'Book of Daniel'
The Vision to the Jews
Dan 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel having understood the prophecies of Jeremiah and the will of God for the Israelites to be captives for seventy years, he knew how to pray.
Brethren, do you know God's will for you so that your prayers are pleasing to Him? Or are you blindly praying for those blessings which are only temporal?
Confession of His faithfulness
Dan 9:3-4 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments.
He acknowledged that Yahweh, the great and awesome God will always be:-
1. Covenant keeping
2. Merciful to those who love Him
3. Merciful to those who keep His commandments.
John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."
Confession of Israel's Sins
Dan 9:5-6 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.
During his stay as a captive in Babylon, though Daniel was living in luxury, highly respected and treated as a great prophet of God, yet he desired the freedom to worship God in Jerusalem.
Brethren, do we have the same vision to prepare our eternal heavenly home so that we can be with Him in the Kingdom of God. Or that we have been deceived to love this world again and only want to establish ourselves here?
2 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
His Righteous Judgments
Dan 9:7-8 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You."
Because of their unfaithfulness, they accepted the punishment of being defeated and made to be shameful captives, which they deserved.
Brethren, do we accept the chastisements of God for our weaknesses? Or are we so blind to think that we are so godly that we blame the devil (attacking us), for our chastisements?
