Daniel's Great Prayer, Part 2

Let's bow for a moment of prayer. Father, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for a chance to study the Bible. Lord, what a great joy it is for us to understand how it is you work in the life of one man, one man whose life was pure and holy before you, whom the text says he was highly esteemed. Wow, what a testimony. I pray, Father, that tonight as we read, once again, Daniel 9, understand the implications for our life, that, Lord, you would turn us upside down, inside out, that we would be used by you for the glory of your kingdom.

In Jesus' name, amen. All right, Daniel chapter 9 is where we are. Daniel 9, looking at Daniel's prayer, the answer to the prayer is the greatest of all prophecies. And we will see that beginning next week as you look at verses 24 and following.

But we're looking at Daniel's prayer, what made Daniel the man that he was, was that he was a man committed to communing with his Lord on a regular basis. It wasn't the fact that this is the only time he prayed. No, he prayed all the time. But this gives us a record of his prayer, gives us a model in how to pray. And if we understand the prayer, it enhances our prayer life. So what I'm gonna do tonight is read the entire prayer for you, okay? Daniel 9, verse number one.

In the first year of Darius, the son of Azareus of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.

In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed the books, the number of the years, which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years.

So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and supplications with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord, my God, and confessed and said, Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant and lovingkindness for those who love him and keep his commandments. We have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to your servants, the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.

Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord. But to us, open shame as it is to this day to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which you have driven them because of their unfaithful deeds, which they have committed against you. Open shame belongs to us. O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord, our God, belong compassion and forgiveness for we have rebelled against him, nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord, our God to walk in his teachings, which he set before us through his servants, the prophets.

Indeed, all Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, not obeying your voice. So the curse has been poured out on us along with the oath, which is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, for we have sinned against him. Thus, he has confirmed his words, which he had spoken against us and against our rulers, who ruled us to bring us great calamity. For under the whole heaven, there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us.

Yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord, our God, by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to your truth. Therefore, the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us. For the Lord, our God is righteous with respect to all his deeds, which he has done, but we have not obeyed his voice. And now, Lord, our God, who have brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for yourself, as it is this day, we have sinned. We have been wicked. Oh, Lord, in accordance with all your righteous acts, let now your anger and your wrath turn away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain.

For because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplications. And for your sake, oh, Lord, let your face shine on your desolate sanctuary. Oh, my God, incline your ear in here. Open your eyes and see our desolations in the city which is called by your name. For we are not presenting our supplications before you on account of any merits of our own, but on the account of your great compassion.

Oh, Lord, hear. Oh, Lord, forgive. Oh, Lord, listen and take action. For your own sake, oh, my God, do not delay because your city and your people are called by your name. That prayer is the absolute model for all of our prayers. What Daniel does is cry out to the living God, but he does it for one reason. And that's where we began last week. The reason behind the prayer. The reason simply was because he was reading the book of Jeremiah. We read those verses last week, Jeremiah 25, Jeremiah 29. As he read, he realized 70 years of captivity was just about up.

And so now he goes to his God and begins to pray. The reason for his prayer was what God said in his word. That's the reason for all of our prayers. We pray because of what God has said. Knowing what God has said tells us how to pray. And that's exactly what Daniel did. Knowing that the 70 years captivity was just about up. And God said when they're over in Jeremiah 29, you will seek me. And when you seek me, you will find me when you search for me with all of your heart. And Daniel's heart was in that position to seek his God and to seek the face of his God.

So he does. That was the reason for the prayer. And then we gave you the requisites in the prayer. Because there are certain requisites that must be met by every one of us. And they're in the prayer. The first one is a conviction of God's authority.

Am I absolutely convicted in my own heart that God's word is authoritative? That's his authority. God has spoken. He's given us his spoken word. The incarnate word has given us the inspired word. Therefore, do I have the conviction that God's word is absolutely authoritative? If I do, then I'm going to come to God based on what he has already said. I know how to pray because I know what God says.

If I never knew what God said, I would never know how to pray. But I pray in conjunction with who God is. Why? Because prayer is aligning my will with his will. That's all prayer is. We can come up with these flowery definitions of prayer, but it's simply just aligning my will with God's will. What does God say? So how do I line up under God's will? How can I do what God says to do?

That's what prayer is. Lord, your will be done, not my will. I want your will done on earth as your will is done in heaven. Is God's will, his desire, always done in heaven? Answer yes. Well, is his desire always done on earth? No. His decrees are, but not his desire. So I am asking and pleading with God that the way things are in heaven, be done here on earth because I want the Lord to be glorified. There's a conviction in my own heart of God's authority. Number two, there's a capitulation to a sovereignty.

I want to submit to the sovereign hand of God. What does he say? My response is, I will follow. So there's a conviction about God's authority. There is a capitulation to God's sovereignty. And then there's the constitution of my humility. My life is made up of nothing but humility. And that's seen in Daniel's prayer as he comes and confesses his sin. And that's number four, by the way, a confession of my iniquity. I, the reason he confesses his iniquity is because he's humbled by who God is and what God has done and has promised to do.

And so there's this humility that characterizes his entire being. He confesses his iniquity because he knows that if he doesn't confess his sin, that's what separates him from his God. But when he reads the word of God, he's more in tune with the sin that separates him from his God. So he confesses his sin. And he can't confess the sins of his people Israel unless he himself confesses his sins. And how many times does it say we have transgressed? We have sinned. We have rebelled. We have turned our back because he includes himself in that.

He's humble enough to say, you know, it's not you guys. You know, I committed myself to the Lord a long time ago when I was 15. And I'm here simply because of what you guys did. No, he includes himself in the whole process. We have done this. And so he recognizes that what they have done has caused God to do what he was going to do. And then there's a commendation of his majesty all throughout the prayer. Lord, you are righteous. Lord, you are all powerful. Lord, you are mighty. Lord, you are compassionate.

Lord, you are forgiving. Everything about the majesty of God. He commends God for who he is and what he's done. And it's always wrapped up with a combination of fervency and frequency. He prays fervently. I set my face to prayer, to ask God. There's a fervency behind that. There's a tenacity behind that. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. A righteous man is going to be fervent in his prayer life. He's not going to be sporadic in his prayer life. But Daniel was very fervent.

We know he prayed morning, noon, and night. We know he would always go to his home and open his shutters and pray toward Jerusalem because that's what they did. They prayed toward the holy city. And so as he began to pray, he would always do it with frequency and fervency. And that should always be characteristic of our prayers. And those are the requisites in Daniel 9 that help move your prayer life along. Number three.

This is where we left off last week. I want you to notice the realization in the prayer. The realization in the prayer. The first realization was God's relationship with his people.

He says these words, I prayed to the Lord, my God, my God. He had a relationship with the living God. And because he had a relationship with the living God, he went to him. He knew he was great. He knew he was awesome. He knew he was righteous. He knew he was a God of forgiveness. But he says in verse 4, I prayed to the Lord, my God, and confessed and said, Allah, so Lord, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant and loving kindness. He appealed to God based on his faithfulness. Lord, you're true to your word.

You keep your commandments. And he could do that because he knew his God. You see, knowing God is everything in life. Who you know is always more important than what you know. But you need to know the true and living God. Daniel's relationship with God was the fact that he was my God. He's not just Israel's God. He's just not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which he is. He's all that. But he's my God. So when I go to prayer, there is this realization that I have a relationship with the true and living God.

Think about that. We all have relationships, right? But what is the apex of all relationships? A relationship with the true and living God. So we can come boldly before the throne of grace, right? Because we have a relationship with the true and living God. And here is Daniel, who recognizes his relationship with the true and living God and comes to him. You know, I'm convinced that we have minimized that relationship. If we understood the relationship we had with our God, we would commune with Him more than we do.

It's like having a relationship with your wife, right? If you got a good relationship with your wife, guess what? You want to be with your wife. If you got a good relationship with your husband, guess what? You want to be with your husband. You just want to be together. Why? Because you got a great relationship. And because your relationship is so great, so ferocious in a good way, not a bad way, there's this drive to be with one another, right? Same way it is with God. When you have a relationship with God, you just want to talk to Him.

You want to be with Him. You want to read His Word. And Daniel had that passion because the Lord God of Israel was my God. He's mine. And I go to Him. I confess my sin. And he goes to Him and appeals to His faithfulness. You know, 1 Corinthians 1, 9 says, our God is faithful. 1 Corinthians 10 says that our God is so faithful that He will not lead you into temptation that you cannot, cannot have a route of escape. He is so faithful. He'll not let you be tempted above what you are able. Do you think that God would allow Israel to be tempted beyond what they're able?

No. Is 70 years beyond what they are able? No. He told them it'd be 70 years. He made it very clear just how long it's going to be. And yet, He would not allow them to be tempted beyond what they are able. Why? Because He's faithful. Paul says the same thing, 1 Corinthians 10, 13, our God is faithful. When you go through a trial, when you go through a temptation, when you go through a hardship, God is not going to allow something to happen to you that you are not able with His power to overcome and accomplish His purposes.

Because God's faithful. And so here is Daniel, and that's how he prays. So all prayer begins with a recognition of who He is. And he had a relationship with the living God. Number two, Israel's rebellion against God.

They refuse to obey. It says very clearly, we have sinned. We've committed iniquity, acted wickedly. We've rebelled, even turning aside from your commandments and ordinances. Verse six, moreover, we have not listened to your servants, the prophets. So not only did we rebel against your word, we refused to listen to those who brought us your word. He recognizes their sin. And that's exactly what took place in the life of God's people, Israel. They not only disobeyed the word of God, they disregarded the word of God.

Not only did they disregard the word of God, they departed from the word of God. And not only that, they despised the word of God. So much so that they defied the word of God. Think about that. These are God's chosen people. The people He let out of bondage, right? There was supposed to be a testimony in the land of Canaan. But they defied the word of God. They despised the word of God. Remember Proverbs chapter 13? Listen to this, Proverbs 13, verse number 13. The one who despises the word will be in debt to the word.

If you despise the word of God, you are held accountable to the judgments of the word of God. You're in debt to it. It goes on to say, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. In other words, if you fear the commandment of God, you're going to receive the reward from God because of your obedience. But if you despise it, okay, that means you don't fear God. Because the one who fears God keeps the commands, is rewarded. But the one who despises it evidently doesn't fear God. Now he's in debt to what God's word says will happen to him.

So you move over to Proverbs chapter 29. Proverbs chapter 29 says this, a man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy. And so if you go over to 2 Chronicles chapter 36, which by the way is the last chapter in the Hebrew Bible. The last chapter of the Hebrew Bible is not the book of Malachi. The last chapter of the Hebrew Bible is the book of 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles ends with the destruction of the temple on the Temple Mount in the captivity that awaited the people of God.

So it says in verse 11, Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. And he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord. Now remember, Jeremiah preached on the cusp of the Babylonian captivity. Isaiah preached first 100 years before that.

But Jeremiah preached on the cusp of the captivity. But remember, Jeremiah was the weaving prophet because no one would listen to the words of the Lord. God had told Jeremiah, you're going to go preach, but no one's going to listen.

And Jeremiah said, you know what? Your words were found. I did eat them. They were the joy and rejoicing in my heart. Even though no one's going to listen, I'm going to keep on preaching. So here is Jeremiah preaching. Zedekiah hears it. What's nothing to do with it? Nothing whatsoever. And Jeremiah is telling him, you go into captivity. You're going to be there for 70 years. You better repent. You better get right with God. He didn't care. Why? He despises the word of the Lord. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance by God.

