Devotionals
Moment of Transformation:
- Pray for the items listed in your Transformational Journal
- Pray for the transformation of the five individuals/families you chose
- Pray to be transformed by Christ’s EXAMPLE
- Pray for your transformation in order to obey God’s Law
DANIEL’S EXAMPLE OF PRAYER AND CONFESSION
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession. Daniel 9:3, 4 NKJV
Daniel’s example of prayer and confession is given for our instruction and encouragement. Daniel knew that the appointed time for Israel’s captivity was nearly ended, but he did not feel that because God had promised to deliver them, they themselves had no part to act. With fasting and contrition he sought the Lord, confessing his own sins and the sins of the people.
Daniel makes no plea on the ground of his own goodness, but he says: “O 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 do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies” (Daniel 9:18). His intensity of desire makes him earnest and fervent. He continues: “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
What a prayer was that which came forth from the lips of Daniel! What humbling of soul it reveals! The warmth of heavenly fire was recognized in the words that were going upward to God. Heaven responded to that prayer by sending its messenger to Daniel. In this our day, prayers offered in like manner will prevail with God. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). As in ancient times, when prayer was offered, fire descended from heaven and consumed the sacrifice upon the altar, so in answer to our prayers, the heavenly fire will come into our souls. The light and power of the Holy Spirit will be ours…. That God who heard Daniel’s prayer will hear ours when we come to Him in contrition. Our necessities are as urgent, our difficulties are as great, and we need to have the same intensity of purpose, and in faith roll our burden upon the great Burden Bearer. There is need for hearts to be as deeply moved in our time as in the time when Daniel prayed.
Ellen G. White, That I May Know Him, p. 271 – September 22
Quote of the Day “Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession; in confession there is a chance for mercy.” Isidore of Seville
Did You Know?
The events of Daniel 9 were triggered by the reading of Scripture. Daniel had access to a collection of prophetic literature which included the scroll of Jeremiah. He noted in Jeremiah 25:11 that the desolations of Jerusalem were to end after the termination of the seventy years of Babylonian world rule. Since as yet the liberation of the Jews had not taken place, Daniel was moved to pray for the fulfillment of the good word spoken by Jeremiah. To underscore his distress and demonstrate his repentance, Daniel fasted, donned sackcloth, and poured ashes over his head (9:2).
Going Deeper
There is a form of prayer that is appropriate to every day, the prayer Daniel prayed in chap. 6. There is a form of prayer that arises in extraordinary situations, the prayer Daniel prays here. Or perhaps both prayers are the same: Dan 9 may have been a way people prayed throughout the postexilic period. A particular prayer may then be prayed every day and with new significance in particular situations — especially when it comes to be newly juxtaposed with Scripture. There is an interplay between the words of Scripture and the words of prayer. Scripture stimulates prayer. Prayer constitutes the appropriate response to Scripture. Prayer naturally reflects Scripture. At the same time, it naturally reflects the traditional liturgical prayer of the believing community. The reality of the individual’s experience of life and of God keeps the prayer of the ongoing community alive and real. The tradition of the community’s prayer over the centuries gives the individual’s prayer its means of expression and its context in the prayer of the whole community of faith. So Daniel prays, and perhaps says, “When you pray, say …
John E. Goldingay, Daniel, vol. 30, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 263–264.
Question…
What does prayer of confession mean to you?
This Week’s Homework
- Memorize: “For we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.” Daniel 9:18 NKJV
- Pray that the five individuals/families you chose, will attend the special outreach event.
