Context No. 3828 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Daniel (Greek) 9:1-6: in context

1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, 2in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years. 3I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting in sackcloth and ashes. 4I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your ordinances. 6We haven’t 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.

Daniel, reading the prophet Jeremiah, understands that the seventy years of Jerusalem's desolation are nearing their end. And what does this knowledge move him to do? Not to sit back and wait passively for the promise to unfold, but to pray. He sets his face to seek the Lord God by prayer and pleas, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Two things stand out. Scripture drives Daniel to prayer. Learning God's promise did not make him presume upon it; it stirred him to seek God earnestly for its fulfillment, as though the promise were an invitation to pray rather than an excuse to do nothing. And his prayer begins not with claiming his rights but with humble confession: we have sinned and done wrong; we have not listened to your prophets. Though Daniel himself was among the faithful, he identifies fully with his people's sin, saying we, not they. Here is a model of prayer shaped by Scripture and marked by humble, honest confession, standing with his people before God.

Does my reading of God's promises drive me to earnest prayer rather than passive presumption, and is my prayer marked, like Daniel's, by humble confession that stands with my people rather than above them?

Sources

Daniel 9:2-3: "I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years... seventy years. I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting in sackcloth and ashes."
Daniel 9:5: "We have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts."
Daniel 9:6: "We haven't listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers."