WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.940 The Church of Jesus Christ in the western world 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:07.320 has been heralded for its many strengths, but 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:10.480 there is an area of weakness that is of great 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:14.679 concern in the contemporary western church. That 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:20.679 is the weakness of our prayer life. The consequences 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:26.440 of this weakness are all too apparent. Worldliness 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.760 is rampant in the church. There's a compromise 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:33.880 of convictions and accommodation to the fads, 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:37.399 the movements and the lifestyle of the pagans 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:41.840 around us. Prayerlessness also has resulted in 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:46.100 powerlessness. There is in too many of us an 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:50.399 empty profession. Words we have but words which 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:54.679 do not affect our lives in the priorities that 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.310 we make, the choices that we have. And there 00:00:58.310 --> 00:01:01.070 seems to be in altogether too many professing 00:01:01.070 --> 00:01:05.109 Christians a form of godliness without its reality. 00:01:06.950 --> 00:01:09.790 Prayerlessness inevitably results in ungodliness, 00:01:11.049 --> 00:01:13.670 where life is lived essentially independent of 00:01:13.670 --> 00:01:18.329 God, where God is segregated to some appropriate 00:01:18.329 --> 00:01:22.709 place in our lives, while the mainstream of life 00:01:22.709 --> 00:01:25.950 goes on without His personal and meaningful involvement. 00:01:27.769 --> 00:01:31.950 Our study in Daniel chapter 9 begins with a record 00:01:31.950 --> 00:01:35.510 of a written prayer of this man of God who lived 00:01:35.510 --> 00:01:40.890 in a culture not unlike our own. This remarkable 00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:46.010 man who in so many ways gives us an example here 00:01:46.010 --> 00:01:50.069 gives us an example of personal prayer. One that 00:01:50.069 --> 00:01:52.370 ought to humble us and challenge us in our own 00:01:52.370 --> 00:01:56.840 practice of this discipline. Daniel chapter 9 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:03.500 is not a how -to kind of instruction, but it 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:09.120 is a marvelous stimulation, I hope, to our own 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:12.780 practice of prayer. It seems to me that here 00:02:12.780 --> 00:02:15.099 in these early verses of the chapter we enter 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:18.879 into that upper chamber that we studied about 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:22.560 last week in Daniel chapter 6. Where Daniel went 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.699 three times a day to pray with his windows open 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:27.979 toward the West toward the city of Jerusalem 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:31.360 his home You recall that he is living in the 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.759 city of Babylon hundreds of miles to the east 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:38.860 He was carried away as an exile there as a young 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:41.560 teenager about 15 years of age now. He's in his 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:47.360 80s It seems that we enter into that room where 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:51.300 he spends his time with God and we look over 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:54.259 his shoulder. We listen to his words as he kneels 00:02:54.259 --> 00:02:57.939 to pray. Remember that Daniel was alive at a 00:02:57.939 --> 00:03:01.599 very significant time in history. History was 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:05.520 in the making. The most powerful empire in the 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:10.400 known world at that time had just fallen. Babylon. 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:16.599 And Daniel is now one of the leaders in the new 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:20.990 empire. the empire of the Medes and the Persians. 00:03:21.750 --> 00:03:25.110 Daniel knew the significance of the hour in which 00:03:25.110 --> 00:03:28.370 he lived. And as a result of that, he was a man 00:03:28.370 --> 00:03:32.210 who was fervent and effective in prayer. I believe 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:35.550 that our need today is not only to understand 00:03:35.550 --> 00:03:39.370 the times we're living in, but it is to be a 00:03:39.370 --> 00:03:43.949 people of effective prayer as God sovereignly 00:03:43.949 --> 00:03:49.319 turns the pages of human history. And end time 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:55.319 events are on the horizon. Daniel begins by giving 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:57.800 us some historical background of his situation. 00:03:57.979 --> 00:04:01.379 He says, in the first year of Darius, the son 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:04.939 of Ahasuerus of Median descent, who was made 00:04:04.939 --> 00:04:08.960 king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans. And so 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:15.129 we know that this was 539 -538 BC. During that 00:04:15.129 --> 00:04:18.230 first year, the Darius reigned over the new empire. 