Daniel got his news from Scripture.
He located where they
were on the Map of HIStory.
He
understood, the time
was near for the fulfillment of prophecy.
So, he prayed.
His prayer was the catalyst
that dispatched the angel, Gabriel, who delivered the powerful, seventy-week prophecy,
that’s talked about, written about, and had movies made about.
The prophecy predicts,
to the very day the coming of Messiah, it tells of His death, the destruction
of Jerusalem, the coming antichrist, his seven-year peace treaty which he
breaks midway through, the rebuilt temple, the abomination of desolation and
his ultimate demise.
Sixty-nine of the seventy
weeks are already fulfilled.
However, the clock
stopped to graft you, the Church, into the Vine, Christ Jesus. The clock will
soon restart to finish Daniel's 70th week.
The prophecy is one
of the most pivotal, powerful, awe-inspiring prophecies of the Bible.
It follows one of the
most powerful prayers.
Which is what we'll look
at today, Daniel's Prayer.
Daniel 9:1
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—
Location: Babylon (about
50 miles south of Bagdad Iraq).
Time: After
Belshazzar’s handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5. Which was Oct. 12, 539 BC, Cyrus
defeated Babylon and then made Darius king.
That was the fulfillment of a prophecy that called Cyrus by name, 150 years in advance (Isaiah 44:28-45:1).
Daniel is about 82
years old. He’s been in Babylon since he was a teenager and taken captive by
Nebuchadnezzar around 605 BC.
2 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.
Jeremiah prophesied
they’d be in captivity in Babylon for seventy years.
Daniel understood
the signs of the times by The Book, by the Word of the Lord, not
by who sat on the throne, in the White House, on the governor’s bench.
Not by Fox, Newsmax,
Real America’s Voice, scrolling Facebook, TikTok, or binge watching podcasts.
Daniel got his news
from Scripture.
Here, he’s specifically
speaking of Jeremiah 25:11 “And this whole land (Israel) shall be a
desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the
king of Babylon seventy years.” (Also noted in Jeremiah 29:10-11).
Why 70 years?
God is intentional.
That was no random
number.
2 Chronicles 36:21
tells us it was, “to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth
of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As
long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy
years.
Sabbaths? What’s that
all about?
Just as God told man
to work six days and rest one, He told Israel to work the land six years and
let it rest for one. If they obeyed, the sixth year would yield enough for
three years to carry them through until the crops came in on the eighth year.
He knew them, so He
warned them, if they disobeyed, they’d be driven from the land, and thus the land
would lay desolate and enjoy its Sabbaths. (Leviticus 25:2-4, 21, 26:32-35).
Math and history
reveal they abused the land for 490 years (70 x 7 = 490 years).
(Sidenote: Perhaps
this foreshadows the Millennial Reign, when the earth will enjoy a thousand
year Sabbath rest, reflecting the culmination of Creation week, (1,000 x 7 =
7,000 years).
Daniel understood
Jeremiah’s prophecy was indeed, the Word of the Lord.
Understanding Scripture is different than any other book. Head knowledge is of little value if not Spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14.
Rightly understanding
the Bible involves the head and the heart.
When it comes to the
Bible, to understand, we must stand under. Be
subject to, subservient to, yielded to, obedient to, whatever the
Word of the Lord teaches.
Anything less is
defiance.
By understanding
Scripture, Daniel was able to discern what would soon to be front page news on
the Babylonian Gazette.
Therefore, he had the
responsibility to respond.
When the Lord reveals
something to us, He expects us to do something about it.
What did Danny do?
The most powerful
thing on the planet.
Pray.
3 Then I set
my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications,
with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
Daniel took prayer
seriously.
He came
humbly, worshipfully, repentantly.
He dressed appropriately.
With a cloak of humility, including fasting, sackcloth, and
ashes. The sackcloth was like an itchy scratchy gunny sack. He was telling
his body, “Shut up, you’re not in charge, I’ve got important Spiritual business
to tend to.”
Cloth yourself with humility for God resists
proud gives grace to humble. 1 Peter 5:5.
He set his face,
turned all his attention, heart and soul, toward the Lord God.
Like Jesus set His face like a flint (resolutely) toward the cross, for the joy
set before Him. (Isaiah 50:7, Luke 9:51, Hebrews 12:2).
Now, remember, Daniel
was a big dog. Darius’s favorite. A celebrity. The one who spent the night in
the Lions’ Den. He probably could’ve walked straight into the throne room and
had a chat with king Darius. He could’ve pointed out the Jeremiah Scripture and
reminded him of the one from Isaiah that predicted Cyrus’s arrival. He could’ve
asked Darius to submit a request to Cyrus, for the Jews to be set free.
He didn’t fool around
with any of that. Instead, he went straight to the Top. To the Lord God
Almighty, the King, of the king of kings—what Cyrus was called.
4 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,
When we pray, let’s
remember who He is, and who we are.
Daniel approaches
humbly, worshipfully, yet comfortably, confidently, like family, before his Lord.
He is the great,
awesome, merciful, covenant keeping Lord...
With, not just
anybody and everybody, but with those who love Him
and keep His commandments.
God loves everybody
but doesn’t treat everybody the same.
Those who love
Him and keep His commands experience the richness of His Presence
that exceeds anything this world has to offer.
