How to Have an Effective Prayer Life – Daniel 9:1-27
9 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, (2) in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet, the number of years appointed to complete the desolation of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. (3) So I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
(4) I prayed to Jehovah my God and made confession, saying, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and lovingkindness with those who love him and keep his commandments, (5) we have sinned, we have gone astray, we have done wicked things, and we have rebelled; we have turned away from your commandments and your ordinances. (6) Neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and to all the people of the land. (7) O Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but for us there is shame on our faces to this very day—to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, both those who are near as well as those who are far away, scattered through all the countries where you have driven them because of their trespass which they have committed against you. (8) O Lord, for us there is shame on our faces, for our kings, for our princes, and for our fathers, because we have sinned against you. (9) To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against him. (10) Neither have we obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, instructing us to walk in his laws that he set before us by his servants the prophets. (11) Indeed, all Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey your voice. Therefore, the curse has been pronounced upon us, and the oath that has been written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against him. (12) He has confirmed his words that he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great calamity; for under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. (13) Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not sought the favor of Jehovah our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth. (14) Therefore Jehovah has watched over the calamity and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works that he does, and we have not obeyed his voice. (15) Now, O Lord our God, you who have brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have gained fame that endures to this very day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. (16) O Lord, in keeping with all your righteousness, let your anger and your wrath be turned away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers, have caused Jerusalem and your people to become an object of scorn to all those around us. (17) Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayers of your servant, listen to his petitions; for the Lord’s sake, cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that now lies desolate. (18) O my God, incline your ear, and hear; open your eyes and look upon our desolations—the city that bears your name! We do not present our petitions to you on the basis of our righteousness, but on the basis of your great mercies. (19) O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name.
(20) While I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petitions before Jehovah my God on behalf of the holy mountain of my God—(21) while I was still speaking in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the previous vision, being very weary, touched me at about the time of the evening sacrifice. (22) He instructed me and said, O Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. (23) When you began to make your petitions the word was given, and now I have come to instruct you; for you are greatly loved. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision. (24) Seventy “weeks” have been decreed for your people and for your holy city in order to restrain transgression, to seal up sins, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to complete vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (25) Know and understand that from the time the decree is issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Anointed One, the Prince, there shall be a period of seven “weeks,” and then there shall follow a period of sixty-two “weeks.” It shall be rebuilt extensively, but within limits, in distressful times. (26) At the end of the sixty-two “weeks,” the Anointed One shall be cut off and have nothing—the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary (but his end shall come with a flood.) War shall continue to the end—it has been decreed that there shall be desolation. (27) He will establish a covenant with many for one “week;” and in the middle of the “week” he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. This one who causes desolation will come at the pinnacle of abomination. But he shall continue only until the destruction that has been divinely decreed has been poured out upon the desolator.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