00:04:18.430 --> 00:04:21.430 Darius, you remember, is a title that means a 00:04:21.430 --> 00:04:25.610 royal one. Darius was probably the person named 00:04:25.610 --> 00:04:29.930 Guberu, who was a Median general under Cyrus, 00:04:30.870 --> 00:04:36.069 the king of the Medes and the Persians. Because 00:04:36.069 --> 00:04:38.750 Cyrus needed to have somebody in charge over 00:04:38.750 --> 00:04:41.430 this newly conquered territory of Babylon, he 00:04:41.430 --> 00:04:46.879 established Darius Guberu as his viceroy, his 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:52.019 personal representative. During this time, Daniel's 00:04:52.019 --> 00:04:57.740 thoughts were focused on God's word as he served 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:01.439 Darius in a very highly respected office. Indeed, 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:05.259 something similar to a vice presidency of the 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:09.800 empire. In the midst of his busy schedule, Daniel's 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:13.139 thoughts were not focused primarily upon his 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:16.000 responsibilities as one of the commissioners 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.759 of the land. But Daniel's thoughts were consumed 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:23.720 with the Word of God. Now there is particular 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.399 reason for that as he explains in verse 2. In 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:29.819 the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed 00:05:29.819 --> 00:05:33.220 in the books the number of the years which was 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:36.339 revealed as the Word of the Lord to Jeremiah 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:40.069 the prophet. for the completion of the desolations 00:05:40.069 --> 00:05:46.069 of Jerusalem, namely 70 years. And so he tells 00:05:46.069 --> 00:05:49.970 us that as he was studying the Word of God, particularly 00:05:49.970 --> 00:05:52.569 the writings of the prophet Jeremiah, he came 00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:55.810 to some portions of Scripture that spoke to the 00:05:55.810 --> 00:05:59.069 present condition of the Jews, that is their 00:05:59.069 --> 00:06:02.930 captivity by Babylon. Let's turn to the book 00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:05.550 of Jeremiah and look at one of the passages that 00:06:05.550 --> 00:06:12.600 Daniel was meditating upon as he lived in this 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:17.139 first year of Darius and his reign over the Medes 00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:27.680 and the Persians. Jeremiah chapter 25, let's 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:33.980 look in verse 8. Remember these words were penned 00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:40.410 a number of years before 539 BC. Jeremiah was 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:44.529 probably killed about 40 years before this. And 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:46.810 so these words are written before that and indeed 00:06:46.810 --> 00:06:49.910 before the time that the Jews were actually carried 00:06:49.910 --> 00:06:53.870 into Babylon. He says in verse 8 of Jeremiah 00:06:53.870 --> 00:06:56.889 25, Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, because 00:06:56.889 --> 00:07:01.269 you have not obeyed my words, behold I will send 00:07:01.269 --> 00:07:03.649 and take all the families of the north, declares 00:07:03.649 --> 00:07:06.680 the Lord, and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar, 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:11.399 king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:13.720 against this land and against its inhabitants 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:16.060 and against all these nations round about, and 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:19.279 I will utterly destroy them and make a horror 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:21.939 and a hissing and an everlasting desolation. 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:25.480 Moreover, I will take from them the voice of 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:29.040 joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:31.720 bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:34.199 of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.579 God essentially says here, I am going to turn 00:07:37.579 --> 00:07:42.740 out the light among my people. And this whole 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:45.819 land shall be a desolation and a horror, and 00:07:45.819 --> 00:07:48.740 these nations shall serve the King of Babylon 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:53.660 seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years 00:07:53.660 --> 00:07:56.600 are completed, I will punish the King of Babylon 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:00.000 and that nation, declares the Lord, for their 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:01.959 iniquity in the land of the Chaldeans, and I 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:05.149 will make it an everlasting desolation. And I 00:08:05.149 --> 00:08:07.810 will bring upon that land all my words which 00:08:07.810 --> 00:08:12.589 I have pronounced against it." And so God foretells 00:08:12.589 --> 00:08:15.069 through Jeremiah that the people of Israel will 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:19.870 be captive to Babylon for 70 years. And when 00:08:19.870 --> 00:08:23.050 the 70 years are up, God will then judge Babylon 00:08:23.050 --> 00:08:27.569 and will release the Jews from their captivity. 