Daniel’s Prayer

Devotional

Day 1: Setting Your Face: The Posture of Purposeful Prayer

Daniel’s prayer wasn’t a distracted glance heavenward but a deliberate turning toward God. Like a child called to make eye contact, he fixed his attention wholly on the Lord – no multitasking, no half-heartedness. This intentionality mirrors how God’s people are summoned to seek Him: not as an afterthought, but as the first and central act. True prayer begins when we stop talking at God and start engaging with Him, our spiritual posture shaping our receptivity. The weight of exile demanded more than casual petitions; it required faces set like flint toward the only One who could rebuild ruins. [14:01]

“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3, ESV)

Reflection: Where do your prayers most often find you – glancing at God while occupied, or fully turned toward Him? What practical step could help you “set your face” in prayer this week?

Day 2: We Have Sinned: The Weight of Collective Rebellion

Daniel’s confession echoes with a sobering “we” – no excuses, no exceptions. He binds himself to generations of rebellion, naming their corporate guilt: wickedness, rebellion, ignoring prophets, violating covenant. This raw admission stands in stark contrast to modern spiritualized guilt that avoids concrete sins. True repentance requires naming specific failures, not vague shortcomings. When God’s people corporately own their shared complicity in cultural idolatry and personal disobedience, they position themselves for collective renewal. [22:22]

“We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets.” (Daniel 9:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: What “we have sinned” patterns might your faith community need to confess together? How does avoiding corporate repentance hinder God’s restoring work?

Day 3: Righteousness That Judges and Redeems

God’s righteousness burns like a double-edged sword – it justifies Israel’s exile yet becomes their only hope for deliverance. Daniel doesn’t appeal to the people’s potential but to God’s unwavering justice. This paradox finds its resolution at Calvary: the same righteousness that condemns sin becomes the ground of salvation through Christ. To lean on God’s righteousness is to abandon all self-justification, trusting the Judge has made provision for the guilty. [26:05]

“To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame…we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws.” (Daniel 9:7-8, ESV)

Reflection: How might embracing God’s righteousness as both threat and promise deepen your dependence on Christ? Where do you still try to negotiate with God’s justice?

Day 4: When Scripture Sparks Supplication

Daniel’s prayer erupted from reading Jeremiah’s prophecy – the Word didn’t breed complacency but urgency. Scripture’s promises aren’t pillows for passive waiting but catalysts for active pleading. He prayed the written word back to God, his Bible study fueling intercession. The 70-year exile countdown wasn’t a countdown to relax but a divine alarm clock. When God’s people let Scripture shape their prayers, they align with eternal priorities rather than momentary anxieties. [09:10]

“This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon.” (Jeremiah 25:11-12, ESV)

Reflection: What biblical promise have you been passively waiting on instead of actively praying through? How could Scripture direct your prayer focus today?

Day 5: Swift Flight of Mercy: God’s Answer to the Broken

Before Daniel finished praying, heaven dispatched an answer. Gabriel’s sudden arrival (“swift flight”) reveals God’s eagerness to respond to contrite hearts. The assurance “you are greatly loved” comes not when Daniel boasts victories but as he wallows in corporate sin. Mercy races toward those who ground their hope in God’s character, not their worthiness. This divine speed testifies to grace’s nature: it cannot be earned, only received by the desperate. [02:29]

“At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.” (Daniel 9:22-23, ESV)

Reflection: What keeps you from believing God delights to answer broken prayers? How might “swift flight” mercy reshape your approach to confession?

Sermon Summary

Daniel 9 opens with an old man reading his Bible and praying. Daniel is in exile, and Jeremiah’s words about seventy years stir him up, not to sit back and wait it out, but to seek the Lord. God began the exile, and God will end the exile, yet the prayers of God’s people are woven into the unfolding of God’s purpose. Daniel reads the promise, and the promise drives him to pray, “Father, may your will be done on earth.”

Daniel’s approach is deliberate. Daniel turns his face to the Lord. There is nothing casual, nothing trivial, nothing half-hearted about it. He is not talking to God while looking out the window. He sets his face, seeks God’s face, and comes with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Daniel addresses God as God. “O Lord, the great and awesome God” is not religious decoration. It is the right way for a creature to speak to the Creator. God’s majesty is no barrier to intimacy, but intimacy is not the same as easy informality. The great and awesome God keeps covenant love, and that covenant love is never severed from obedience. Love without obedience is just sentimentality.

Daniel’s confession is specific and unsparing. “We have sinned” is not a passing phrase on the way to more pleasant things. Daniel says that Israel has done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, turned aside, and refused to listen. The sin is personal and communal. Daniel knows that God’s righteousness stands behind the judgment, and that same righteousness will stand behind deliverance.