His Love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians
5:22-23); His indwelling Holy Spirit, Helper, Teacher, Guide, and Spirit of
Truth, speaking to us and through us and telling us of things to come. (John
14:15-16, 15:26, 16:13). It is absolutely
above and beyond anything you could ever ask or even think. It's awesome! I
don't know why everybody hasn't signed up. But they haven't. They don't. They
won't. Why? It’s crazy.
We can pray for two
people going through the exact same test.
One receives the
richness of His Presence, the Power of Prayer, and the joy of seeing their test
turned into a testimony.
The other feels alone,
hurt, and turns bitter.
The Same Nail Scarred
Hand extended to both.
One understood,
stood under, yielded, submitted, received, whatever the will and Word of
the Lord delivered.
The other...
Lord, help us understand and experience the harmony
of this beautiful Holy Matrimony between Your Sovereignty and our
responsibility.
Okay, now, when
praying to One who knows and sees everything, you might as well be brutally
honest.
That is exactly how Daniel continues to pray.
5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done
wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your
judgments.
Notice how many times Daniel will include himself in
the repentance, he uses words like “we” and “us”.
6 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. 7 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.
8 “O Lord, to
us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord
our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled
against Him. 10 We have not obeyed the voice of
the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His
servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has
transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore
the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have
been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 12 And
He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against
our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great
disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has
been done to Jerusalem.
He confesses the sinfulness
of his nation, admitting the judgement is deserved and just.
13 “As it
is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon
us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our
God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your
truth.
All the disasters of disobedience were clearly spelled out in Leviticus 26:14-45, Deuteronomy 28:15-68. So, they knew why they were in the mess they were in, and yet they still did not repent.
This is the danger of
not heeding the still small voice of the Lord, every single time He speaks. With
each rejection the heart grows harder. Repentance cannot be done on demand. It’s
a heart issue. It’s impossible to fake repentance just because discipline comes,
disaster strikes, judgement falls. God is not mocked; He sees the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
14 Therefore
the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us;
for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works
which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. 15 And
now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with
a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we
have sinned, we have done wickedly!
We plead guilty, no
defense, no excuse.
16 “O
Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger
and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your
holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our
fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to
all those around us. 17 Now therefore, our God, hear
the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the
Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which
is desolate.
18 O my God,
incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our
desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not
present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because
of Your great mercies. .
19 O Lord, hear!
O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your
own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by
Your name.”
Daniel got his news from Scripture.
He located where they were on the Map of HIStory.
He understood,
the time was near for God to move.
So, he prayed.
What’s to stop you from doing the same?
Can you look in Scripture today and say “Lord, where
are we on Your Divine Time Clock?”
We see signs of the times all around us.
In the last days perilous times will come
2 Tim. 3:1.
Deception will abound Matthew 24:4.
There will be wars and rumors of wars
Matthew 24:6.
Famines, pestilences, earthquakes, Matthew 24:7.
Many falling, offended, hating, betraying,
Matthew 24:10.
Many reject God until He gives them over
to debased minds...Romans 1.
Distress of nations... Luke 21:25.
When they say “peace and safety” then
sudden destruction comes... 1 Thessalonians 5:3.
Ez. 38-39, war shimmers on the horizon.
Daniel saw the seventy years was almost over
and knew God was about to move His prophetic clock.
What’s to stop you from seeing and praying and saying?
“O Lord, our great and awesome God, who keeps covenants and mercy with
those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Where are we on Your Divine End Times
Calendar?
From Creation to Your promise to Abraham
was about 2,000 years.
From Abraham to You coming in the flesh
was another 2,000.
From Your Ascension, it’s been, almost
another 2,000 years.
We’re about seven years shy.
Israel is 77 years old since rebirth, May
14th, 1948.
As we study Your 70 week prophecy.
69 of which have already been fulfilled.
Are we sitting at the threshold of the 70th
week?
Are You soon to sound the trump for the
Church, and start Daniel’s 70th week?
On behalf
of ourselves, our nation, we come to You, humbly.
We have
sinned against You, repeatedly. Any judgement on US is just.
We have
applauded slaughtering Your babies. We mutilate Your children, sell Your
children. Instead of thanking You for slowing the sex trafficking at the
southern border, California pushes a bill inviting sex traffickers to legally
abduct Your children.
We defile
the sanctity of life and marriage.
We
haven’t stopped to beg forgiveness.
O Lord
have mercy on US great sinners.
We plead
guilty, no defense, no excuse.
According
to Your righteousness, for Your name’s sake, please hear our prayer, and shine
on US again.
We plead
for Your mercy.
Your name
is on our currency. Your name is woven in our founding documents. When the
world looks at US they think they see a reflection of who You are. They are
wrong. We have abandoned You, despised You, rejected You. But Lord, for Your name’s
sake, for Your glory, show the world what You can do for a nation who turns
back to You. Please wake US. Convict US. Move among US.
We don’t
ask because of our righteousness, but because of Yours. Because it’s not Your
will for any to perish, please shine on US one more time.
Revive
Your Church, O God, to be the salt and light You’ve called US to be.
Your
glorious Church without spot or wrinkle.
Help US Lord
to finish well.
Thank
You.
We love
You.
Forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
Call or text: 612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
Facebook: Church at WPV
Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling
Watch online:
Facebook: Daniel’s Prayer, Daniel
9:1-19
You Tube: Daniel’s Prayer, Daniel
9:1-19
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
No comments:
Post a Comment