00:08:30.170 --> 00:08:32.389 Well now Daniel is living in the day when Babylon 00:08:32.389 --> 00:08:36.440 has been judged. The king of Babylon has been 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:41.039 killed. Belshazzar was killed. And now he is 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.159 living in the times of the Medes and the Persians, 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:46.700 and there is a man named Cyrus who is reigning. 00:08:47.779 --> 00:08:50.100 Undoubtedly, Daniel was aware of what Isaiah 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:53.840 the prophet had written as well in the 44th and 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:58.460 45th chapters of his book, when he named Cyrus 00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:03.519 150 years before he was born. to be the one who 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:06.559 would come and grant that the Jews go back to 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.779 their homeland. Daniel was aware of all of this. 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:14.000 The Word of God was filling his mind and it caused 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.580 him to pray. Now as we go back to the book of 00:09:17.580 --> 00:09:20.980 Daniel, let's see how this man of God prayed 00:09:20.980 --> 00:09:24.879 as we see his prayerful response to what the 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:29.820 Word of God has been teaching him. Verse 3, So 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:33.340 I gave my attention to the Lord, the Lord God, 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.320 to seek him by prayer and supplications, with 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:39.940 fasting, sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed to 00:09:39.940 --> 00:09:43.460 the Lord my God, and confessed, and said, Alas, 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:48.240 O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:50.960 his covenant and lovingkindness for those who 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:56.039 love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned. 00:09:56.330 --> 00:10:01.470 committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, 00:10:01.809 --> 00:10:04.970 even turning aside from thy commandments and 00:10:04.970 --> 00:10:08.570 ordinances. And so in his response, as he begins 00:10:08.570 --> 00:10:14.789 to pray, Daniel first adores God. He says, oh 00:10:14.789 --> 00:10:18.009 God, you are the covenant -keeping God. And for 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:20.769 the first time in his book, he now employs that 00:10:20.769 --> 00:10:26.080 special covenant name of God, Yahweh. The name 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:30.480 the Jews would not pronounce. It is signified 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.919 in our English translations by all four letters, 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:37.679 L -O -R -D being capitalized. To this point he 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:41.779 has used the name Elohim, or Adonai. But now 00:10:41.779 --> 00:10:47.039 he brings in the special name of God. The name 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:50.559 that says, I will keep my covenant with my people. 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:55.309 The Lord, Yahweh. And he prays to this one. He 00:10:55.309 --> 00:10:59.789 adores him. He blesses God that he is long -suffering, 00:11:00.210 --> 00:11:04.289 that he is loving in his kindness, that he keeps 00:11:04.289 --> 00:11:09.850 covenant. By the way, the only basis for prayer 00:11:09.850 --> 00:11:14.750 is the faithfulness of God. The loving kindness 00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:18.190 of God. The fact that God keeps his covenant 00:11:18.190 --> 00:11:22.860 when he gives his word. And Daniel begins by 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:27.000 adoring God for that attribute about himself. 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:30.580 But then he proceeds immediately with confession. 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:36.659 And he says, oh God, we have sinned. And he uses 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:43.460 four terms in verse 5 to try to express the feelings 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:45.720 in his heart about the way the people of Israel 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:49.379 have acted toward the Lord. He says we've sinned. 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:52.360 That is, we've missed the mark. We have wandered 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:56.720 from the path that you've laid out for us. He 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:00.820 goes on to say we have committed iniquity. That 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:03.679 is, we have engaged in conduct that is crooked 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:09.320 and distorted in your eyes. He says we have acted 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:14.019 wickedly. In other words, we have carried out 00:12:14.019 --> 00:12:18.450 premeditated evil. We knew what we were doing 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:23.529 and we carried out wickedness in your sight and 00:12:23.529 --> 00:12:29.289 furthermore he says We have rebelled the idea 00:12:29.289 --> 00:12:38.750 is we have defied your authority We have defied 00:12:38.750 --> 00:12:42.529 your authority we have revolted we have rebelled 00:12:42.529 --> 00:12:47.279 against you Now, having explained how he has 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:51.100 sinned, he explains further by saying, look in 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:55.740 verse 6, moreover, we have not listened to thy 00:12:55.740 --> 00:12:58.960 servants the prophets who spoke in thy name to 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:02.399 our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:05.639 the people of the land. Notice what he says, 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:09.879 we have failed to listen to the word of God. 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:15.549 Lord, we have ignored your word and we have turned 00:13:15.549 --> 00:13:20.570 against those who have spoken it to us. We have 00:13:20.570 --> 00:13:23.590 sinned by succumbing to the idolatry of the nations 00:13:23.590 --> 00:13:27.850 around us. Instead of being your people in the 00:13:27.850 --> 00:13:33.370 midst of a polytheistic pagan world, instead 00:13:33.370 --> 00:13:36.029 of being faithful to the covenant that you have 00:13:36.029 --> 00:13:40.889 given to us, we instead have become like them. 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:47.460 We have become idolaters, he says. We have become 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:51.139 immoral like the nations. We have accommodated 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.720 ourselves. We have compromised what you have 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:59.039 intended for us to be in the world. And so he 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:03.139 very openly and transparently confesses and acknowledges 00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:08.299 the sins of his people. Therefore they richly 00:14:08.299 --> 00:14:11.679 deserve, says Daniel. the judgment that God brought 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.860 upon them. The terrible loss that was theirs 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:19.000 in the captivity when they lost not only their 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:21.679 nation, but they lost the temple with all of 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:25.580 its instruments, that vessels that had been set 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:28.639 aside for the service of God. They lost their 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:32.179 priests. They lost their families. They lost 00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:34.659 their material possessions. They lost their freedom. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.730 They lost everything. And Daniel says in essence 00:14:38.730 --> 00:14:42.929 here, God, we deserved it. And the judgment that 00:14:42.929 --> 00:14:45.490 you have brought upon us, we richly deserved 00:14:45.490 --> 00:14:51.389 because we have sinned in your sight. He acknowledges 00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:55.009 now in verses 7 through 14 the shame of the people. 00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:58.710 There is a line of teaching that is going out 00:14:58.710 --> 00:15:01.250 these days that says that the people of God should 00:15:01.250 --> 00:15:04.389 never be ashamed of anything. That it's wrong 00:15:04.389 --> 00:15:08.169 to shame. Well, I want you to know that God doesn't 00:15:08.169 --> 00:15:12.669 agree with that. There is a time for even the 00:15:12.669 --> 00:15:17.690 people of God to know shame. And Daniel acknowledges 00:15:17.690 --> 00:15:21.129 here, righteousness belongs to thee, O Lord, 00:15:21.190 --> 00:15:28.009 but to us open shame as it is this day. He says 00:15:28.009 --> 00:15:31.250 in verse 8, open shame belongs to us, O Lord, 00:15:31.289 --> 00:15:33.889 to our kings, princes, our fathers, because we 00:15:33.889 --> 00:15:38.700 have sinned. against thee." You see, God had 00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:41.320 promised His people material blessings. He had 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:45.360 promised them military victories. He had promised 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:52.860 to them national greatness if they remained faithful 00:15:52.860 --> 00:15:55.779 to the covenant that God had established with 00:15:55.779 --> 00:16:01.179 them, but they hadn't been faithful. And now 00:16:01.179 --> 00:16:04.120 instead of knowing greatness and prosperity and 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:10.779 blessing, they knew humiliation and shame. And 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:13.500 when their name was spoken, it was with a hissing 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:19.519 sound, the sound of despite. People laughed at 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.600 them and mocked them as the people of Yahweh, 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:25.960 because look what their God had done to them. 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:33.830 They were ashamed because of their sin. It's 00:16:33.830 --> 00:16:35.889 interesting that Daniel did not place the blame 00:16:35.889 --> 00:16:41.429 upon God for what they had experienced. Daniel 00:16:41.429 --> 00:16:44.149 here fully accepts the responsibility for the 00:16:44.149 --> 00:16:49.190 tragedies that had come upon them. He acknowledges 00:16:49.190 --> 00:16:53.350 that it was the chastening hand of the Lord which 00:16:53.350 --> 00:17:03.710 they deserved. He says in verse 9, Nor have we 00:17:03.710 --> 00:17:06.029 obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk 00:17:06.029 --> 00:17:08.190 in his teachings which he set before us through 00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:11.430 his servants the prophets Indeed all Israel's 00:17:11.430 --> 00:17:14.029 transgressed thy law and turned aside not obeying 00:17:14.029 --> 00:17:17.509 thy voice So the curse has been poured out on 00:17:17.509 --> 00:17:20.450 us Along with the oath which is written in the 00:17:20.450 --> 00:17:23.869 law of Moses the servant of God for we have sinned 00:17:23.869 --> 00:17:27.410 against him Daniel seems to go back here to the 00:17:27.410 --> 00:17:30.569 book of Leviticus back to the book of Deuteronomy 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:35.480 And he brings forth in his prayer the fact that 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:38.259 God promised blessing when the people obeyed 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:41.579 and God promised curses when the people disobeyed. 