Daniel 9 - The Lord of prayer

Big Idea:

Prayer illuminates the path to peace (vision, clarity, next steps, hope).

Intro:

I’ve always loved minivans. You heard that right. My first car was a Dodge Caravan. Being 16, it wasn’t the coolest car, but it did increase my popularity… because I had space to give everyone rides.

When Janelle and I were two kids deep, we bought a minivan. It’s an amazing feeling when you have two car seats, strollers, and still have space! But something wasn’t right with this van…

I’d be driving and the dash electronics would shut off. It was a used van, so I didn’t expect perfection. I checked the fuse. It was burnt, so I replaced it. Everything was good. But then it did it again, and again. I was like, “What is going on?!?” [Say?]

After multiple fuses, I finally started researching it. And one post said to check the cigarette lighter - you guys remember those in cars? Now it’s just where we charge our phones…

But the suggestion was that something in the lighter-port could be shorting out the fuse. And sure enough, I looked in the port, and there sat a single penny, which I’m positive Kade put in there…

He had this habit of putting coins into every opening he could find. I remember taking apart our DVD player (remember those?) and finding a treasure chest of coins thanks to Kade!

Anyways, I removed the penny. And it worked! That is until the entire van shut off at 45 mi/hr… but that’s another story!

…But isn’t it crazy how something as small as a penny could cause such havoc in our car…

Well, today in Daniel 9, we see a similar principle…

Something happens that causes Daniel to ask, “What is going on?!?” [Say?]

And then, we’ll see how a small shift makes a huge impact.

Daniel 9:1 NLT

It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians.

Exegesis:

The Babylonians were driving along - ruling the world - when all of a sudden the lights went out. We read about this a couple of chapters ago - chapter 5 - king Belshazzar essentially spits on God’s face, and a strange hand writes a mysterious message on the wall. Then, Daniel interprets the writing says, “God says it’s over!”

Additionally, Daniel has both a dream and vision foretelling this event! And now, chapter 9, it has finally happened. A regime change. Persia conquered Babylon. And in the midst of this chaotic change, Daniel is like, “What is going on!?!”

Daniel 9:2 NLT

During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.

Even though Daniel had prophetic insight, he needed more clarity. So, he goes to God’s word! Can we pause???

That’s instructive for us!

Psalm 119:105 ESV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God’s word brings clarity. It provides us with all the wisdom and guidance we need. Daniel knew this, which is why he searched the Scriptures.

The question for us is, how often is this our response? What’s the first thing you go to for advice? Google? Friends? Try going to God’s word and see what happens…

When Daniel did, he likely found the following passages…

Jeremiah 25:11–12 NLT

This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. “Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever.

Jeremiah 29:10–11 NLT

This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

I don’t believe this is first time Daniel read these passages. The Hebrew word translated “learned” in verse 2 gives the sense that, all of a sudden, things “clicked!”

Have you ever read the Bible and you see things you’ve never noticed before. Or, all of a sudden, a familiar verse just “clicks” - it makes perfect sense? That’s what happened here.

The Persians have taken over. Daniel kinda knew this but needs more clarity. He searches the Scriptures for and sees Jeremiah’s words in a fresh way. The 70-year exile is ending. But now what?

Daniel’s probably considering his previous visions of the future, but still has more questions…

Daniel 9:3 NLT

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.

Daniel is serious. For prayer and fasting, burlap and ashes is like putting your Crocs into “sports mode.”

Daniel 9:4–8 NLT

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land. “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.

Pause again…

Let’s talk about shame. Shame is a powerful word. In both positive and negative ways. Positive? That may sound strange to you, especially since our culture is so anti-shame… and for some good reasons.

There’s a shame (let’s call it “Satan’s shame”) that causes us to believe his lies. It causes us to believe we are not valuable and unloved. Even more, God could never love us. Therefore, shame separates us from the Savior. Maybe you feel that way? Understand this… this kinda of shame is wrong.

But the Scriptures - which are the truths that guide our lives - use shame in a different way… if you will, a godly way. Godly shame takes sin seriously. In that, it’s similar to the other shame. But while godly shame takes sin seriously, it also causes us to repent and run towards God.

