SERMON: “Praying for Your People” (Dan. 9:1–19)
“Praying for Your People” (Dan.
9:1–19)
Series: “Daniel:
God’s Sovereign Plans” #22 Text: Daniel
9:1–19
By: Shaun
Marksbury Date: March 1, 2026
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: PM Service
Introduction
By this point, we’ve become used to reading the dramatic visions
of this book. We’ve seen the beasts
rising from the sea, the rams and goats charging across the earth, and we’ve
interpreted these all as symbols that predicted empires and the end of the age.[1] This chapter also contains a vision, but it
doesn’t necessarily strike us in the same way, and that’s not all.
This entire section may feel out of place. Instead of the apocalyptic, we have a
prayer. The prophet is recording one of
his many, daily prayers, but what he prays is related to what he learns in
prophecy, and it will prompt a heavenly visit. That’s significant: this model prayer precedes
one of the clearest Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah.
This prayer is a model in a couple of ways. First, it shows us that students of Scripture
should respond to what they learn in Scripture, especially prophetic
portions. We get into a lot of debates
about eschatology, and sometimes grow in our pride over what we believe and
affirm. Yet, the number one response we
should have is prayer, petitions to the Lord which even include other
people. That is approaching it with
humility.
That brings us to the second reason this is a model: it is
intercessory. There are many reasons
biblically to go to prayer for others, especially if they are close to us. In this case, the prophet realizes that an
important moment approaches for the covenant people of God, and he calls upon
the covenant name of Yahweh in response.[2] As such, these verses are the record of one
man’s fervent prayer for his people, a saint of Scripture seeking God and
providing us an inspired template that we can follow.[3]
To understand the prophetic moment, let’s consider the
setting of this prayer and how this is important for the last portion of our
chapter. We’ll do this as part of our
introduction this evening. Again, we
read:
In the first year of Darius the son
of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the
Chaldeans — in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books
the number of the years which was revealed
as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the
desolations of Jerusalem, namely,
seventy years. So I gave my attention to
the Lord God to seek Him by prayer
and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
The historical marker for this prayer is “the first year of
Darius the son of Ahasuerus.” That would
be about 539–538 BC, the year Babylon fell to the Medo-Persian coalition. In other words, this is the end of the
Babylonian Captivity for the Jewish people.
Daniel, of course, might have suspected this was the case
when Belshazzar saw the handwriting on the wall in chapter 5. That would be confirmed later that night when
Cyrus invaded and Persia took over the city of Babylon. That would then start the reign of the first
year of Daius (possibly Cyrus, who was “made king”[4]), around 538 BC or twelve
years after the vision of chapter 8.[5] As the Reformation Study Bible notes
here, his father “Ahasuerus” or Xerxes is not the same person mentioned in Esther
1:1, as it is probably a title passed on in Persia.[6]
According to v. 2, though, Daniel knows that because he has studied
Scripture — he “discerned in the books,” meaning he gave his mind to the
scrolls. This also means that he
believed in the full inspiration of the prophetic word, for he treated
Jeremiah’s writings as the very “word of Yahweh” (the first time God’s covenant
name appears in the text).[7] He also interpreted the prophecy he found
literally, which is how we should also interpret it.
There, he saw the end was in sight. God clearly had revealed that the captivity
would be seventy years (Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10) because of their covenant
faithlessness to God.[8] God had commanded many things of Israel, and
the sabbaths were the sign of the old covenant.
One of the sabbaths that the people were to keep which would test their
faith in God was the year-long sabbath of the land — they were not to plow or
farm the soil but let it rest for a year.
God always promised to provide, but you can imagine the temptation of an
agrarian society to keep farming each year, even if letting the land lie fallow
would help restore nutrients to the soil.
Because they collectively ignored this command for some 490 years, God
gave the land the seventy missed years of rest by removing them from it (2
Chron. 36:20–21)![9]
Daniel understood this because, again, he was reading the
prophecy literally. He had been taken
captive in 605 BC, and he had been in Babylon for sixty-seven years. He expected that the people of God would go
home soon.[10]
What did Daniel do with this discovery? According to v. 3, he applied the Scripture to
prayer. He literally “gave [his] face”
to Yahweh (see LSB), indicating his determination. He did so “with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes,”
all outward signs of deep grief and humility.[11] He read the promises of God, and now, he
refuses to be passive. He prays in full
faith that God’s people will soon be delivered.