But he stiffened his neck, hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they defiled the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified in Jerusalem. So not only did they defy the word of God, they defiled the temple of God. Like priests, like people. As the king goes, so goes the people. That is a very basic Old Testament principle. Book of Hosea. Like priests, like people.

So here is Zedekiah. He influenced the priests. They influenced the people. They turn away from the truth of God. So it says in verse 15, the Lord, the God of their father sent word to them again and again by his messengers because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets till the wrath of the Lord arose against his people until there was no remedy. Proverbs 29, verse number one, he who stiffens the neck against the word of the Lord and against reproof will be broken beyond remedy.

And 2 Chronicles 36 speaks to that. Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, had no compassion on young men or virgin, old men or infirm. He gave them all to his hand, all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king and the officers. He brought them all to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

Those who had escaped from the sword carried away to Babylon and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah until the land had enjoyed its Sabbath, all the days of its desolation, it kept Sabbath until 70 years were complete. It's all prophesied. But it happened as Daniel prayed. We resisted, rebelled against the truth of the Word of God. We refused to listen to the prophets of God. That's why they were in captivity.

That's why they were where they were. They just would not listen. Listen, you got issues in your life? You got problems going on? You got to ask yourself, am I listening to what God says?

Am I willing to obey what God says? Have I heard what men of God have preached and said? There's a reason why Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 4 that during the end times men are going to turn away from the truth and they're going to go after those who will itch their ears. They don't want to hear sound words anymore. And so you got to ask yourself, am I following what the Word of the Lord says? Israel did not. And so realization number one was God's relationship to His people.

Number two was Israel's rebellion against God. And number three was the result of their sin. They were put to open shame. Open shame. Twice he says, verse number seven, O Lord, but to us, open shame. You're righteous, Lord. You're true. You're holy. You make no mistakes. But us, open shame. He says it again in verse number eight, open shame belongs to us. Verse 16, your people have become a reproach to all those around us. There's a lot of consequences for sin. Some of them are emotional. Some of them are physical.

All of them are spiritual. But to be put to open shame, to be a reproach to all those around about you, their testimony was completely destroyed. And everything about the city of God was plundered. And they became a laughingstock and put to open shame. Their sin wasn't hidden. Everybody knew. Nebuchadnezzar knew. And here they were put to open shame because of their sin. Disgrace in the destruction of Jerusalem. Disgrace by their dispersion into captivity. They were put to open shame. And Daniel in his prayer says, Lord, you're righteous.

And in your righteousness, we are put to open shame. We are a spectacle for all to see. He admits we deserve it. He told us it was going to come. You told us this is what's going to happen. We didn't listen.

We should have listened, but we didn't. Next is they resisted God himself. It wasn't that they resisted Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. They resisted God specifically. The Bible says in verse number nine, these words.

To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him. Nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his teachings, which he set before us through his servants to prophets. Indeed, all Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, not obeying your voice. So the curse has been poured out on us. What's the curse? What's the curse that's been poured out upon them? You see, he knows the curse. Book of Genesis. Book of Genesis chapter 28. He knows. Verse 15.

It shall come about if you do not obey the law of your God to observe, to do all his commandments and his statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. He lists them. Curses shall you be in your city and curses shall be your basket. Curses shall be your offspring. And this is verse 20. Then the Lord will send upon you curses, confusion and rebuke and all you undertake to do until you are destroyed, until you perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds because you have forsaken me.

The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you were entering to possess it. The Lord will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation. It goes on to say in verse number 24, The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust from heaven. It shall come down on you until you are destroyed. The Lord shall cause you to be defeated by your enemies. And they were. You will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

And they were. They were put in open chains. So Daniel in his prayer, how do you pray? You pray aligning your will with God's will. Lord, you told us it was going to happen. You gave us the consequences of our disobedience. You told us how we would be cursed. We didn't listen.

And that was just like you said. Verse 45, So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and the statutes which he commanded you. It should become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever, because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart for the abundance of all things. Therefore, you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and in the lack of all things.