We see this when King David (a man after God’s own heart) committed both adultery and murder. The prophet Nathan shamed him… in a godly way. And David ran towards God’s love and wrote Psalm 51.

I mention this because, as the church, I want us to think biblically. And biblically, not all shame is bad. Sometimes it wakes us up to our sin. And pushes us towards God. Why?

Daniel 9:9 NLT

But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.

Godly shame leads us to the mercy and forgiveness of God! That’s why it’s included in Daniel’s prayer!

Daniel 9:10–14 NLT

We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice. “So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.

What an interesting part of the prayer. Just as God is faithful to keep His good promises, He is also faithful to pour out His judgment on sin (what’s called “curses”).

One way to understand this is we are designed to live in loving relationship with God. When we do, we flourish - we are blessed. But when we don’t, things go bad - really bad. We are cursed.

In this part of the prayer, Daniel references curses from the Law of Moses. And as I was studying, I noticed one particular curse…

Deuteronomy 28:65–67 NLT

There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair. Your life will constantly hang in the balance. You will live night and day in fear, unsure if you will survive. In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were night!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’ For you will be terrified by the awful horrors you see around you.

This curse seems heavily connected with mental health. That, if you will, when “Jesus is not Lord,” life will be too mentally overwhelming. I wonder, does this have any relevance to the mental health crisis our community is experiencing?

I’m not a mental health expert. I know it’s a complicated issue. But, if Scripture warns us that living in rebellion to God leads to mental health problems, shouldn’t we pay attention?

What if some of our anxiety and depression is connected to our sin?

What if mental restoration is found in a prayer of repentance?

Daniel 9:15–16 NLT

“O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.

I see four parts to Daniel’s prayer. He confesses…

God is faithful - we are NOT.

God is right - we are NOT.

God keeps promises - we do NOT.

God deserves honor - we do NOT.

But, why pray this way? Two reasons:

I already mentioned, Daniel still needs clarity about how these events fit into his visions, but more specifically, what does this mean for his people - Israel?

He prays this way because - once again - God’s word tells him to do so!

2 Chronicles 7:14–15 NLT

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place.

With the 70 years ending, Daniel sees restoration on the horizon. Yet, he also understands why they were exiled in the first place. They have lived sinfully. But the desire of his heart is to see God’s promise of restoration. So, according to the Scriptures, he humbles himself, prays, and seeks God’s face. He says…

Daniel 9:18–19 NLT

“O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy. “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”

He prays, “God, be who You are!” That’s a powerful prayer because it simply tells God, “I believe you.” Isn’t that what faith is? Believing God? And the Scriptures tells us faith pleases God.

And before we continue, I want to ask… what would happen if we began to pray this way too? Because I don’t know if you see it, but this is our story too…

We have been unfaithful.

We have been wrong.

We have broken promises.

We have failed.

But what if we simply believed God and prayed like Daniel? That’s not difficult. It’s simple. It’s small. But I’m convinced that if we made this small shift to pray, we’d see a huge impact. We’d see revival and restoration.

So, how do we practice prayer? Simply do what Daniel did. 3 small steps:

Humble yourself. Realize, “I’m not enough. And I need God’s help.”

Confess. Confess who God is. And then, confess who you are. Confession syncs our heart with God’s! It’s powerful.

Then, pray God’s word. Let it tell you what to pray. Or, personalize it. Use the words as your own prayer.

And when we pray, God is faithful to answer. Just as He’s about to do with Daniel…

Daniel 9:20–23 ESV

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 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. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.

4 important things we learn from these verses:

God answers prayer.

We have God’s attention.

We are greatly loved.

God wants us to have clarity.

Here’s the thing… when you don’t pray, you might miss out on any or all of these! We must believe Jesus when He says…

Matthew 21:13 ESV

He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

Now, Gabriel is about to show Daniel’s what’s next for his people. He’s gonna fill in some blanks not given in the previous dream and vision. And we could spend a long time in this section, because it’s intense. But for now, we’re just going to hit the highlights…

Daniel 9:24 NLT

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

As Daniel considers Jeremiah’s 70 years, Gabriel reveals, “70 - 7’s” are in your future. In other words, “God has planned 70 sets of 7 years.”