Still, he prays for them as an intercessor, knowing that
they (as well as he) need to be prepared for their return. As we consider how to pray for people, some
have rightly pointed out that the best way to pray is to utilize the “ACTS”
method, and we see that in the remainder of our passage. First, adore the Lord in prayer (v. 4). Second, confess personal and corporate sin to
the Lord (vv. 5–14). Third, thank the
Lord for past grace (v. 15). Fourth,
supplicate to the Lord for present grace (vv. 16–19).
First, Adore the Lord in Prayer (v. 4)
I prayed to the
Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God,
who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His
commandments,
Daniel begins by affirming that Yahweh is his God, declaring
His sovereignty and lordship over him[12] and His covenant
promises. Note it says that he
“confesses” here, which can mean to praise or to agree to some truth; Daniel is
agreeing with what the Scripture says about God. He exalts the character of God by calling Him
“great and awesome/fearsome,” using language drawn from Deuteronomy 7:21).
He then comes to the heart of his adoration, and it rests in
the covenant-keeping nature of God.
Daniel says He “keeps His covenant and lovingkindness.” Daniel demonstrates that we start with who God
is and what He does. The Hebrew word chesed
speaks of loyal, covenant love that will not let His people go.[13] So, even when God’s people fail, Yahweh
remains faithful (Deut. 7:9).[14]
Daniel confesses that this is for “those who love Him and
keep His commandments.” Even here, we
see the concept of our love of God linked to keeping God’s commandments (John
15). Those who claim to love God but
don’t keep His commands demonstrate that they are not truly His, then, for
“[l]ove and obedience to God demonstrate that one has entered into God’s
family.”[15] Yet, even true believers sometimes
stumble. The good news, again, is that God
is faithful even when we are not.
Of course, there can be consequences to unfaithfulness (like
the seventy-year Babylonian Captivity).
Thankfully, even when God disciplines us, He still shows His
lovingkindness. He brings the discipline
to an end, as He promised, because the discipline is an act of love rather than
vengeance. Daniel’s prayer understands
this and can honestly begin with this adoration.
Remember this when praying for people. When we begin prayer by declaring who God is,
our requests are placed in proper perspective.
We confess with Scripture when we do this, but that should also lead us
to another kind of confession.
Second, Confess Personal and Corporate Sin to the
Lord (vv. 5–14)
we have sinned,
committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your
commandments and ordinances. Moreover,
we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to
our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to
us open shame, as it is this day — to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in
all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful
deeds which they have committed against You.
Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our
fathers, because we have sinned against You.
To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have
rebelled against Him; nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk
in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law
and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on
us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of
God, for we have sinned against Him.
Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and
against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the
whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to
Jerusalem. As it is written in the law
of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of
the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your
truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the
calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with
respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.
The longest section of this prayer is confession. That means that Daniel does not rush past sin;
he names it in all its ugliness. And
notice that he includes himself in it. Though
Scripture never records a personal moral failure for Daniel, he stands with his
people: “We have sinned.”[16] This humble approach is necessary, especially
with intercessory prayer.
It’s here I should pause to answer a question that’s come up
in relation to this. Some of you know
that those pastors involved in the social justice movement have advocated for
such corporate prayers to confess sins of those who came long before us. The thought is that all Americans should
continue to ask for forgiveness for the sins commited during the slave trade
and the racism that followed. However,
Daniel is praying here for something that is present; to make a better
parallel, we should pray a prayer of confession for abortion, rampant divorce,
the various pornographic industries, and confusing children with LGBTQ+
messaging. Those who experience other
ongoing sins, such as partiality of skin color, can and should confess those
sins, but they are no longer culturally accepted.
