment of His promises! At one point, Daniel’s prayer life landed him in the lion’s den (chapter 6), but that just brought on more prayer.

Daniel was aware that many of his fellow Jews had fallen into alignment with worldly ways. As he pointed out that we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth, he was pleading for his people and for understanding himself. While he could see that the seventy years of captivity were at their end, he was confused by the huge block of time indicated by the two thousand three hundred [prophetic] days [literal years] cited (8:14) for the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot (8:13). This explains why he was sick for days… (8:27)

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. Proverbs 15:14