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:43.839 And it was a covenant which the people gladly 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:46.000 accepted and they said, we will abide by the 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:50.059 terms of this covenant. And now they have disobeyed 00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:53.619 and the curses of God have come upon them. And 00:17:53.619 --> 00:17:55.940 Daniel does not point back at God and say, God, 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:59.579 why are you doing this to us? He says, God, this 00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:05.980 is exactly. What we deserve This is what you 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:10.960 said would happen to us if we disobeyed How often 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:16.240 the natural man blames God for tragedies Blames 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:21.579 God for disasters Unwilling to acknowledge the 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:25.240 fact that evil consequences exist in the world 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:28.559 Because of the evils of man's heart and the evils 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:35.490 of man's deeds We cannot blame the consequences 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:40.230 of sin upon God God warns us in advance sin results 00:18:40.230 --> 00:18:45.130 in this When we sin and get this we cannot look 00:18:45.130 --> 00:18:49.210 back at God and say it's your fault We have to 00:18:49.210 --> 00:18:52.690 acknowledge God we deserve what we're experiencing 00:18:57.420 --> 00:19:00.259 He goes on to say in verse 12, thus he has confirmed 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:02.599 his words which he had spoken against us and 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:05.500 against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:08.440 us great calamity. For under the whole heaven 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.200 there has not been done anything like what was 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:14.200 done to Jerusalem. I'd like you to turn back 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:16.559 for just a moment to the book of Second Chronicles. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:20.500 And look at the seventh chapter of the book of 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:25.079 Second Chronicles where we have a record of a 00:19:25.079 --> 00:19:29.279 conversation between God and Solomon. Solomon, 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:32.180 the great son of David, as you recall, built 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:36.420 the temple in Jerusalem. The temple that now, 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:39.059 in Daniel's day, has been ransacked and left 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:45.420 in ruins. When Solomon built it, it was a temple 00:19:45.420 --> 00:19:49.000 that was glorious. And God's glory came down 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:51.619 and filled the place, and sacrifices were offered 00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:54.730 to the Lord. And Solomon prayed to the Lord. 00:19:55.609 --> 00:19:58.910 Now in 2 Chronicles chapter 7 verse 12, the Lord 00:19:58.910 --> 00:20:02.130 appears to Solomon at night and said to him, 00:20:03.890 --> 00:20:07.089 I have heard your prayer and have chosen this 00:20:07.089 --> 00:20:11.190 place for myself as a house of sacrifice. If 00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:13.849 I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, 00:20:13.930 --> 00:20:17.250 or if I command the locusts to devour the land, 00:20:17.269 --> 00:20:21.190 or if I send pestilence among my people, All 00:20:21.190 --> 00:20:24.450 of these things were things that Solomon said, 00:20:24.509 --> 00:20:28.309 God do this if we get away from you. Send us 00:20:28.309 --> 00:20:32.009 pestilence, send us locusts. Shut up the heavens 00:20:32.009 --> 00:20:34.650 that there be no rain if your people disobey 00:20:34.650 --> 00:20:39.250 you. So God says, now if I do these things, and 00:20:39.250 --> 00:20:42.970 my people who are called by my name humble themselves 00:20:42.970 --> 00:20:47.049 and pray, and seek my face and turn from their 00:20:47.049 --> 00:20:51.759 wicked ways, then will I hear. from heaven, and 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:55.019 will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:58.700 Now my eyes shall be open and my ears attentive 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:01.859 to the prayer offered in this place. Now I have 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:04.359 chosen and consecrated this house that my name 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:07.119 may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:09.680 be there perpetually. And as for you, if you 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:12.700 walk before me as your father David walked, even 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:14.559 to do according to all that I have commanded, 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.799 you will keep my statutes and my ordinances, 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:22.000 then I will establish your royal throne as I 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.839 coveted with your