Context No. 3041 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Daniel (Greek) 3:24-39: in context

24They walked in the midst of the fire, praising God, and blessing the Lord. 25Then Azarias stood, and prayed like this. Opening his mouth in the midst of the fire he said, 26“Blessed are you, O Lord, you God of our fathers! Your name is worthy to be praised and glorified for evermore; 27for you are righteous in all the things that you have done. Yes, all your works are true. Your ways are right, and all your judgments are truth. 28In all the things that you have brought upon us, and upon the holy city of our fathers, Jerusalem, you have executed true judgments. For according to truth and justice you have brought all these things upon us because of our sins. 29For we have sinned and committed iniquity in departing from you. 30In all things we have trespassed, and not obeyed your commandments or kept them. We haven’t done as you have commanded us, that it might go well with us. 31Therefore all that you have brought upon us, and everything that you have done to us, you have done in true judgment. 32You delivered us into the hands of lawless enemies, most hateful rebels, and to an unjust king who is the most wicked in all the world. 33And now we can’t open our mouth. Shame and reproach have come on your servants and those who worship you. 34Don’t utterly deliver us up, for your name’s sake. Don’t annul your covenant. 35Don’t cause your mercy to depart from us, for the sake of Abraham who is loved by you, and for the sake of Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, 36to whom you promised that you would multiply their offspring as the stars of the sky, and as the sand that is on the sea shore. 37For we, O Lord, have become less than any nation, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins. 38There isn’t at this time prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place to offer before you, and to find mercy. 39Nevertheless in a contrite heart and a humble spirit let us be accepted,

In the middle of the fiery furnace, one of the three young men, Azariah, stands and prays aloud, and his prayer is remarkable. He blesses God and declares him righteous in all he has done: your judgments are true; you have dealt justly with us, because we have sinned. He owns the whole nation's guilt honestly, and then pleads, not on their merit but on God's own name and covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.

This is a prayer offered from inside the flames. In the very place of suffering, Azariah does not accuse God but justifies him, and confesses that the calamity came because of real sin. Then he appeals to God's covenant and God's name, not to any goodness of their own. And he offers the one thing they still have, in a day with no temple, no sacrifice, no place to offer: a contrite heart and a humble spirit. When everything else has been stripped away, even in the fire, a humble and contrite heart is a sacrifice God will accept.

When I am in the fire and have nothing left to offer, can I still give God a contrite heart and a humble spirit, the sacrifice he will not despise?

Sources

Daniel 3:39: "Nevertheless in a contrite heart and a humble spirit let us be accepted."
Psalm 51:17: "A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
Daniel 9:18: "For we do not present our petitions before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies."