S) "3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 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, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.'"
Daniel 9:3-5 (NASB)
O) Daniel was well aware of the words Jeremiah had spoken, that their exile would last seventy years. But, when he looked around, he must have been disheartened by how he saw his countrymen, his fellow exiles. Reading his prayer, we can almost hear his desperation. These are not the words of a man who is confident about his contemporaries. He knew they were sent away justifiably. He knew they deserved the judgment they received, and it grieved him. It's pretty easy to see his concern for the future of his nation. And so, rather than despair, this righteous man sets about to the same response he has built into his very character. His life has been filled with the practice of prayer, and when his future was dismal, he knew what to do. Once again he sought his God in prayer. Not only did he make his supplication plain, but he addressed the root causes of his distress, namely the guilt of sin. It's noteworthy, that he didn't say, "their sin" but he also claimed it. He confessed it as "we have sinned," because he understood two important principles. First, that he was not without guilt. By comparison, maybe he was better off… but God does not grade on a curve. He knew he had committed sins. Also, he understood that God would judge the house of Israel, God's people, all together. That isn't to say he would be directly punished for the sins of other people, but it means that he would feel their pain. He would feel the loss of them. This was an expression of unity and commitment from Daniel on behalf of God's people.
A) The first thing to ask, is if I was in Daniel's shoes, but in my time, who would the "we" be? Daniel prayed on behalf of God's nation, God's people. In the present day world, in my life, that is not the United States. But it's also not the nation of Israel. God's people, His Kingdom, is the Church. The worldwide body of Christians. So, the next question for me to answer, is whether or not there is mass-guilt within Christianity. I jump to that, because I certainly know I am guilty of sins I have committed, as an individual. For that, I have forgiveness and mercy, in my repentance. In confessing my own sins, I am gaining healing and growth. But, if I am also seeing the unity I have with other Christians, people who profess the name of Jesus Christ as Lord, then I should also be concerned for judgment theyight be inviting by their actions. Right now, the clear answer to me, is the way so many Christians in this country have accepted homosexuality. That the culture, or the government, would embrace it as normative, should be no surprise and of little concern. Christianity was always counter-cultural, and on a great many topics it really still is. But, for some of the Church in the U.S., to ignore what the LORD has clearly said, what Jesus directly affirmed, to ignore this is flirting with the wrath of God. The other thing that came to mind, was the secret sin of fornacation. From pornography to affairs, from fantasizing to online rendezvous, to sexting, the sin manifests in every conceivable way. Both of these issues have a common theme. The enemy would love nothing more, than to tear down the marriages of the people of God. The reason is pretty simple, because biblical marriage is such a clear, beautiful, powerful image of the gospel. So, if he can destroy the plan (redefining marriage) or destroy the product (tear apart existing marriages), then he can destroy one of the best representations of God's love, and our relationship to our Savior, that is available to humanity. So, this is the aim of my prayers for God's people. This is where our sin seems to remain, and it hurts the body of Christ. Anything that hurts the body of Christ, hurts me. In repentance, there is mercy, but if God's people are not repenting of their sins, and God's discipline is coming, their pain will be my pain as well.
P) Father, You have a plan for holiness. You are holy and You call us to be holy. You have a plan for healthy marriage, that it would glorify You. Marriage should be a representation of Christ with His church, but I can see where we have marred what should have been a spotless union. Many of Your people, the church, have defiled holy matrimony. I have been guilty, myself, failing to remain righteous, falling to lust. I confess that we have sinned. I have sinned. I repent, Father God. Let the Holy Spirit be stirred among Your people, that they would be drawn to repentance as well. The church in the United States has disregarded Your plan for marriage. I know that You discipline those whom You love, and that sin cannot go unpunished. If there is no repentance, then I know that Your kingdom cannot be received. Lord, be merciful to Your church. Let us uniformly return to Your holy definition of marriage, as only between one man and one woman. Protect the marriages that exist, according to Your will. Heal broken and hurting people, struggling to remain in their marriages. Use me in this, Lord. Let me act in obedience, to share the beauty of the gospel through my marriage. Use me to bring healing and hope and health, through Jesus Christ. Let Your will be done in Your church, foremost, and in the world. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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