father David. But, verse 19, 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:30.180 if you turn away and forsake my statutes and 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:32.599 my commandments, which I have set before you, 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:35.660 and shall go and serve other gods and worship 00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:39.579 them, then will I uproot you from the land, my 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:42.259 land, which I have given you. And this house 00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:45.380 which I have consecrated for my name I will cast 00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:48.609 out of my sight. And I will make it a proverb 00:21:48.609 --> 00:21:53.549 and a byword among all the nations. And as for 00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:56.009 this house which was exalted, everyone who passes 00:21:56.009 --> 00:21:58.329 by it will be astonished and say, why has the 00:21:58.329 --> 00:22:01.369 Lord done this to this land and to this house? 00:22:01.390 --> 00:22:04.849 And they will say, because they forsook the Lord, 00:22:05.630 --> 00:22:08.369 the God of their fathers, who brought them from 00:22:08.369 --> 00:22:11.250 the land of Egypt. And they adopted other gods 00:22:11.250 --> 00:22:13.450 and worshiped them and served them. Therefore, 00:22:13.950 --> 00:22:18.130 he has brought all this adversity on them. Another 00:22:18.130 --> 00:22:21.049 statement of what God ahead of time told his 00:22:21.049 --> 00:22:25.849 people. If you obey me, there is blessing. If 00:22:25.849 --> 00:22:30.190 you disobey me and forsake me, I will judge you. 00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:35.809 Daniel now has experienced that judgment. He 00:22:35.809 --> 00:22:39.829 has lived through the whole 70 years. And the 00:22:39.829 --> 00:22:43.250 time has come for his people to be restored. 00:22:44.190 --> 00:22:47.950 Daniel knows what year it is. He knows that the 00:22:47.950 --> 00:22:50.609 time is nearly up, that almost 70 years have 00:22:50.609 --> 00:22:54.029 been completed, and so he appeals to God as he 00:22:54.029 --> 00:22:57.890 concludes his prayer. He appeals to God for pity. 00:22:59.190 --> 00:23:01.849 He says, now, O Lord our God, who has brought 00:23:01.849 --> 00:23:04.589 thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty 00:23:04.589 --> 00:23:08.170 hand and has made a name for thyself as it is 00:23:08.170 --> 00:23:10.609 this day, we have sinned, we have been wicked, 00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:14.170 O Lord, in accordance with all thy righteous 00:23:14.170 --> 00:23:18.369 acts. Let now thine anger and thy wrath turn 00:23:18.369 --> 00:23:22.609 away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain. 00:23:23.650 --> 00:23:26.029 Because of our sins, the iniquities of our fathers, 00:23:26.190 --> 00:23:28.490 Jerusalem and thy people have become a reproach 00:23:28.490 --> 00:23:31.789 to all those around us. So now, our God, listen. 00:23:32.049 --> 00:23:34.289 Listen to the prayer of thy servant and do us 00:23:34.289 --> 00:23:38.150 supplications for thy sake, O Lord. Let thy face 00:23:38.150 --> 00:23:43.329 shine on thy desolate sanctuary. O my God! Incline 00:23:43.329 --> 00:23:47.769 thine ear and hear. Open thine eyes and see our 00:23:47.769 --> 00:23:51.609 desolations and the city which is called by thy 00:23:51.609 --> 00:23:55.589 name. For we are not presenting our supplications 00:23:55.589 --> 00:23:59.009 before thee on account of any merits of our own, 00:23:59.470 --> 00:24:02.789 but on account of thy great compassion. O Lord, 00:24:03.349 --> 00:24:09.730 hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and take 00:24:09.730 --> 00:24:14.339 action. For thine own sake, O my God, do not 00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:20.259 delay, because thy city and thy people are called 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:25.559 by thy name." Notice how he phrases this. He 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:28.359 says, God, it's not because of anything on our 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:31.099 account. It's not because of merit on our behalf. 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:36.599 But, O Lord, because of thy name, because that's 00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:39.910 city Jerusalem over there. because these people 00:24:39.910 --> 00:24:42.849 who are in captivity are called by thy name. 00:24:43.410 --> 00:24:48.650 O Lord, for thy sake, listen, hear, and turn 00:24:48.650 --> 00:24:56.109 away your anger. Restore your people. What an 00:24:56.109 --> 00:25:02.710 emotional appeal he makes. To allow a permanent 00:25:02.710 --> 00:25:07.250 dislocation of the people would bring reproach 00:25:07.250 --> 00:25:11.539 to the Lord. The pagans would conclude that their 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:15.000 God was incapable of delivering them. They would 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:18.839 never believe in the God named Yahweh, the God 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:26.079 of the Jews. So he appeals to God for pity. We're 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:28.539 going to see how God responded to Daniel next 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:32.599 week as we turn to one of the most interesting, 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:41.349 complex, and I would dare say, relevant prophecies 00:25:41.349 --> 00:25:46.470 in the book of Daniel. Daniel's intimacy with 00:25:46.470 --> 00:25:52.009 God allowed him to understand the times. You 00:25:52.009 --> 00:25:56.109 see, he was in the Word. He knew the meaning 00:25:56.109 --> 00:26:01.430 of the fall of Babylon. He knew what Cyrus being 00:26:01.430 --> 00:26:04.349 on the throne of the Medes and the Persians signified. 