Diving into Daniel: Daniel Prays
Daniel 9:3-19 - Daniel sets the bar for a heartfelt confessional prayer that is both earnest and full of understanding and also recognizes God’s mercies.
“So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 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, 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.
“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. 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 9:3-19 NASB1995
This is one of the most powerful prayers that I have ever read in the Bible, besides the prayers of Jesus. Daniel knows the prophecy of 70 years and now brings his case to God for God’s compassion. He begins this prayer by fasting and donning sackcloth and ashes. Sadly, I must confess that when this passage was read in a superficial way when doing a Bible in One Year plan, the impact of the prayer did not affect me. But I have now read through it several times preparing for this devotional and it can bring tears to your eyes. The humility of Daniel and his abject repentance for things that he personally did not do, but the nation of Israel did do to cause these events, is so heartfelt. He considers these sins of disobedience, lack of faith and unwillingness to listen to the prophets to be his own sin and prays in that manner.
One of the first things I noticed, when looking at interlinear tools on the Blue Letter Bible is how many names that Daniel uses for the Lord and for God. Take verses 9:4-5 as an example:
“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, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.”
Daniel 9:4-5 NASB1995
“To the Lord” is from the Hebrew word יְהֹוָה or Yᵊhōvâ (Strong’s H3068) and has the following Biblical usages:
Jehovah = "the existing One"
the proper name of the one true God
unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of H136
“My God” is from the Hebrew word אֱלֹהִים or ĕlōhîm (Strong’s H430) and has the following Biblical usages: in this case, it obviously refers to the true God:
(plural)
rulers, judges
divine ones
angels
gods
(plural intensive - singular meaning)
god, goddess
godlike one
works or special possessions of God
the (true) God
God
“Alas, oh Lord” is from the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי or ăḏōnāy (Strong’s H136) with the following Biblical usages:
my lord, lord
of men
of God
Lord - title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence
“The great and awesome God” is from the Hebrew word אֵל or ēl (Strong’s H410) with the following Biblical usages; again, this is for the one true God:
god, god-like one, mighty one
mighty men, men of rank, mighty heroes
angels
god, false god, (demons, imaginations)
God, the one true God, Jehovah
mighty things in nature
strength, power
Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai, El…The Great “I AM”
Once again, I think that the commentary from Enduring Word hits it out of the ballpark. Here it is for verses 4-15:
O Lord, great and awesome God: Daniel began his prayer where we all should – by recognizing the greatness and goodness of God. Sometimes we approach God as if He were a stingy person who must be persuaded to give us anything. But Daniel knew the problem was not with God. God keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him.
Daniel’s prayer was remarkable for both its understanding and earnestness. Many pray with understanding but not earnestness; others are earnest but have no understanding in prayer. The two together are a powerful combination.
“Oh! That our prayers could get beyond praying, till they got to agonizing.” (Charles Spurgeon)
We have sinned and committed iniquity: As Daniel confessed Israel’s sin he prayed as if he were as bad as the rest of Israel. This was a confession of we, not they. In this sense, they prayers never really reach God; genuine we prayers see self correctly and see our fellow saints with compassion.
Daniel’s confession of sin might seem phony until we realize how passionately and completely he is focused on God. Compared to God, even the most righteous among us falls far short.
“I firmly believe that, the better a man’s own character becomes, and the more joy in the Lord he has in his own heart, the more capable is he of sympathetic sorrow; and, probably, the more of it he will have. If thou hast room in thy soul for sacred joy, thou hast equal room for holy grief.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face: Daniel knew that Israel’s sin was not God’s fault; God was utterly righteous and blameless. Any shame of face belonged to Israel, not to God.
It would be easy to complain to God about Israel’s problems. Daniel didn’t think for a moment that God was too hard on Israel; he knew God was completely righteous and any failure was on Israel’s side.
Instead of complaining, Daniel confessed. During times of great revival among God’s people, the Holy Spirit always brings a deep conviction and awareness of sin. When that is responded to rightly, confession is appropriately made. J. Edwin Orr gives a good principle to govern confession: “If you sin secretly, confess secretly, admitting publicly that you need the victory but keeping details to yourself. If you sin openly confess openly to remove stumbling blocks from those whom you have hindered. If you have sinned spiritually (prayerlessness, lovelessness, and unbelief as well as their offspring, criticism, etc.) then confess to the church that you have been a hindrance.”
Genuine, appropriate confession will be sincere, specific, and thorough. Orr describes how in the 1952 revival in Brazil a woman in a crowded church confessed, “Please pray for me, I need to love people more.” The leader told her gently, “That is not a confession, sister. Anyone could have said it.” Later in the service the lady stood again and said, “Please pray for me. What I should have said is that my sharp tongue has caused a lot of trouble in this congregation.” The pastor leaned over to Orr and whispered, “Now she is talking!”
This is praying from a low place, and very effective. American football players try to hit their opponent low, because they gain leverage from coming in low. Our prayers are leveraged when we come to God humbly and lowly.
We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God: Daniel did not make the slightest excuse for Israel’s sin. He knew the fault belonged to Israel and Israel alone. We are prone to make excuses for our sin and often even make excuses in our “confessions.”
He has confirmed His words… As it is written in the Law of Moses: Daniel realized that even in His judgment against Israel, God was totally faithful to His Word. He promised that curses would come upon a disobedient Israel (in passages like Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28) and they did.
All this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God: As Daniel confessed his sin and the sin of Israel, he remembered the sin of prayerlessness. Even when they faced great trial and calamity, Israel still did not make their prayer before the LORD. When we sense trial or difficulty, it should drive us immediately to prayer – when we are not so driven, it should be a wake-up call to the coldness of our heart.
Who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand: As Daniel prayed he remembered that the LORD delivered Israel from Egypt. He remembers the Old Testament standard of God’s power, the deliverance from Egypt. The New Testament standard of God’s power is the resurrection of Jesus (Ephesians 1:19-20).
There are some splendid takeaways from this commentary for our prayer life:
We must pray with both earnestness and understanding. Daniel was earnestly seeking God and also understood why the people of Israel were in their predicament.
Even the greatest apostle or prophet of God in the Bible can still see that he or she is utterly stained and guilty when compared to the majesty, righteousness and holiness of the God of the universe.
Daniel does not complain about Israel’s problems. He confesses that they (and he) are at fault through specific, sincere and thorough language (this is how revival can happen). It does not help believers to pray to God to forgive some nebulous, unnamed sins in our lives and think that we are hitting the mark. When I started doing confessional and intercessory praying, I named specific sins and specific concerns and felt that made a difference in those prayers. If we don’t like the way things are going in our country or the world, call out and confess to the Lord that we, as fallen humans, are all to blame for not seeking His Face and His compassion but just for “letting it go” and not realizing His power.
Following on to that last thought, prayerlessness is not an answer for what ails us. I also liked this commentary from Precept Austin from Warren Wiersbe and Ray Pritchard (Links go to the Logos Bible or to Pritchard’s sermon):
Warren Wiersbe: Several times in Israel's ministry, the intercession of one person brought about the nation's deliverance from judgment. On two occasions, God was ready to wipe out the entire Jewish nation, but the intercession of Moses stayed His hand (Ex 32:7-14; Nu 14:10-25). God answered Elijah's prayer and sent the rain that was so desperately needed (1Ki 18:35, 36, 37, 38, 39, See also James 5:17, 18, 19), and He heard Jehoshaphat's prayer and gave Israel victory over the large invading army of Moabites and Ammonites (2Chr 20:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17). King Hezekiah cried out to God when the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem, and the Lord sent His angel to slay 185,000 enemy soldiers (Is 37:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20; 2Ki 19:15, 16, 17, 18, 19). "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (Jas 5:16NIV). God doesn't have to wait for the entire nation to repent and cry out for mercy; He will start to work when He hears the believing prayers of one faithful intercessor. (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament) Are you that one man or one woman who will begin to intercede for the glory of God's Name in "Christian" America?
Ray Pritchard: The good news in all this is that the prayer of a righteous person can change a life, a home, a marriage, a church, a school, a community, a company, a city, and an entire nation. As Abraham discovered in Genesis 18, only ten righteous men could have saved Sodom. A few righteous men and women who go to their knees can change their world. (The Positive Power of Prayer)
Looking at versus 16-19, here is the commentary from Enduring Word:
Let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem: After his confession of Israel’s sin and God’s great righteousness, Daniel simply asked God to mercifully turn His kind attention to Jerusalem and the temple (cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary). He also asked that God would do this without delay (do not delay for your own sake).
Daniel prayed as a patriot – but a patriot more of the Kingdom of God than the Kingdom of Israel. We should pray with similar patriotism for the Kingdom of God. “Let it never be said that the Church of God has no feeling of patriotism for the Holy City, for the Heavenly Land and for her glorious King enthroned above. To us, Christian patriotism means love to the Church of God.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Daniel asked for all this according to all Your righteousness. It was as if Daniel prayed, “LORD, I’m not asking You to do anything against Your righteousness. I’m praying this to advance Your righteous glory.”