The calamity has come because God’s people would not listen. The exile is not bad luck, political misfortune, or a misunderstanding. The curse written in the law of Moses has been poured out because the people turned aside from the voice of God. Yet the strange tragedy is that even under calamity, the people have not entreated the favor of the Lord. That aversion to repentance is not locked away in the sixth century BC. It is the ordinary shape of human pride.

Daniel’s appeal finally comes after confession. The appeal is not grounded in Daniel’s worth, Israel’s need, or Jerusalem’s reputation among the nations, but in God’s name and God’s glory. “We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.” Daniel asks God to shine on desolation, and the gospel shows the final answer: Christ bore shame and scoffing rude, stood condemned in the sinner’s place, and paid the pardon in his blood.

##

Key Takeaways

1. Scripture turns promise into prayer Daniel reads Jeremiah and discovers that the exile is nearing its appointed end. The promise does not make prayer unnecessary; it makes prayer urgent, intelligent, and full of confidence. God’s purposes do not bypass the prayers of his people, but mysteriously gather them into his will. [12:40]
2. Reverence belongs with real intimacy Daniel addresses God as the great and awesome God, not as a casual acquaintance. The majesty of God does not keep his people at a distance, but it does forbid careless familiarity. True nearness to God deepens holy fear rather than flattening him into something manageable. [15:39]
3. Confession must tell the truth Daniel does not hide behind vague religious language. His prayer names sin as wickedness, rebellion, turning aside, and refusal to listen. Honest confession stops protecting the self and starts agreeing with God, which is why it becomes the doorway to mercy rather than despair. [22:06]
4. Calamity exposes refused obedience Daniel sees the exile as the righteous consequence of Israel’s refusal to hear God’s voice. The painful mercy in such recognition is that suffering is not meaningless chaos when God is dealing with his people. The wound can become instruction when truth is finally allowed to interpret the pain. [26:35]
5. Mercy rests on God’s name Daniel’s appeal does not stand on Israel’s righteousness, but on God’s great mercy and God’s own glory. Prayer becomes bold when it stops bargaining with human merit and starts pleading the character of God. The deepest hope is not that shame is minimized, but that God shines on desolation through the One who bore shame in the sinner’s place.

## [37:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:13] - Daniel’s Prayer Read Aloud
[04:46] - Returning to Daniel 9
[06:37] - Daniel’s Life of Prayer
[08:19] - Jeremiah’s Seventy Years
[11:09] - The Daily Diet of Scripture
[13:47] - Daniel Sets His Face
[15:39] - Addressing the Awesome God
[20:02] - Covenant Love and Obedience
[22:06] - Daniel’s Specific Confession
[26:35] - Calamity and Refused Obedience
[33:22] - The Church Confesses Sin
[36:21] - Daniel’s Appeal for Mercy
[39:11] - Shame Answered in Christ

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Daniel 9:1-19
“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not 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. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.’” [00:13]

Jeremiah 25:11-12
“This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.” [08:31]

Numbers 6:24-26
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Observation questions

In Daniel 9, what does Daniel do after reading Jeremiah’s prophecy about the seventy years, and what does that show about the connection between Scripture and prayer? [12:40]
What words does Daniel use to describe Israel’s sin, and how specific is his confession? [22:06]
How does Daniel address God at the beginning of his prayer, and what does he say belongs to God and what belongs to the people? [15:39]
What reasons does Daniel give for Jerusalem’s desolation and exile, and on what basis does he finally ask God to act? [37:26]

Interpretation questions

Daniel reads that God has promised an end to the exile, yet he does not become passive. Why does a clear promise from God stir prayer rather than replace it? What does that suggest about how God’s sovereignty and his people’s prayers fit together? [13:23]
Daniel turns his face to the Lord with deliberate seriousness. What does this reveal about the difference between distracted religious habit and real seeking after God? [13:47]
Daniel says, “To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame.” How does that shape a right understanding of suffering, sin, and repentance? Why is it important that Daniel does not treat the exile as bad luck or mere politics? [26:35]
Daniel waits until after confession to make his appeal, and even then he pleads God’s mercy rather than human righteousness. Why is that order so important? How does that guard prayer from becoming self-justifying or manipulative? [36:41]

