Lessons from the book of Daniel
Don’t Just Confess the Sins of Others.
Confess Your Own Sins and Pray for Mercy.
Over and over, Daniel confesses his sin. He is thoroughly identified with God’s people:
…we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commands and ordinances. We have not listened to your servants the prophets.
‘…public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you.
Lord, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
…we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the LORD our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets.
All Israel has broken your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
…we have sinned against him…
…we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth.
…we have not obeyed him.
…we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.
…because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.
‘Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake. Listen closely, my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion. Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name.’
We can learn a lot from Daniel’s prayer. I’ll tell you how I’d like to pray and how I’m sometimes tempted to pray. If I were Daniel I would have wanted to say: “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, please notice that I am one who loves you and obeys your commands. A lot of the people around here have sinned and done wrong; they have been wicked and rebelled. They have turned away from your commandments and laws, and they have not listened to your servants the prophets, including yours truly. They are covered with shame because of their unfaithfulness to you. They are covered with shame because they have sinned against you. They have rebelled. They have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws that He gave us.
“I have kept your laws. In fact, I refused to eat meat period, because I didn’t want to risk eating meat sacrificed to an idol or that might turn out to be pork or crustaceans or something like that. I hope you will notice, God, that I have been very good for a long time. Although these other people have been very wicked and deserving of whatever you send their way, you have my address. Take care of me.”
Perhaps, you’re ten times more spiritual than I am and would never be tempted to pray this way, but I really, really want to pray this way sometimes. When I look around at the sins of other people, I think to myself, “What is the matter with these people? How in the world can they act this way? O God, please be merciful to me as I live among such awful people.”
Daniel walks with God. He seeks to do the right thing. But part of doing the right thing is to allow the Holy Spirit to convict him of his own sin. Don’t just confess the sins of others. Confess your own sins and pray for mercy.
Featured resource:
