Daniel - The beloved of God and his availing intercessions

I’ve been around a lot of prayer meetings, and one thing you begin to notice some times, are people praying out phrases they’ve heard from others that sounds good but if you’d ask them, “Where is that in the Bible?” They wouldn’t be able to tell you (nor could they because it’s not in the Word).  There’s also a lot of declarative prayers, declaring to the “principalities and powers” what they need to do and “binding” them over a city or country or so on.  Although a few verses will try to be used, one will not find such prayers in the Bible.  And where is all the fruit from such ongoing prayers?  Are they seeing Biblical results?

What are the prayers that moved the hand of God in the Old and New Testament?  What are prayers that move the hand of God today?  What we see are prayers of repentance.  Prayers of faith?  Absolutely, but in faith, prayers of humility and contrition. 

There’s such a presumption today in the church that you can actually hear people telling God what He is do in prayer meetings.  Or some who begin to blame God for inaction.  Where is this coming from?  I believe it’s coming from a culture that has bred entitlement, pride,  and a demanding impatient spoiled shallow spirituality.  What was God’s response to Job?  We need to teach this in our churches.  What was Paul’s response?  He quoted from the Old Testament (Psalm 51:4) when he said in Romans 3:4 that God would be found true but every man a liar that “You may be justified in Your words, and my overcome when You are judged.”

When we read Daniel’s intercession for the nation of Israel, we find a humble repentant heart that identifies with his people in confession.  We would be wise to follow His example. Isn’t this how Jesus taught us to pray?  “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us..”

So what do we see in Daniel’s prayer of Daniel 9?  A prayer that got the attention of heaven so much he was visited by none other than Gabriel himself immediately in response with divine revelation.

We read such things as this;

v 4 O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,

As we saw before, the prayers of others, like Abraham, Moses and Hannah, start with praise and an understanding of His character.  His holiness, His benevolence and His mercy.

5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.

Daniel acknowledges there are consequences to rebelling against God’s Word. There is false teaching today in churches that say there are no consequences and nothing is altered in our relationship with God if we sin or don’t sin.  Really?  When Paul said in Galatians 6 to the church, that God will not be mocked, what a man sows that will he reap.  If he sows to the flesh he will reap destruction.  Or who can say there are no consequences and judgment when one reads of Jesus’ words to the churches of Revelation?  Or His warnings in the Gospels to those who do not do what He says but only confess Him with their mouth?  Or John in 1 John stating the way we demonstrate we really know Him is obedience? (1 John 2:3,4).

Do you see the first step in a prayer of repentance here?  It is taking full responsibility.  There’s no true humility or true repentance as long as we are like Adam and Eve in the Garden, casting blame on another.  WE must take responsibility, WE must acknowledge we have strayed far from God’s plumb line as a church.  We must return to a corporate identity in our prayers, in the face of a society that has trained and conditioned so many to be individualistic and detached from the corporate church.  Again, that’s not how Jesus revealed He views it in Revelation 1-3.  He is sees the church represented in that city.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.

We’re taught today you shouldn’t feel shame in many churches.  True there is wrong shame, where one may feel shameful if we’ve done no wrong.  Or being tempted to feel shame for ones faith and being set apart for Jesus.  Or continued shame when we’ve confessed our sins to the Lord and have turned from them.  Yes, we reject this kind of shame.  We are not to be ashamed of the Gospel, of our Lord. 

But there is a shame that comes when we do wrong!  And this opens our eyes and understanding to flee from compromise, from immorality and dishonoring the Name of our King!  This is what the New Testament reveals as well as the Old!  (See verses Hosea 4:18, Ezekiel, Romans 6:21, 1 Corinthians 6, 15:21, 2 Thessalonians 3:4 for examples).

This sorrow, this godly sorrow leads us to repentance, (2 Corinthians 7:10) to reject the lie to just accept status quo, or have a fatalistic attitude about our lives or our society.  No, we are to rather take personal responsibility of bringing His Kingdom around us, and humbling ourselves in prayer for anyway we’ve misrepresented God’s Name and character, and ask Him to cleanse us by His blood, and use us to glorify His Name in all the Earth!

10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 12 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.

13 “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. 14 Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

 Daniel has this understanding because he knows the Law, he knows the Word of God. The more we are familiar with God’s Holy Word, the more familiar we are with Him.  His Word leads us to know His heart.  From this we have His perspective and will repudiate sin, we’ll have a deep desire to align ourselves with Him and His will.  Total submission, for He is worthy of nothing less!

16 “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. 17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 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. 19 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.”

Again do you see the focus of Daniel’s prayers?  It’s not about him, it’s not about his demands or a self focus.  He, like Moses, is concerned with the city that is called by His Name, Daniel asks for God’s sake not his or Israel’s.   

The Bible states clearly in 1 Peter, that judgment will begin in the house of God.  Not the LGBT community, or in Hollywood, but in God’s house!  It’s time we take full responsibility of our sins, and repent.  Repent not only of our own sin, but the sin of the churches in our city.  We too, in appealing to God’s gracious character can see mercy, and His answer come quickly.  In our next time together we’ll address this in one of the most well known verses of the Old Testament....