O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. Daniel 9:18
Daniel’ssupplication before God is comprehensive and full of repentance for the deeds of his forebears. He confessed their wrong doings, acknowledged the terribleness of their ways and accepted responsibility. He reminded God of His greatness and acknowledged the waywardness of their ways as a people, which led to God showing them the heaviness of His hand.
The most humbling part of the prayers seems to be Daniel’s acknowledgment that the only hope he had for God to even look at his prayers at all is because of God’s mercies and not their righteousness.
Indeed, Daniel’s prayer model says something about whom he was. It is thus no surprise that God rated him at per with Moses and Job. Some things cannot be forced: you either have it or you don’t. This guy understood how to get God’s attention. It is thus not a surprise that God sent a high ranking angel to bring the answer to his prayers and the explanation of what he had seen in the visions shown to him.
What does this teach us? It shows us that sensitivity in the spirit is important.
How did Daniel demonstrate these things?
He was a reader of books so he was aware that the punishment that Jeremiah warned his people about, which came upon them, had a timeline. He didn’t only learn about the timeline, he knew he needed to pray and remind God of the need to end their captivity. While Israel in Egypt had to stay an extra 30 years, Daniel started praying when he saw that the 70 years of their captivity was near.
The interesting part, as noted above, is that he didn’t make excuses nor accuse God. He acknowledged that his people brought God’s judgement on themselves through their wicked and unrepentant living and blatant violations of God’s instructions and commandments. He humbled himself and took responsibility while acknowledging that God’s mercies is the ultimate bridge out of their captivity.
May we learn today that accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal Saviour is the only way out of the captivity of sin in Jesus name. What is necessary is to take the needed step towards our salvation: ACT NOW!
May His presence envelope you for your good and bring you into a closer relationship with Him in Jesus name. May every troubled soul find solace in His presence today as they come to church to worship Him in true repentance in Jesus name. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
#supplication #mercy #HappySunday #akewoauthe #akewoautheltd
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