Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.
The above is the beginning of a prayer Daniel utters to God. It should be noted that God is actively working in Daniel’s life at this point (chapters 7-8). Yet, this is primarily a confessing type of prayer. God is actively engaged with Daniel and giving him a vision that transcends most visions in the Bible. Yet, this is the time Daniel is convicted to confess sins. This should be a truth we all come to understand in our walk with God. The closer we get to God the more we know and understand the need to confess to God. It is when we see God’s glory the greatest that we see our shame the gravest. It should also be noted that Daniel is confessing not just his own sin but is taking ownership of the sins of his nation. It is his prayer but it is a confession of the our sins. He is understanding his need to bring himself and others before God. He isn’t the official government representative of his imprisoned nation. But he does realize his spiritual responsibility to stand before God for his people. A third aspect of truth from this first portion of Daniel’s prayer is his praise and adoration of God’s faithfulness. Yes, the nation is shameful. But God is to be exalted. Their sin is paramount but God’s righteousness and faithfulness to them needs to be praised. Daniel wants to confess this awful sin but he wants to stand in awe of God, as well. Our prayers should contain confessions of sin but also professions of praise for our omnipotent God.
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