By Will Kynes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
Maintaining Focus on God
Daniel 9:1–7, 17–19
How often do we think only of our own interests in our prayers as we carve mere distracted moments from our busy lives to toss them toward the heavens?
Daniel provides an example of prayer focused through fasting on God’s character and His glory, which provides bold hope to a repentant people in their suffering.
His urgency and honesty reflect his deep understanding of the character of both his people and the God they serve. If our prayers are less urgent and honest, this may reflect our failure, encouraged by our performance-oriented culture, to comprehend who we truly are before a holy and yet gracious God.
Fasting helps us focus on greater things than just our physical needs. (1–4)
To punish His people for their disobedience, the Lord had allowed the Babylonians (or Chaldeans) to tear down the walls of Jerusalem, His holy city; destroy the temple, where He dwelled; and take them into exile. As a result of these “desolations of Jerusalem,” Daniel now resides in a foreign land, where he longs for God to restore His people.
This restoration would be more than just a physical return to a lost homeland. It would make manifest the reconciliation between God and His chosen people.
To express the urgency of his prayer to God, Daniel denies himself food, dons coarse sackcloth and dirties his face with ashes. These external, physical expressions of his internal, spiritual turmoil help him focus on his prayers.
Though the Bible never provides explicit directions for proper fasting, it commonly appears, accompanying urgent petitionary or repentant prayer. In the New Testament, for example, Jesus fasts for 40 days before His temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1–2), and the church fasts and prays before selecting leaders (Acts 13:1–3; 14:21–23).
Though Jesus assumes that His followers will fast in the Sermon on the Mount, He warns against the showy fasting of the Pharisees (Matt. 6:16–18). For further guidance on this oft-neglected spiritual discipline, see “A Hunger for God” by John Piper.
Confession draws our focus to God who forgives. (5–7)
After praising God for His majesty and covenant love for His people, Daniel confesses their collective sin. They have disobeyed God’s commands, disregarded His prophets and descended into shameful rebellion.
And yet, Daniel affirms, “the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving” (v. 9). A reconciled relationship with God, Daniel recognizes, requires acknowledging how we have sinned against Him, and yet how His mercy is greater than our shame.
Prayer and fasting draw our focus to God who answers. (17–19)
On the basis of God’s character, which God Himself describes as “compassionate and gracious …, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex. 34:6–7), Daniel boldly commands God to listen, forgive and act.
In prayer and fasting, he has expressed his faith in God’s character and confessed the people’s sin. His petition does not rely on human righteousness, but on God’s mercy.
It is for the Lord’s own sake, because this people bear His name and long to worship Him in His sanctuary, that Daniel claims the Lord should answer his request.
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