00:26:04.730 --> 00:26:08.759 He understood the times. And because he understood 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:14.119 the times, he was a man of prayer. I want to 00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:16.119 say to you in conclusion today that our need 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:18.839 is not merely to understand the times. That's 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:23.619 important. What is happening in our world today? 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:28.119 You and I are living in historical times. As 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:31.880 we see Europe in the Middle East in a turmoil 00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:35.759 unlike it has ever been in, in thousands of years. 00:26:37.059 --> 00:26:41.720 As nations are positioning themselves anew, I 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:43.700 think what we're going to see when all of this 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:47.299 is done, positioning that will lead directly 00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:52.079 to the tribulation and the rise of the Western 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:56.160 Confederation of Nations and Antichrist and the 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:58.480 things that the Bible prophesies to happen in 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:00.980 the last days. We are living in historic times 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:04.690 and we need to be in the Word of God. so that 00:27:04.690 --> 00:27:06.650 we understand the times we're living in. But 00:27:06.650 --> 00:27:11.990 we need more than that. We need to be men and 00:27:11.990 --> 00:27:16.930 women of prayer. We need God to pour upon us 00:27:16.930 --> 00:27:22.029 the Spirit of prayer and supplication. In Daniel's 00:27:22.029 --> 00:27:25.369 prayer life, he was disciplined. It says that 00:27:25.369 --> 00:27:29.190 he gave attention to the Lord. In his prayer 00:27:29.190 --> 00:27:32.910 life, he was fervent. He supplicated with God. 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:37.440 It was not, now I lay me down to sleep, I pray 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:40.680 the Lord my soul to keep, kind of praying with 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:45.779 Daniel. He opened his heart to God and he prayed 00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:49.400 with a fervency and an intensity that is lacking 00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:53.359 in our western church and its prayer life. When 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:56.579 he prayed, he prayed with humility, with sackcloth 00:27:56.579 --> 00:27:59.779 and ashes, not the clothing of the vice president 00:27:59.779 --> 00:28:04.019 of Medo -Persia. but with sackcloth, ashes upon 00:28:04.019 --> 00:28:08.140 his head. He was not demanding of God like those 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:10.240 who tell us that we're to name it and claim it 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:14.180 today and make God nothing more than the servant 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:18.380 boy of Christians. Daniel understood that that 00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:21.799 is a false idea of prayer and of God. He humbled 00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:25.740 himself before the great God, the God of his 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:29.539 people. And as he prayed, he prayed with a big 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:34.190 picture. Daniel didn't pray that his comforts 00:28:34.190 --> 00:28:37.569 would come through. He didn't pray for his own 00:28:37.569 --> 00:28:41.029 safety. He didn't ask for his own personal desires. 00:28:41.109 --> 00:28:43.809 Do you notice that? There is a time for that 00:28:43.809 --> 00:28:47.049 kind of praying, I know. But what we need today 00:28:47.049 --> 00:28:49.349 are people who understand the times and know 00:28:49.349 --> 00:28:54.609 how to pray with a big picture in view. Daniel 00:28:54.609 --> 00:28:58.210 goes back to history. He prays regarding what's 00:28:58.210 --> 00:29:00.819 happened among his people. He prays regarding 00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:04.160 what needs to happen among them. Daniel prays 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:09.359 with a big picture. Does that describe your prayer 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:20.519 life? Disciplined? Intense? Humble? Big picture 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:31.099 praying? Or do words like routine? dull, without 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:38.259 zest, even non -existent. Describe your prayer 00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:44.279 life. Chuck Swindoll said, Daniel's example shows 00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:48.559 us that the saint who advances on his knees will 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:54.359 never have to retreat. Daniel was a man of prayer. 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:58.960 It is the praying person who makes the greatest 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:03.579 impact in the world. The praying person. Not 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:07.940 the rich. Not the one who holds the office. Not 00:30:07.940 --> 00:30:12.759 the powerful. Not the famous. But it is the praying 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:17.819 person who prays like Daniel prayed. D .L. Moody 00:30:17.819 --> 00:30:21.460 said, those who have left the deepest impression 00:30:21.460 --> 00:30:25.660 on this sin -cursed earth have been men and women 00:30:25.660 --> 00:30:31.380 of prayer. The first sign of true spiritual life 00:30:31.380 --> 00:30:35.660 is prayer. And it's also the means of maintaining 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:39.920 spiritual life. Man can as well live physically 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:44.019 without breathing as spiritually without praying. 