READING: Daniel 7-9
In Daniel 9, the prophet prayed for God to end the exile and “make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate” (Dan 9:17). His motivation, though, was God’s glory — that God would look with favor on His people for His name’s sake. It would be because of God, and not because of His rebellious people, that God would hear those prayers.
Indeed, Daniel verbalized in this text these words that are true of every one of us when we pray: “For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy” (Dan 9:18). Daniel wanted God to honor His own name, but He also knew the people had little right to seek anything from Him. They had been so rebellious that they had nothing within themselves to compel God to answer their prayers; if He did answer, it would be because of His mercy.
God graciously allows us, too, to come before Him in prayer (in fact, He allows us to come before Him boldly — Heb 4:16), but it’s not because we are so righteous on our own. We can even pray with a sense of urgency as Daniel did — "Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name” (Dan 9:19) — but God’s response is based on who He is rather than on who we are. God answers the prayers of broken rebellious sinners because He’s a gracious God.
That’s actually good news for us. Our boldness before Him is based on His mercy toward us.
ACTION STEPS:
- Enter God’s presence in prayer today with great humility.
- Test your motives to see if you’re always praying for His sake and not solely for yours. .
PRAYER: “God, please listen to my prayers. Forgive my sins. Use me for Your glory and for Your sake.”
TOMORROW¹S READING: Daniel 10-12