And he will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. It's exactly what Nebuchadnezzar did. The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, the Chaldeans, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down on a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old nor show favor to the young. He prophesies their captivity under Nebuchadnezzar. This is Moses. Verse 58, If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law, which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants.

That's what God did. So what does Daniel do? He rehearses their disobedience in line with the curses that come because of their rebellion. We did not do what your law said. We did not serve the Lord with joy and gladness. We did not follow the word of the Lord. You know, the Christian life is basically very simple. God doesn't give suggestions. God never says, you know what, let me give you a suggestion.

Why don't you try this? That didn't work. Try this. No, God gives commands. And John tells us his commands are not burdensome. So if you know the Lord, the commands he gives are not burdensome. Why? Because you love the Lord. He's your God. You want to commune with your God. You want to know what he says. You want to know what his laws are. You want to know what the commands are. And therefore, you want to obey the commands. The Christian life is simply listening to what God says and obeying him.

That's it. It's not rocket science. It's just simply that. You love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. You love him so much, you want to do what he says. And Daniel responds by saying, we resisted our God. We rebelled against our God. And then makes it very clear that the righteousness of God is seen in the judgment he brings. He tells God, Lord, you're righteous. He says, verse 14, Therefore, the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us.

For the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all his deeds, which he has done. But we have not obeyed his voice. So what God has done is righteous. In other words, he told us what's going to happen if we disobey. We disobey. If that doesn't happen, it's only because God in his grace and mercy didn't allow it to happen. In fact, they disobeyed God for years and years and years. Finally, God said, that's it.

He was grace and mercy over and over again every single day. The wages of sin is what? It's death. It's death. But we sin and we live. That's grace. That's mercy. And so they kept getting mercy and grace, compassion and forgiveness, love, righteousness. But soon, God says, no, keep going this way.

This is what's going to happen. They would not repent. They just continued to rebel. And it says that God operated the way he did because he was righteous. But yet, you know what? The Lord knows how weak we are. He remembers that we're nothing but dust. And He withholds His wrath that He might discipline us and show us which way to go. Notice this, He realized that the redemption of God was their only hope.

So He says, Do you know how powerful that statement is? That takes you all the way back to the book of Exodus, the third chapter.

God made a name for Himself when He brought Israel out of bondage. He says, with a mighty hand. So when did God do that? When did God use His mighty hand? Well, when He redeemed them from Egyptian bondage. It says, these words, verse 20 of Exodus chapter 3, I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles, which I shall do in the midst of it. And after that, He will let you go. Now, this is a time that God gave us His name. Daniel, what does Daniel say? Daniel says, with a mighty hand and have made a name for yourself.

What was the name that God gave for Himself that's lasted to this day, Daniel's day? Well, it's His memorial name. What is God's memorial name? That's to be remembered from generation to generation. He makes it very clear. He says, this is my name forever. And this is my memorial name to all generations, He tells Moses. What is that? I am that I am. I am the great I am. That's who I am. And that is His redemptive name. That is His delivery name. That is His saving name. God wants to be remembered by one name.

I am. Because in that name is His delivering power. In that name is His redeeming power. In that name is His saving power. And how does He do that? With an outstretched arm, He delivers His people. Everybody will know that the God of Moses is a Redeemer, a Savior, a Deliverer by the name that He gives Himself. Moses says, who am I going to say sent me? You tell them my memorial name. You give them the name that is supposed to be passed down from generation to generation. That's never to be forgotten.

It's my memorial name. I am a Savior, a Deliverer. And I'm going to take you out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Chapter six, verse number one.

Then the Lord said to Moses, now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For by a mighty hand, He will let them go. Daniel refers to this mighty hand of God. Chapter seven, verse number four. It says, when Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring out my host, my people, the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt. By great judgments, the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand on Egypt. They're going to know that I am a Deliverer. I am a Savior.

