Daniel: The Righteous Prayer

Introduction

Open this evening to Daniel and we will continue Chapter 9 in verse 16. Verse 16-19 of Daniel 9.

The last time we talked about righteous man.

The righteous man is the one who knows and confesses his sin.

He is the one that pleads with God.

What was see is that to pray right one must have a correct biblical knowledge of self as a starting point.

This is terrifying if you think about it

The vast majority of people do not have a biblical worldview concerning the nature of people.

This is not surprising because, as we talk about last time, we think well of ourselves.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Je 17:9, ESV)

We must conquer ourselves in prayer and this really brothers and sisters is the primary purpose of prayer.

God has already decreed and has set his mind on the greatest good for you in Chirst.

God’s Provenance was amazing here, he gave us a very good reason to gather and pray, last Wednesday so that right after we get to meditate on prayer we got a chance to practice.

Tonight’s we will shift to why we prayer for what we do.

The week before last the sermon was title The Prayer of a Righteous Man, tonight the sermon title is The Righteous Prayer.

Let’s Read

Daniel 9:16–19 ESV

16 “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. 17 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. 18 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. 19 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.”

My God Bless the Reading of His Holy, Infallible, and Sufficient Word

Let’s Pray

Transition

Calvin remarks here at verse 16, “After Daniel has sufficiently confessed the justice of those judgments which God had inflicted upon the people, he again returns to beg for pardon.”[1]

What will be educational and challenging for us in paying attention to where Daniel bases in petition for pardon.

Lets start in verse 16.

Body

According to you

Daniel 9:16 ESV

16 “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.

We could spend the rest of the evening on the first part of this verse.

“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts”

Daniel gave us context for his mean in here when he said in verse 15 “O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt.” (Da 9:15, ESV)

The people that God had preserved, to recounts the ways,

God borught them out of egypt,

in the wilderness he kept them, feed them, their cloths did not ware out,

He brought them in the land and gave the victory after victory leader after leader

Even for 1400 years he protected them in them in the land,

We are told of events like the the angle kill 180,000 Assyrians

Even after the exile, we see the protections, the book of Easter.

the fiery furnace and the lions den

Let’s remember brothers and sisters, these are phantoms, shadows, of the salvation that has come through Jesus.

“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.” (Heb 10:1, ESV)

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Col 2:16–17, ESV)

Daniel prays here, Lord your name is on the line here, you saved these people and if you do not act they will says, how are you a God who saves.

Daniel’s primary concern in prayer is the glory of God.

That is our primary concern, but how often is it?

When we pray for sickness? When we pray for finances? when we prayer for our needs, is the glory of God Central to our plea?

Think about it my family, when you pray, what is your desire? The righteous prayer is one that values God’s glory and God’s name above all personal cost.

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2, ESV)

Transition

This is the therefore int he next verse. Verses 17 and 18 read.

For Your Name

Daniel 9:17–18 ESV

17 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. 18 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.

Again in verse 18 there is a sentence we sould spend our whole time on.

“For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”

We are saved by God, from God, and for God.

God promises that everyone having faith in the son, confessing him as lord, will be saved.

Not just will be, is saved and no one can take them out of his hand.

They are saved, ware being saved and will be saved.

This the ground for the righteous prayer. Prayer that is entirely focused on God’s glory. Prayer from a heart who’s deepest desire is God’s glory. But wait a minute saint before you go saying amen, you cannot do that.

You are focused on what you need, this is why Jesus admonished the apostles,

“27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (Lk 12:27–31, ESV)

you need to be sanctifying your mind what you prayer, as the hymn writer Stuart K Hine wrote. “When I think that God his son not spearing, sent him to die, I scares can take it in”

There are two things

No you cannot pray this way so while you are in this life you will rely on Christ you high priest to bring your worship to God perfects by him.

Two, you can get better, and that is why you pray.

God’s Got this. As one of his elect his has already arranged the entire universe so that everything works out for the Good of his people.

A greater good then we can even imagine.

When God promised Abraham his seed would bless the whole earth, what do you think Abraham thought of that,

They would be good people and he surly understand that from his line would messiah would come.

But did he understand that every one of of those that have faith in Christ would be counted as his children (ref Galatians 3:28–29)

There are close to a billion people on the planet right now that are reasonably counted as the children of Abraham.

Transition

The city and people called by his name. Verse 19

Always in the Context of Repentance

Daniel 9:19 ESV

19 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.”

Again I wanted to focus in on one part a sentence “because your city and your people are called by your name.”

The Jerusalem that Daniel is praying for is a type and shadow of the Jerusalem that Jesus purifies with his blood. (ref Galatians 4:26)

The city of God existed before there every was a physical Jerusalem.

“For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Heb 11:10, ESV)

We are given I picture in Revelation 21:9–21)

She is the pure bride, she is the church. She is what all the types and all the shadows pointed to and God will save her.

Conclusion

The end

Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

References

[1]John Calvin and Thomas Myers, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Daniel, vol. 2 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 175.

Bibliography

Calvin, John, and Thomas Myers. Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Daniel. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.