The Daniel Prayer

The Daniel Prayer

“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 9:19

Are we praying like Daniel?  To find out, let’s look at some key principles from Daniel 9:13-19, the great prayer of Daniel.  It is one worthy of study and application.

 First, Daniel approached God in prayer with supplication and fasting.  Fasting can often be a critical ingredient in praying through to breakthrough.  Daniel illustrates this principle through his lifestyle of prayer, which included fasting.

Second, Daniel confessed.  What did he confess?  He confessed the sins of iniquity, wickedness and rebellion.  Further, he confessed these sins as national sins – the sins of the chosen nation, Israel.  He confessed the people had walked away from God’s precepts and judgments.

Third, he confessed confusion belonged to the people, and mercies and forgiveness to God, even though Israel had not obeyed the voice of God.  Daniel stated it plainly before God: all Israel had transgressed the law.

Fourth, Daniel acknowledged the people had not repented.  They had not turned to God to understand His truth and turn away from their sin. 

And so, having openly confessed the sins of the nation, abandonment of God by Israel, and lack of repentance, Daniel has stated his case.  He then earnestly seeks God in prayer, creating for us a framework of Biblical prayer to follow.  Let’s pick this up in verses 16-19, and you can fill in the blanks with your specific prayer need.  For example, we could pray for our community, our state, our region, our country, a specific nation, or the world.

“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from ______________________________________, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, _____________________________ have become a byword among all who are around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to my pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord,^[b] make your face to shine upon _________________, which is desolate. ¹⁸ O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the _________________ that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because you ______________________ and your people are called by your name.”

Here is an invitation: pray this same prayer daily for 7 days.  Ask one saint to pray it in agreement with you for another 7 days.  Then each of you invite one more person to pray this prayer for 7 days.  Do you see what could happen if this pattern of prayer continued?!  If you try it, share your thoughts in the comments below, as we would love to hear how this prayer takes root and bears fruit.

Written by Sue Johnson