Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• As a church we recently had a special time of prayer
• It was encouraging to see the church coming to pray
• Praying for the new 'term'
• Do you really believe that (corporate) prayer is the powerhouse of the church?
• Daniel 9 records one of the great prayers of the Bible
• A confession
• Confessing not just his sin, but the sin of the people
• Examples of the sin committed by Israel
• It was an extended time of prayer - he was in sackcloth and ashes
• He believed in God's mercy
• There was urgency to the prayer
• They were likely 68 years in captivity and after 70 years the people would be brought back to Jerusalem
• He is an old man - maybe 84 years old, consider when he came as a young man, perhaps 18 years old
• There is no presumption with Daniel but real confession of sin
• Do you ever think if God knows all things, do we really need to pray?
• God will fulfill His will but through people
• One of God's main means of working is through prayer
• Think of Elijah's prayer, Samuel's prayer (1 Sam 12:18), Nehemiah's prayer (Neh 1)
• The New Testament church was often in prayer
• Example from Pastor's Book about Barvis
• Overview:
• Context
• Content
• Conclusions

Context

• A change of regime, king and position
• Was this a stimulus for Daniel's prayer?
• Daniel was not proud but always humble
• Daniel was praying God three times a day
• Daniel was an old man
• His stimulus for prayer was God's word (v2)
• He was reading Scripture
• He was reading Jeremiah (Jer 25:11-12)
• He had prophesied many years before that the Babylonian exile would be 70 years
• cf Jer 29:10-13
• He prayed with certainty and hope
• The main thrust of his prayer is confession
• When God's people are sinning and in a mess - repentance is needed
• 2 Chr 6:36-39
• This word was specifically to Israel, but does it not apply to us?
• Consider James' writing about gossiping and the tongue, those discriminating against the poor, not considering the orphan and widow - he commands they draw near and humble themselves before God
• If we repent, God will restore us
• Paul prays for revival, we must pray for revival

Content

• Sin
• Where is Daniel's sin - outwardly he is a man who was upright and godly
• Yet he says "we have sinned"
• He is direct
• Sin is defiance (v5)
• Gods people can act in rebellious ways
• Sin is departure from God's word
• Sin is being deaf to God
• Sin is being dumb (v13)
• The people have not cried out to God or repented
• Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more
• Confess your sin
• Do not abuse the mercy and kindness of God
• The worship of his prayer - considering next week

Conclusions

• For completion next week

Closing Remarks