This is a prayer or preparation, so Daniel is confessing
what he has seen in his people over the past seventy years and the reason they
are in this mess. In v. 5, he lists five
aspects of Israel’s rebellion — sin (missing the mark of God’s holy standard[17]),
iniquity (to twist or bent something out of shape[18]), acts of wickedness
(descriptive of the guilt of their crimes against God[19]), rebellion, and a turning
aside or straying from “the path of obedience.”
They had turned aside to idols and failed to “observe the Sabbath rest
for the land.”[20]
Daniel doesn’t hold back.
He adds in v. 6 that they failed to listen “to Your servants the
prophets.” The prophets served God by
revealing His truth to the people, and He condemned the mockery and ignoring of
the prophets (2 Chr 36:16; Jer 44:4, 5).
Yet, even though God has always had His remnant, most rejected God’s
revelation (like many do today). Even those
in civil leadership roles, who were responsible to hear and heed the Word of
the Lord, as well as the supposed spiritual fathers of the land had disregarded
God’s revelation.
Daniel then contrasts God’s righteousness with Israel’s
“open shame” in the next two verses.[21] The darkness of sin shows the righteousness
of God shining, like a diamond on a black jeweler’s cloth. God’s people will also supposed to be called
by His righteousness (Jer. 23:6; 33:16), but Daniel writes that literally have
a “shame of face” (NASB footnote). Those
who know better should blush in the public humiliation that comes as a
consequence of sin, such as God’s people being scattered and His nation going into
exile. Such disgrace continues from the
first day of exile until the present, and God remains “the offended party” in
their covenant violations.[22]
Yet, note how confessions include a glimmer of gospel light.
In v. 9, Daniel affirms that God is the
only one who can grant “compassion and forgiveness” because they sinned against
Him. This is understanding the roles of
the bilateral covenant of Moses that they’ve violated. As the Faithlife Study Bible notes
here, “In antiquity, offending parties often appealed to the charity of their
offended overlords with the hope of having mercy shown to them.”[23] So, Daniel appeals to the mercy of the God
that they’ve offended, though he doesn’t just presume upon it.
In fact, he continues with confession. He takes ownership for the sin while also
seeing that the good news we yearn for can be granted by the Lord. He confesses that they are rebels to the covenant,
and in vv. 10–11, he repeats the charge of disobedience to the law and the
prophets (which he associates with the word of God), and he noting the promised
covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 have poured out on the
people.
This is how God has established his word according to vv.
12–13. He fulfills all His promises,
even the warnings of calamity. Daniel
says that “under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem,” for Yahweh had turned on
His own people and wrecked the city called by His name with amazing
destruction.[24] They still were not true to the Word of God,
but He certainly is!
So, in v. 14, He brings the evil. Another way of translating it is “Yahweh has
watched over the calamity and brought it on us.” Even the bad in the lives of believers is in
God’s sovereign control, which is good because that means nothing is ever
outside of God’s control. His justice
demands this discipline, but He will also ensure it never goes too far.
This is where the appeal for forgiveness comes. As Nehemiah 9:17 says, “They refused to
listen. … But You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to
anger and abounding in lovingkindness; and You did not forsake them.” The same God who judges rebellion is the God
who forgives it.
We see here beloved that true confession is specific to the
sins of the moment, and it recognizes when there should be corporate
responsibility. Daniel did not offer
vague generalities and presume upon God’s grace. Rather, he named the sins and how they
violated the Lord, and he acknowledged that God’s justice was perfect. This is the pattern we must follow, but prayer
doesn’t stop there.
Third, Thank the Lord for Past Grace (v. 15)
And now, O Lord
our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty
hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day — we have sinned, we
have been wicked.
Even in the middle of confession, Daniel remembers God’s
past grace. He recalls the Exodus, where
God demonstrated His redemptive power, and the reputation God gained among the
nations. God’s commanded this of the
people in Deuteronomy 5:15, where He said, “You shall remember that you were a
slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a
mighty hand and by an outstretched arm….”
The same strong hand that delivered them from Pharaoh can deliver them
from Babylon.
Thanksgiving keeps our eyes on God’s past faithfulness and
fuels hope for the future. As
Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” One of the cures to anxiety in our lives is
remembering and thanking God for how He has worked in the past. As such, no prayer should be without
thanksgiving.
