813_The right response to prophecy (Daniel 9)
Daniel 9:20-23 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.
Imagine you are going through a terrible crisis in your life. One day you get a letter from someone you trust. It assures you that help is on the way and that a new beginning is possible. How would you respond? Would you simply put the letter aside and wait for everything to happen, or would its message change the way you live and prepare for the future?
This was Daniel’s case. He was living in exile in Babylon, far from Jerusalem, the city he loved. The Temple lay in ruins, and the people of Judah were scattered among the nations. Yet Daniel had not forgotten God’s promises. As he read the prophecies of Jeremiah, who foretold the fall of Jerusalem and lived through those terrible days, Daniel discovered that the time of exile had been specified. After 70 years it would end. This period was drawing to a close.
His response to this knowledge shows us the purpose of prophecy. It is not merely to understand more about the future, but to partner with him in the present.
Daniel 9 begins with the prophecy of Jeremiah 29:10–14, where God promised to visit His people, fulfil His word, and bring them back to their land. He also called them to call upon Him, pray to Him, and seek Him with all their hearts. For, he promised, they would find Him when they sought Him wholeheartedly.
Notice the connection between the promise and the invitation. God declared that the exile would end, and therefore He called His people to seek Him. Daniel did not treat the prophecy as a piece of interesting information. It moved him to earnest prayer, with pleas for mercy, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes, as Daniel 9:3 describes.
A proper understanding of God’s promises would not make us passive. We would be driven to prayer that God’s promises be fulfilled through our repentance and returning to his ways. Daniel did not think, “God has promised to restore Jerusalem, so there is nothing for me to do.” He realized that the promise would be fulfilled in response to faith and repentance – which was his responsibility.
We may be fascinated by prophetic timelines, the identity of future rulers, or the sequence of events leading to the end. We may spend considerable time discussing what will happen. The problem is that we give little attention to fulfilling God’s plans for us today.
Prophecy is not given merely to satisfy our curiosity. It is meant to demonstrate God’s faithful love, awaken our faith, and provide hope, so that we will be moved to obey him. The promise of our Lord’s return is given to encourage us to live in readiness for his coming. The promise that God’s kingdom will prevail is meant to stir us up to seek his kingdom now.
Daniel’s prayer focuses not only on the promise of restoration, therefore, but on the sins that had brought disaster on his people. He did not distance himself from the failures of his people. He did not say, “Lord, look at what they have done.” He identified with his people, confessing, “We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules” (Daniel 9:5).
Daniel was a man who lived faithfully before God. Despite his own blamelessness, he acknowledged, “To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame.” He recognized that the calamity that had come upon his people was because of God’s righteous judgment. It was because they had rejected his word, his prophets, and his commandments.
Genuine intercession begins with humility. It is easy to criticize the failures of others, whether in the church, our nation, or our community. We can readily identify the sins of leaders and the spiritual weaknesses of others. Yet we need to come before God without a sense of superiority, as Daniel did. When we pray for the renewal of our families, churches, or communities, let us search our own hearts as well.
Daniel recognized that the people did not turn to God even after experiencing punishment. Verse 13 describes his words: “Yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.”
There is a difference between regretting the consequences of sin and truly repenting of it. We may be distressed by the suffering brought on us by our choices, yet still resist acknowledging that our ways were wicked. Genuine repentance involves realizing that we have done wrong, turning away from it, and turning back to God. Daniel understood clearly that what the people needed most of all was not the restoration of Jerusalem, but the restoration of their relationship with the Lord.
Daniel never claimed that the people did not deserve to suffer as they did. He did not plead their innocence. All he could do was appeal to the mercy of God. As Daniel 9:18 puts it, “We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”
This is the sure foundation for the prayer of restoration. We can come before God, not because we are righteous, but because he is, and he does not lie. We confess our sins, not because we have earned His favour, but because He is merciful. We seek forgiveness because He is gracious. He will not deny his own heart. He will not belie his own name. Thus Daniel pleaded, verse 19, “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
Daniel thought, not just about the suffering of his people, but how that reflected on the name of God before the nations. Jerusalem was God’s city, and Israel was the people called by His name. Daniel longed for their restoration so that God’s faithfulness would be seen. The prayer of the righteous goes beyond the desire for things to go right in our personal lives and our circumstances. Its keynote is, “Hallowed be your name.” This is the prayer that underpins every family, every church, every ministry, every life that is moved by the love of God. Is it ours?
While Daniel was praying and confessing, God sent Gabriel to him. Daniel 9:22–23 tells us that Gabriel had come to give him insight and understanding. Daniel had begun by praying for the restoration of his people. In answer, he received a vast revelation concerning the future of Jerusalem, the coming of an anointed one, and the events that would follow.
Daniel 9:24–27, with its prophecy of seventy weeks, is one of the most discussed passages in Scripture. Christians differ in their interpretation of the chronology of the events described. Yet it reminds us that God reigns sovereign over history. The exile, the restoration, and the future of Jerusalem were all within God’s knowledge and plan.
Daniel’s prayer did not earn nor force God’s revelation. Rather, Daniel responded to God’s promises with zeal and humility. This led to greater revelation of God’s final purposes. What encouragement this brings us! The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him. When we search scripture in order to know the Lord, and to understand the hope of his calling, he opens the eyes of our understanding. We do not expect new revelations about the end of the world. Yet we can trust God to guide us and teach us to walk faithfully before him, if we rely on his word alone.
Let us reflect on our responses to God’s promises and plans, which he has recorded for our sakes in his word. Following Daniel’s example, let God’s Word move us to prayer rather than speculation. Let our reading culminate in humbling ourselves before the Lord rather than criticizing others. Let us fall upon his mercy rather than resting on our own merit. Let us seek the honour of his name over our personal interests.
We may not understand every detail of prophecy, but the truth we have received is more than sufficient to trust God, obey Him, and seek to know him better. When His Word exposes our failures, let us repent without delay. When we see the needs of our families, churches, and communities, let us intercede with humility. And when we consider His promises, let us live with renewed hope and faithfulness.
The right response to prophecy is not simply to understand what God has promised. Like Daniel, let us seek His face, align our lives with His will, and live so that His name is glorified. God bless.
Take a few moments to reflect on these questions
What does Daniel’s response to Jeremiah’s prophecy teach us about the relationship between understanding God’s promises and seeking Him in prayer?
Why is it important to confess our own sins and appeal to God’s mercy rather than focus only on the failures of others when we pray for our families, churches, and communities?
How can the promises of God about His future purposes shape the way you pray, live, and serve Him in your present circumstances?
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching us to come to you in response to your promises. We pray with earnestness, with sincere repentance, and with unwavering trust in Your mercy. We confess our sins, and we seek Your glory above our personal interests. Strengthen us to seek you with all our hearts as we hope in your promises. We want to follow you with our lives, and bring honour to your name. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen
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