Chapter 6—Daniel’s Prayers
As the time approached for the close of the seventy years’ captiv-
ity, Daniel’s mind became greatly exercised upon the prophecies of
Jeremiah. He saw that the time was at hand when God would give His
chosen people another trial; and with fasting, humiliation, and prayer,
he importuned the God of heaven in behalf of Israel, in these words:
“Oh Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy
to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; we
have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly,
and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy
judgments; neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets,
which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and
to all the people of the land” (
Daniel 9:4-6
).
Daniel does not proclaim his own fidelity before the Lord. Instead
of claiming to be pure and holy, this honored prophet humbly identifies
himself with the really sinful of Israel. The wisdom which God had
imparted to him was as far superior to the wisdom of the great men
of the world as the light of the sun shining in the heavens at noonday
is brighter than the feeblest star. Yet ponder the prayer from the lips
[47]
of this man so highly favored of Heaven. With deep humiliation, with
tears and rending of heart, he pleads for himself and for his people.
He lays his soul open before God, confessing his own unworthiness
and acknowledging the Lord’s greatness and majesty.
Earnestness and Fervor
What earnestness and fervor characterize his supplications! The
hand of faith is reached upward to grasp the never-failing promises
of the Most High. His soul is wrestling in agony. And he has the
evidence that his prayer is heard. He knows that victory is his. If we
as a people would pray as Daniel prayed, and wrestle as he wrestled,
humbling our souls before God, we should realize as marked answers
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