Here, we also see something else. We see the concept of redemption linked to
sin. God must forgive the people before
bringing them out of Babylon.[25] Similarly, God can forgive us and bring us
out of the power of sin. We must
remember and be thankful for past acts of God’s grace if we are praying for the
wellbeing of ourselves and others.
We also must be specific in what we request, bringing us to
the final point:
Fourth, Supplicate to the Lord for Present Grace (vv.
16–19)
O Lord, in
accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn
away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and
the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach
to all those around us. So now, our God,
listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your
sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 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 are not presenting our supplications
before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great
compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord,
forgive! O Lord, listen and take action!
For Your own sake, O my God, do not
delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.
Daniel now turns to his petition. Again, Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God.” We
considered the fact that we should pray with thanksgiving, but note that we
should also avoid anxiety by letting God know of our requests. Daniel does just that here.
So, he pleads that the Lord would turn back the judgment
upon them. As the MacArthur Study Bible
notes here, the supplication is three-pronged: “In effect he asked God to bring
back ‘Your city’ (vv. 16, 18), ‘Your sanctuary’ (v. 17), and ‘Your people’ (v.
19). God’s answer embraced all three (v.
24).”[26] The request was to get them back into the
land of promise so they could resume their place within redemptive history.
It’s also worth noting here that Daniel is also careful to
recognize that this is also for God’s own sake.
Part of the problem is that the people have not seen themselves under
the headship of God; they’ve rebelled.
As such, the issue wouldn’t be any different if they only prayed that
God let them go home. So, Daniel bases
his plea on three divine realities in these verses: God’s righteous acts, God’s
reputation, and God’s abundant compassion.
He specifies that this is not “on account of any merits of our own, but
on account of Your great compassion;” Daniel asks for God’s present grace.
This is a passionate prayer.
We get the sense of begging God, especially in vv. 18–19. He asks the Lord to see and hear. As he gets into v. 19, as one study notes, “Daniel’s
prayer reaches its peak with four imperatives asking Yahweh to forgive and take
swift action.”[27] It ends, though, with a humble bowing again
to the sovereignty of God.
It’s worth noting before we close that God does answer Daniel’s
prayer in stages. First, He sends His
angel to give Daniel understanding (vv. 20–23), confirming among other things
that there will be a coming decree “to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” (v.
25). That will be an immediate answer
through Cyrus.
Second, the ultimate answer will come through the Messiah
whose arrival Gabriel would soon announce in the following verses. He is the “Anointed One” who would be cut off
(v. 26) — Jesus Christ. In Him every
covenant promise will find its “yes” (cf. 2 Cor. 1:20). And, because of His finished work, we who were
once far off have been brought near. We
who deserved wrath have received compassion, so the Lord has provided much more
abundantly than Daniel asked!
Conclusion
Let us leave here this evening determined to pray like
Daniel. Let our prayers engage in ACTS:
adore the Lord, confess sins to the Lord, thank the Lord, and seek the Lord for
needed grace. As we do so, may those
prayers be rooted in Scripture and passionate for the glory of God.
May the Lord find us, like Daniel, on our knees in response
to His holy Word and promises.
[1] Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, The New American Commentary,
(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 18:239.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid., 18:240.
[4] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible,
electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1242.
[5] Miller.
[6] Ibid.
[7] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael
S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R.
Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study Bible, (Bellingham, WA:
Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Da 9:2.
[8] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures,
1985, 1, 1359.
[9] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Resolute, “Be” Commentary Series,
(Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2000), 107.
[10] Miller, 18:241–242.
[11] Barry, et. al., Da 9:3.
[12] Miller, 18:244.
[13] Barry, et. al., Da 9:4.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Miller, 18:244–245.
[16] Ibid., 18:245.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Barry, et. al., Da 9:5.
[21] Miller, 18:246.
[22] Barry, et. al., Da 9:8.
[23] Ibid., Da 9:9.
[24] Miller, 18:247.
[25] Barry, et. al., Da 9:15.
[26] MacArthur, 1243.
[27] Barry, et. al., Da 9:19.