00:30:46.019 --> 00:30:48.880 But I want to call upon you to be today, whether 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:53.700 you're a teenager or you're a grandparent. Whether 00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:58.119 you're married with kids or you're single. I 00:30:58.119 --> 00:31:02.039 want to call upon you to be a Daniel in your 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:06.480 prayer life. I want to call upon you to join 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:11.400 the core of Daniels who would be in time prayers, 00:31:12.420 --> 00:31:14.920 who would know the significance of this hour, 00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:18.839 and would be able to get on his or her knees 00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:25.480 before God and cry out to Him. But I fear that 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:29.630 too many of us rather than being fervent in prayer, 00:31:31.650 --> 00:31:37.549 are just busy and stressed out and running here 00:31:37.549 --> 00:31:42.109 and there, socializing a lot with each other. 00:31:43.450 --> 00:31:46.130 We're more aware of the TV schedule than we are 00:31:46.130 --> 00:31:50.910 of the times in which we live. We know more about 00:31:50.910 --> 00:31:53.269 the latest movies that are being offered out 00:31:53.269 --> 00:31:55.430 there than we do about what the Word of God says 00:31:55.430 --> 00:32:00.680 about the days of the end times. We're making 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:04.279 more and more money. We're buying more and more 00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:09.240 things and all the time we are accommodating 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:13.279 the culture compromising to be like the world 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:17.940 which is going to hell and which is passing away 00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:25.400 and the need of the hour is for Daniels. I urge 00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:29.319 you to become a Daniel. To become a man, a woman 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:35.599 of the Word. To turn aside from goals that are 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:38.940 merely for this life, as good as some of those 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:42.480 goals can be. And to set your priorities rather 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:46.019 upon the things of eternity in your prayer life. 00:32:46.779 --> 00:32:49.839 To become a person who grasps the significance 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:55.309 of the hour and who will humble himself. and 00:32:55.309 --> 00:33:00.190 pray and seek the face of God and turn from His 00:33:00.190 --> 00:33:06.430 wicked ways that God may do the work in His people 00:33:06.430 --> 00:33:10.289 that He needs to do. Would you bow with me please? 00:33:16.390 --> 00:33:20.089 This is a message this morning that Satan did 00:33:20.089 --> 00:33:23.250 not want you to hear. I hope you've heard it. 00:33:26.930 --> 00:33:29.009 I hope that despite the fact that you may not 00:33:29.009 --> 00:33:31.230 have got as much sleep last night that you would 00:33:31.230 --> 00:33:36.069 like to have gotten, or that maybe your morning 00:33:36.069 --> 00:33:38.650 hasn't gone as smoothly as you hoped it would, 00:33:40.049 --> 00:33:42.170 that nonetheless the Spirit of God has arrested 00:33:42.170 --> 00:33:46.470 your attention for this hour, that you are challenged 00:33:46.470 --> 00:33:54.390 to be a Daniel in your prayer life. Will you? 00:33:55.660 --> 00:33:59.059 Will you determine to discipline yourself to 00:33:59.059 --> 00:34:02.819 be in the Word? For it's the Word of God that 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:10.119 tells us how to pray. Will you discipline yourself 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:17.820 to be a woman of prayer? A man of prayer? Will 00:34:17.820 --> 00:34:22.260 you pray with fervency? Will you pray with humility? 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:27.719 Will you pray with the big picture in mind and 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:34.179 ask God to awaken His church in this hour? Oh 00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:45.000 Lord, we are a sinful people. We have grown so 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:50.699 accustomed to the world around us with its ungodliness, 00:34:51.159 --> 00:34:56.420 its wickedness. It's perversion that our hearts 00:34:56.420 --> 00:35:03.780 have grown insensitive to you. And we have substituted 00:35:03.780 --> 00:35:07.980 being busy, even busy in church things, in fellowship, 00:35:09.139 --> 00:35:11.380 in doing good things that we have forgotten the 00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:15.559 most important, to be a people of the book, to 00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:23.139 be a people of prayer. Forgive us. and heal us. 00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:30.239 Oh Lord, restore us. Be merciful, be patient, 00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:36.019 and bring to us as a people the people of Grace 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:40.760 Church. Bring to us a new commitment to prayer. 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:47.679 To be like Daniel in our hour as you are making 00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:55.260 history in the world. In Jesus' name we pray.