Btw, what’s with all the “7s?” Nothing much. It’s likely because ancient Jewish people thought in blocks of 7, much like how we, today, think in blocks of 10.

And the purpose of these 70 - 7s can be summarized this way…

It will bring an end to sin.

It will bring God’s Kingdom.

Daniel 9:25 NLT

Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.

One way to interpret this is to say, “There will be 483 years betwen the command to rebuild Jerusalem and the moment the Savior (Anointed One) enters Jerusalem.”

7 sets of 7 = 49 years.

62 sets of 7 = 434 years.

Now, here’s a fun interpretive option…

In Nehemiah 2, the Persian king Artaxerxes gives the command to rebuild Jerusalem. So, the clock begins. And, according to Sir Robert Anderson’s calculations, 483 years later the following verse happens… Jesus, the Savior, walks into Jerusalem…

Luke 19:42 ESV

saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Pretty interesting, right? Once again, we potentially get some prophecy with precision. Additionally, consider what Gabriel says next…

Daniel 9:26 NLT

“After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.

Gabriel says after those 483 years, the Savior will be killed. What happened to Jesus after his statement in Luke 19? He was crucified on the cross. Then, Jerusalem was destroyed again in AD 70.

Daniel 9:27 NLT

The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Wait… what just happened? Who is this ruler? Some of these details don’t fit what happen historically? Well, one interpretation is there is a gap between the 69th - 7 and the 70th, final - 7.

Remember, this revelation is specifically for the Daniel’s people, the Jewish people. And some theologians believe we’re living in a gap era called, “time of the Gentiles.” Which means, God’s special plans for Israel (specifically in the 70th set of 7 years) will be taken up in the future.

Many call this 7 years the Great Tribulation. A period when the church will be “raptured” (suddenly taken to heaven) and the “ruler” predicted in this chapter will be the anti-christ. At this time, he will seem like the savior of the world, even to the Jewish people. He may bring peace to them - something rarely experienced in that part of the world.

But then, half way through, he will break that treaty and show his true colors. And then begins his destruction of the world and his attacks on God’s people. But soon after, Jesus will return and make all things right!

And then, Daniel’s supplemental vision (or revelation) ends. God gives Daniel the clarity he needs. That being said, what are we supposed to do with this?

What’s our next step, today?

Response:

As we close [and the worship team comes up], here’s how we can respond: PRAY!

I know we hear about the prophecy and want to know more. But don’t miss the greater lessons. Because in this chapter, the gospel is preached…

God has always been faithful to us - the people He loves.

But we have acted wickedly, consistently rebelling against Him.

Yet, He is a merciful and forgiving God… and not because we deserve it.

And the promise and hope He has planned for our future is wrapped up in the coming Anointed One.

At the time, Daniel didn’t have clarity on Who that was, but we do…

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

And here’s the God’s faithful promise to us today… if we will humble ourselves, turn from our sin (repent), He will forgive us, save us, and give us eternal life. Not because we deserve it, but because we are greatly loved.

So, how do we respond? Like Daniel, we respond in prayer.

Today, maybe you need to pray for Jesus to save you from your sins. If so, do that now. Don’t let shame keep you from the Savior. You are greatly loved. And God’s Word promises that any who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Maybe you need to pray for clarity on your next steps. Jesus is Lord in your life. But you need to know what’s next. What’s next is to pray. Humble yourself. Confess who God is and who you are. And pray God’s word. Remember, you have God’s attention and He wants to give you clarity.

[And to cast a little vision… this May, I’m planning how all the Life Groups can focus on prayer. So, keep an eye out for that. And if you don’t belong to a Life Group, sign up for one. Make it a priority. Shift your schedule. Because you need to pray!]

And to close, let’s do what Daniel did. Let’s pray God’s word over our lives. Let’s make Daniel’s holy prayer our own prayer…

Daniel 9:18–19 ESV

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.”

And we pray these things in Jesus name, amen.