Cause your face to shine: This was the heart of Daniel’s plea. He knew that God’s people needed much, but all their need could be summed up in this: they need God’s face to shine upon them.
“Oh, that we might learn how to pray so that God should be the subject as well as the object of our supplications! O God, thy Church needs thee above everything else! A poor, little, sick, neglected child needs fifty things; but you can put all those needs into one if you say that the child needs its mother. So, the Church, of God needs a thousand things, but you can put them all into one if you say, ‘The Church of God needs her God.’ ” (Charles Spurgeon)
For the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate… Do not delay for Your own sake: Daniel’s prayer was consumed with the glory of God, not primarily with the benefit of man. His purpose in prayer was to see God’s work accomplished and His cause glorified.
It isn’t wrong to pray for our own needs. Jesus invited us to ask, give us this day our daily bread. At the same time, we need to have an even greater passion for the glory and benefit of God than for our own needs.
This also speaks to purity of motive in Daniel’s prayer. Sometimes we pray for God to do a great work so we can be known as great workers for God. We need to pray for the sake of the LORD’s cause, both in our words and heart.
We do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies: Even before the time of the New Testament, Daniel prayed on firm New Testament ground. His confidence wasn’t in his goodness, but in God’s goodness.
This is what it means to pray in the name of Jesus. Those aren’t words we tack on to the end of a prayer, but they should express the fact we are praying in merits and righteousness of Jesus, not our own.
Daniel was not great because he prayed. He was great because his prayer was the necessary expression of great trust and dependence on God. Many religious people spend countless hours in prayer but it achieves nothing because it is not rooted in the goodness and righteousness of God. Self righteous or self trusting prayer is of no power before God. “One of Satan’s most subtle delusions is that he succeeds in getting hundreds of thousands of men to trust in prayer, apart from faith in the shed blood of Jesus.” (Louis Talbot)
O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Daniel prayed like a great wrestler, eager to gain an advantage. He sensed God’s openness to each request and he responded with many rapid requests.
“Follow up your advantage; build another prayer or the answer that you have. If you have received a great blessing, say, ‘Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him; because he has heard me once, therefore will I call again.’ ” (Charles Spurgeon)
“Cold prayers ask God to deny them: only importunate prayers will be replied to. When the Church of God cannot take ‘No’ for an answer, she shall not have ‘No’ for an answer. When a pleading soul must have it; when the Spirit of God works mightily in him so that he cannot let the angel go without a blessing, the angel shall not go till he has given the blessing to such a pleading one. Brethren, if there be only one among us that can pray as Daniel did, with intensity, the blessing will come.” (Charles Spurgeon)
More takeaways:
After thoroughly confessing, we can bring our petitions to God, calling on His mercies and because we need His Face to shine before us.
We can be urgent in our truly earnest petitions and not take “no” for an answer.
Our prayers must be rooted in the righteousness and goodness of God, not in our own self-righteousness.
Ray Pritchard has good insight into this as well, from Precept Austin:
It’s worth noting that the petition section comes at the end of the prayer. He doesn’t ask God for anything at all until he has first thoroughly confessed the sins of the people. After all, until the sin that caused the exile in the first place is dealt with, there is no basis for asking God to restore his people.
Taking the prayer as a whole, we discover that everything Daniel says is based upon God’s character:
You are awesome—(Da 9:4)
You always keep your promises—(Da 9:4)
You are righteous—(Da 9:7)
You are a forgiving God—(Da 9:9)
You have a great name—(Da 9:15)
You are a merciful God—(Da 9:18)
In many ways verse 18 is the theme of the whole prayer: “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.” What a crucial insight that is. So many times we pray because we secretly think we have “earned” the right by our good behavior to ask God to bless us. Daniel chose the opposite tack. “Lord, we don’t deserve to be heard by you because we have sinned greatly against you. The only reason we come to you is because you are a God of love and grace.” When we approach God with that attitude, we will discover that he welcomes us into his presence and listens graciously to every word we say. (The Positive Power of Prayer)
Before Daniel is even done with his prayer, he has been heard and Gabriel is sent with an answer. My next devotional explores Daniel 9:20-27.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Help me to pray like Daniel, full of humility and confession and also knowing about Your mercies and compassion. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on 5/09/2025 to review commentary for Daniel 9:3-19.