Application questions

Daniel’s daily reading of Scripture helped him see what God was doing and drove him to pray. What does a steady pattern of Bible reading and prayer actually look like in this season of life, and what tends to crowd it out? [11:06]
Daniel set his face toward the Lord. When prayer becomes casual or distracted, what usually pulls the heart away? What might it look like to pray with more deliberate attention this week? [14:48]
Daniel did not hide behind vague language; he named sin plainly. Is there any area where confession has become too general—saying “I’ve struggled” instead of honestly naming pride, resentment, impurity, bitterness, or refusal to listen? [25:24]
Even under calamity, the people had not yet sought the favor of the Lord. Is there any hardship, disappointment, or pressure right now that should be leading to repentance, but has mainly produced frustration, self-pity, or blame? [28:30]
God’s majesty does not cancel intimacy, but it does rule out carelessness. What helps cultivate reverence in prayer and worship, and what habits tend to flatten God into someone manageable or familiar on our own terms? [17:15]
“We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.” When asking God for help, is there a tendency to lean on personal effort, spiritual performance, or a sense of deserving better? What would it mean to come empty-handed and ask on the basis of mercy alone? [01:55]
Christ bore shame in the sinner’s place so that those who look to him are not finally covered in shame. Where is there still a temptation to carry guilt alone, hide sin, or try to repair the conscience without coming honestly to Christ? [39:39]

Sermon Clips

What distinguishes us, namely the people of God? What distinguishes us from the world is not that we are less wicked. Think about that. It's not that we're less wicked, but that but that by the grace of God, we have learned to see our wickedness for what it is and to confess our sins. The church is the only body on earth that confesses sin. [00:33:28]

It is a striking thing to me in reading this that an understanding of God's purpose which he's given and a trust in God's promise does not then lead Daniel to say, "Well, there's nothing I need to do." He reads Jeremiah and he reads that the exile is going to come to an end after 70 years. But he doesn't say, "Well, in that case, we can just relax and wait it out." No, it is the discovery of that which leads to his prayer. [00:12:30]

I mean, the real issue this morning is not whether you wakened up and you had a great surge of emotion in relationship to your spouse. You may have done. I don't know. It's none of my business. But the fact is that the real issue is that you made vows for to that person and you're keeping them whether you feel like it this morning or whether you don't. And it is your commitment to the vows that are the indication of the nature of your love. You see, because love without obedience is just sentimentality. [00:20:53]

God is great. God is awesome. God is holy. God is majestic. God is not like us and his majesty is no barrier to his intimacy to intimacy with him. But we ought never to assume that intimacy is expressed with some kind of undue informality and easiness. [00:17:05]

I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession saying, "Oh Lord, the great and awesome God." In other words, he addresses God as God. They say, "Well, that's you know, that's a brilliant insight." Well, I wouldn't say it's brilliant, but I would think it's necessary because we don't always address God as God in our prayers, both private and public. If people could hear us, they would say, "Are you really going to address the creator of the universe in such a casual and trivial manner? Who do you think you are?" [00:15:43]

Sin no longer reigns but it remains. And so Luther was right to make sure that we understand that the confession of sin is not something that happens once in your life when you're trying to get into a position with God, but that it is a life of daily repentance because daily I am aware of these things. [00:34:56]

So why is he asking him to do what he's going to do? Because somehow in the economy of God, the prayers of God's people are interwoven in the unfolding of God's purpose. [00:13:19]

Daniel read his Bible. And as he read the Bible, although he was a man who had been given uh insight into visions and who could understand things, he was humble enough to listen to the word of the prophet and to pay attention and as a result of that uh he was then stirred to pray. [00:10:41]

You see, when we confess our sins to God, both individually and as a church, it helps to be specific. In fact, I think in many ways, Daniel's pattern here is the right pattern. He doesn't just say, "Lord, you know, things are not quite going the way you like them." No, he's very specific. [00:25:17]

Let me just make uh one point here before we move on and that is concerning a daily dose of the Bible if you like. Without a daily diet of the word of God, we will find ourselves living in immaturity. [00:11:01]

The acknowledgment on our part that we are in need of his grace because we are by nature sinful. We're not any less wicked. We are simply those who have understood our wickedness and have cast it upon the Lord Jesus Christ. [00:41:01]

Now, notice that Daniel's relationship here with God is both personal and communal. He's referred to him as my Lord, my God. I pray to the Lord, my God. Verse four. Now, in verse 5, we have sinned. It's just a simple reminder of the fact that we're brought into God's family and in that family, we have responsibilities to each other and we share with one another. He wasn't casual in his approach. Neither is he vague in his admission of guilt. He's not this is not some generic statement, is it? There are no exceptions and no excuses. [00:22:35]

The picture is very clear. He's not talking to God while working on his laptop. He's not talking in some strange way. No, he's very deliberately setting his face to the Lord, turning to him, seeking him, pleading with him, fasting in assessing him. [00:14:48]

And this was part of the pattern of his life. Daniel knew that the word of God was a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. And here, as would be true for other periods of his life, he was paying attention to what the prophets of God had said. [00:07:58]

Prayer for Daniel was not a spasmodic activity. It wasn't a passing fancy. We saw in chapter 6 that it was the result of his unwillingness to submit to the overreaching of the state that found him in the lion's den. [00:06:40]

Ask a question about this sermon