Daniel’s Prayer of Repentance

There is a way of looking at the world which says that life is hard, but everything happens for a reason. We have to learn to trust in the divine plan, strengthen our resolve to be good people, and to endure hardships. It is a way of looking at the world that emerged from the Ancient Mediterranean World and endures to this day. It probably sounds familiar, but it is not Christianity. It is called Stoicism, a philosophy that emerged in Athens in the 4th century BC. You might be thinking, “But wait, all those elements are things that we have been talking about in Daniel: hard times, God’s plan, perseverance, and righteousness. So why does that list describe Stoics better than Christians?” And it is true; all these things are things that Stoics and Christians share in common. The difference lies in what the Stoics leave out. Can you spot it? Is there something missing? It is the personal dimension. Stoics were very concerned with righteousness, and perseverance. They believed that there was a divine plan that they could trust. All this sounds very similar to Christianity. Unfortunately, they also happened to believe that god or the gods did not really care too much about individual humans. They figured it was up to each individual to grit his teeth, accept his fate, and muscle through as best as he could.
I started the study of this chapter here, because many Christians feel the same way. They believe God has a plan, and that he is wise and powerful. So they grin and bear it. Something happens in their life that confuses or wounds them. They either run from their faith or try to find the strength to make themselves believe that God knows what he is doing. They bury their questions and keep plugging along. All of that is true. God is good, wise, has a plan, and desires that we trust him. But he is also personal and desires us not to just “accept our fates” but to come to him with our questions.
Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him.” Our questions are not signs that we do not trust God. They are proof that we do trust him. We are seeking to trust him more by seeking to understand who he is, what he is doing, and why. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says something very similar: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” Verse 6 by itself sounds a lot like Stoicism. God is bigger, wiser, and stronger than you. Verse 7 makes all the difference. God cares for you and desires you to be free from your anxiety and worry. This is not through your own effort but through casting your worry on him and letting him take it.
Prayer is the difference. Prayer is the way we pour out our hearts to God. Prayer is how we seek God. Nowhere is this more important than when it comes to sin and repentance. Prayer is how we return to him when we have sinned. Frequently, when we have done wrong, we are tempted to act like children. We either run and hide or remain defiant. Both are motivated by fear. But 2 Chronicles 7:14 promises, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
In the middle of the visions that fill the second half of the book of Daniel, there is a pause as Daniel stops to pray for himself and his people. It is a prayer of repentance and longing for the forgiveness and restoration that only God can provide. By looking at this prayer, we can gain a glimpse into how we too can seek God and return to him when we have gone astray.

Preparation for Prayer: vv. 1-4
This passages starts with Daniel reading the prophet Jeremiah. While doing so, he realizes that God prophesied through Jeremiah that the exile would last 70 years. Realizing that God had promised to bring the suffering of Israel to an end and that the time was getting close, Daniel decided to pray and seek the Lord and ask him to fulfill his promises. In this Daniel revealed that he prepared himself to pray in a couple ways:
1. He prepared his mind through the study of Scripture — Sometimes, we think that prayer and Bible study are two unrelated aspects of the Christian life. Some people love Bible study; others love prayer. As if there are two separate paths to learning about and hearing from God. In truth, they are two parts of the same path. If you are not prayerful in your Bible study, your study will be dry, cold, cerebral, and sterile. If your prayer life is not grounded in what God has already revealed about who he is and how he interacts with his people, then you are at risk of believing things that are not true and stumbling into superstition or heresy. You need both.
Daniel was searching and studying the scriptures. He learned something about what God had promised his people. This awoke in him a desire to pray.
2. He prepared his body through fasting — This might seem odd for a variety of reasons. Many people in the modern church tend to look down on things like fasting, because it can sound legalistic, like you are trying to earn God’s favor by doing something. But Jesus seems to assume that his followers would fast on occasion when he gave instructions in Matthew 6:16. It is how his followers were supposed to fast correctly. “When you fast…” The point of Daniel’s fasting is not that you have to fast before God will accept your prayers, but rather that the attitude of your body affects the attitude of your spirit. The two are connected. Body language reveals the status of a person’s heart. Someone who is mad and defensive might cross their arms and legs.
Someone who is nervous might pace or chew their fingernails; however, body language does not just reveal what is going on internally. It can help change it as well. Next time you have an argument, uncross your arms and instead have the same conversation holding the persons hand or giving them a hug. It will change your attitude. We are body and spirit. Our spirits frequently do what are bodies are doing. Daniel is about to pray for forgiveness and repentance. So he fasts, and he puts on sackcloth and ashes (all symbols of mourning). His body demonstrates his spirit of contrition and remorse.