I'm a Redeemer. When I stretch out my hand against Egypt, and I'm going to let my people go. Then it says over in chapter 15 of Exodus, that great song of Moses in Israel. Verse six. Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. And in the greatness of your excellence, you overthrow those who rise up against you. You sent forth your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff. And then over in Psalm 89, Psalm 89, verse number 13. Listen to this. You have a mighty arm, a strong arm, excuse me.

Your hand is mighty. Your right hand is exalted. And then over in Psalm 118, verse number 15. Psalm 118, verse number 15. The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. Daniel knows about the mighty hand of God. So in his prayer, because he knows the Word of God, he prays the Word of God. That's what makes the prayer as powerful as it is. When you pray God's words, it is the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man.

The problem with us is that we have our own words, our own way of praying, our own way of communicating the things that we want to see happen. We're not too concerned about what God wants to have happen. Yet we need to be praying God's way. And so this is what Peter says in 1 Peter 5. He says, therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Where does Peter get that from? Book of Daniel. Where does Daniel get it from? Book of Exodus. Psalms. It's the right hand that is used valiantly. So now he says you need to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.

Why? Because the mighty hand of God is the outstretched arm of God. It's the right hand of God. It is the delivering power of God. But you know, it's always used in conjunction with Israel's deliverance and discipline. Always. It's the mighty hand of God's destiny upon his people. So Peter says, humble yourselves under that mighty hand of God. Why? Because you have no choice. It's an outstretched arm of God. You either submit willingly, or you're going to submit griping and grumbling and complaining the whole way through.

And so Peter says, humble yourself under the mighty God. And then he says this, and that he may exalt you at the proper time. God wants to exalt you, but he's not going to do that until it's the proper time. And you can't find the proper time until you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. So Daniel is referring to the mighty hand of God in Daniel's prayer, knowing that God is righteous, and that God is holy, and in the delivering power, the mighty name of God, the memorial name that has to be remembered from generation to generation.

That's how you know Daniel knows what he's talking about. It's used in conjunction with the great I am. He knows. That Israel needs to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. But then they will seek him. They will find him. And they search for him with all their heart. Daniel knows that. So that's how he prays. Look at putting forth the request in his prayer.

The request is based on number one, God's character. He is righteous. Verse 16, O Lord, in accordance with all your righteous acts. He keeps praying to God based on the fact that God's righteous. When's the last time you prayed to God, Lord, I know you're righteous. Lord, everything you do is righteous. Lord, you do nothing wrong. Every act of yours is righteous. All the discipline I'm going through is a righteous act of God. All the hardship I'm going through is because of your righteousness, O Lord.

How many times have we prayed that way? You want to be an effectual, fervent prayer warrior? You got to pray God's word. You got to claim God's righteous acts. That's what Daniel's doing. Lord, you are righteous. His prayer was based on the character of God. He's righteous. He's forgiving. He's all-powerful. He's compassionate. All this while they're in captivity. Because you see, he recognizes that they deserved what they received. Because God warned them. And they would not obey. So, his prayer was based on God's character.

His prayer was based on God's concern for His own work. It says in verse number 17, these words, So now, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplications for your sake. Not my sake, for your sake. O Lord, let your face shine on your desolate sanctuary. It's all about praying for God's sake. When we pray, O Lord, do this for my sake. Lord, help me do this. Help me do this. Help me have this. O Lord, please. But when's the last time you prayed for God's sake to be seen and to be known?

That was Daniel. It's also based on God's compassion. Verse 18, O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations in the city which is called by your name. For we are not presenting our supplication before you on account of any merits of our own, but on account of your great compassion. We're coming to you not because we deserve to be here. Because they don't. We're not coming to you because all of a sudden we did a few good acts for you. This is not on our merit, Lord. We're appealing to you based on your compassion.