DEPENDING ON GOD IN PRAYER
In this prayer, Daniel longs for God to rescue and restore Israel from their current situation. He also knows that Israel does not deserve it. She has rebelled continually. The prayer ends in verse 18b: “we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.” The contrast in the prayer is between who God is, and who the people of Israel have been in response. It shows that there are no grounds for us to have confidence in ourselves. Our confidence in deliverance and restoration lies completely in the hands of God.

Dependence on God’s Faithfulness v. 4-8
Verse 4 describes God as someone “who keeps his Covenant” and possessing “lovingkindness.” Lovingkindness is a word that attempts to translate the Hebrew word “Khesed,” which describes the dedication and commitment God has to Israel. A better word might be “covenant loyalty” or “faithfulness.” In short, God is dedicated to those he has chosen to be his own. He is dedicated to the covenant he has made. Daniel praises God so that he can depend on God’s faithfulness, because he knows that Israel has shown herself completely faithless. In verses 5-6: Israel has rebelled, acted wickedly, turned asides from commandments, and did not listen to the prophets. If Israel was hoping to show itself worthy based on its loyalty to God, it failed. But
it can depend on God’s loyalty to her.

Dependence on God’s Forgiveness v. 9-14
Verse 9 starts with the phrase “Righteousness belongs to you, but to us open shame.” God is completely right and just in everything he does. Therefore, because of her rebellion, all Israel has is shame. If they remained in their current state, it would be completely justified, because they deserve all that has happened to them. In fact verses 11-14 show that everything that has happened to Israel is because of their rebellion, and that God was perfectly right in judging them that way. Verse 9 is important. It says: “To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness.” God’s judgement is part of his love. He desires repentance and return. As we have seen in other parts of this study, he desires for us to return to him so that we might live. Judgment is not God’s last word.
God’s compassion and forgiveness is for all who will seek Him.
This passage reminds us of the power and importance of prayer in the life of a Christian. It encourages us to remember three things when we pray:

Our Posture in Prayer
We will find it hard to compose our minds to focus on God unless our bodies are as well.
Are you sad and penitent, perhaps you should kneel? Are you celebrating and excited, perhaps you should raise your hands? Do not get me wrong. You can pray anywhere and in any position. You do not have to do something special to get God’s attention. It is simply a reminder that our bodies and spirits go together. The position of our bodies can frequently be an indicator of the situation in our souls. If you find your prayers are lazy, half-hearted, and distracted, perhaps, it is because you are putting your body in a lazy, easily distracted position. Are you having a hard time feeling joyful towards God? Perhaps, you should try raising your hands towards heaven when you pray.

Our Position in Prayer
Nothing can be truer in prayer than that we become like beggars. Pagan religions sacrificed and gave gifts to the gods in order to win their favor and gain their attention. We come to God with hands completely empty; we have nothing to offer. This may lead some to be sad. But it can actually be a source of tremendous relief. You do not have to convince God to give you anything. He loves you, knows what you need, and knows how to give good gifts to his children. We can, like children, depend on him completely.

Our Pursuit in Prayer
Sometimes, we run from God when we know we have done wrong. We should not. God desires to show compassion and mercy. Sometimes, we run to God only when we need something. This is okay, because it is the beginning of our understanding that God is the source of everything that we need. But it is only the beginning. When he seeks God in this way, sometimes, it is referred to as “seeking God’s hand.” We want him to give us stuff. He knows what we need, and what he desires us to have. He is not a spiritual concierge, so he will many times not give us what we ask for. In fact, might give us things we specifically do not want. This is when we must make sure we are seeking God to know him, understand him, and be close to him. As we draw near to God and understand more and more about who he is, we will be able to trust him in the times where we do not understand what is going on in a specific circumstance.