Based on the fact that you are God who loves His people. We go to God in prayer thinking, we deserve this. I deserve to get out of the situation I'm in. I deserve a better job. I deserve a better marriage. I deserve to get married. I deserve a better income. I deserve this. We go to God and appeal to Him based on what we deserve. When's the last time you went to God on no merit of your own? But simply because He's a compassionate, loving, merciful God. Because Daniel knew His God. He could appeal to God based on His character, based on His concern for His work, based on His compassion.

And how about this? Based on God's calling. Listen to this. Verse number 19, O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and take action for your sake. Not our sake. For your sake. Oh my God, do not delay. Because your city and your people who are called by your name. Remember what Romans 8.28 says? All things were together for good to those who are called according to His purposes. I'm appealing to you, Lord, based on the fact that you've called your people Israel. You called us. We appeal to God based on His calling.

God, you called me into your kingdom. You saved me. You made me one of yours. You did this, God, for your sake. And we're so glad that He did. That we can call Him my God. That we can get to know a God of compassion. Now listen to this. Verse number 20. Now while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin. And the sin of my people Israel. And presenting my supplication before the Lord my God. On behalf of the holy mountain of my God. While I was still speaking in prayer. Then the man Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision previously.

Came to me. In my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. What's that? The time of the evening offering. Remember, there was no temple. They're in captivity. So there are meal offerings that are offered. Meal offerings are offerings without leaven. Because leaven represented sin and evil. And because he would offer a meal offering in the evening time. It symbolized his complete consecration to his God. I was in the process of consecrating myself. I was in the process of complete and total dedication to my God.

In the evening offering, at the meal offering. Guess who shows up? Gabriel shows up. I'm not asking God to do anything right now.

But Gabriel shows up. Here I am offering my prayers. Here I am offering my supplications. Here I am confessing my sin. Here am I confessing the sins of my people. It's real. Next thing you know, during the evening offering. The meal offering. When I'm dedicating all that I am to my God. Because I'm going to be sold out to him completely. Gabriel shows up. Wow. He gave me instruction. He talked with me and said, Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. Oh really? I'm going to give you all the insight you need.

And all the understanding you need in the answer to your prayer. Wow. At the beginning of your supplications. The command was issued. And I have come to tell you. You are highly esteemed. Wow. Really? Yeah. Who gave the command? The Lord God of Israel. Who did he command? Gabriel. What did he tell Gabriel to say? Tell him he is highly esteemed. He is greatly loved. Imagine that. Gabriel says, I got news. I was commanded. I came. I obeyed. I came as a messenger of God to tell you that you, Daniel, are highly esteemed.

He's in his 80s. He's maintained his testimony for almost 70 years in captivity. A man who is committed to his God. I mean, he's praying. He's offering up the meal offering in the evening because that's what he did. Because he was committed to his God. He was just doing what he always does. Gabriel shows up. Why does Gabriel show up? God sent him. You tell him he is highly esteemed. So give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision. And Gabriel is going to give him a vision of the single greatest prophecy in the Scriptures.

Because the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man of death much. There's so much to learn about this prayer. So much to learn about Daniel's humility. Daniel's confession of his iniquity. His appeal to God based on what his word says. What a great testimony. And God answers in an unbelievable way. He sends his angel Gabriel, the messenger. And tells him, I've been told to say this. I'm not sure if Gabriel even agreed with it. Not to agree with it. God said, you go tell Daniel this. You're highly esteemed.

Wow. That comes from the throne room of God. That's what makes his prayer so unbelievably perfect. Because it tells us what it takes to be highly esteemed in God's eyes. Daniel was a pure man, a holy man. A man given to compassion, humility, knowing he's a sinner, knowing he needs his God. God answers. And God answers in such a way that Daniel would be absolutely blown away. And by the way, so will you. Not next week, but the week after. The prayer that leads to the prophecy. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight.

The chance you give us to study your word. We truly are a blessed people. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for the prayer of Daniel. Thank you, Lord, for his commitment to you. Thank you, Lord, that we can read it, study it, learn from it. But most importantly, Lord, help us to apply it to our own lives. That we would be men and women of prayer. In Jesus' name, amen.