Daniel 9:15, commentary and pictures

Daniel's words look back to the mighty deliverance from Egypt that made God's name renowned, and join that remembrance to an open confession that His people have sinned and done wickedly. He makes their sin his own, pleading for them as one with them instead of claiming purity or righteousness for himself. The confession belongs to an earnest and complete seeking of God with fasting, sackcloth and ashes, affliction of soul, tears, humiliation and deep sorrow over Jerusalem's desolation. Though long faithful in noble service and greatly beloved of Heaven, he still comes before God as a sinner, for nearness to God leads to acknowledgment of sin and refusal to acknowledge it bars cleansing. He urges no merit of his own or of Israel but asks to be heard and delivered for the sake of God's prophetic word and mercy, and because the prayer comes from unfeigned lips it is heard, answered with wisdom and understanding, and stands as the model of humility in which true sanctification is seen.

Prayer and Confession

Daniel 9:15 belongs to an earnest, full and complete prayer in which Daniel set his face to seek God by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. It was offered with affliction of soul, tears, confession and humiliation, expressing contrition of soul and deep sorrow as he witnessed the desolation of Jerusalem. The chapter is given as an example of seeking the Lord with contrition and confession.

The prayer was made after Daniel was astonished at the vision of the evening and the morning, fainted and was sick certain days, then rose up to do the king's business while none understood the vision. The judgments witnessed in San Francisco and many other places are a standing warning opening up what Daniel saw in vision.

The verse recalls that God brought Israel out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and gained renown, as at this day, and joins that remembrance to confession spoken for the people: we have sinned, we have done wickedly. Daniel identifies himself with sinful Israel in pleading for his people, confessing their sin as his own rather than claiming personal purity or righteousness. Though a longtime servant of God who pleaded for the people he loved, he nevertheless came before Him as a sinner with humble, earnest confession and recognition of the people's need.

Though greatly beloved of Heaven and loved by God, with a long life filled with noble service, he did not boast of his goodness or claim to be pure and holy. Being greatly beloved does not remove the need to acknowledge sin, and drawing near to the Lord leads to acknowledgment of sin. A person's standing with God is no reason to deny sin, and refusing to acknowledge sin prevents cleansing from unrighteousness.

Daniel responds to God's faithfulness not by listing his own merits but by confessing sin and asking God to hear and deliver. He seeks the exiles' restoration on the strength of God's prophetic word and appeals to God's mercy rather than Israel's righteousness. True sanctification manifests a spirit of humility as shown in this confession.

Prophecy and Pattern

The prophecies of Daniel 8 and 9 contain prophetic periods resting on historical and chronological facts, with the year 457 B.C. as the proper time from which to begin reckoning them, bearing on the date of the crucifixion. The prophecy of Daniel 9 fixes the time of the first advent and reaches to the end of the seventy weeks. On it rested the proclamation of the first disciples that the time was fulfilled and the kingdom of God was at hand.

In the same scripture the death of the Messiah was foretold, though the disciples did not recognize that part of its meaning. Adherence to popular errors about the kingdom to be set up then blinded the mind to the foretold death. Yet delivering that time message fulfilled the will of God, and misapprehension of its event brought disappointment.

The prayer was not for naught but was heard by God because it came from unfeigned lips, and ministering angels came to Daniel to give him in vision a communication from God in answer. This shows that God is ready to hear the prayer of a contrite person and is willing to help those who come to Him. When people seek God with all their hearts and ask in faith as Daniel did, God answers their petitions and gives wisdom, skill and understanding, with even their prayers prompted by the Holy Spirit. God will hear prayer now in the same way when people approach Him as Daniel did, with trust in God, soul communion with God, and prayer without ceasing.

The chapter is given as an example of seeking the Lord with contrition and confession, for instruction and encouragement. It is offered as a model for prayer, asking that the Holy Spirit work on behalf of those who pray, and it is to be made the believer's own prayer for the Holy Spirit to work in his behalf. Daniel's earnest intercessory prayer for himself and Israel shows that God's people should wrestle with Him in faithful prayer, and such prayer brings God's keeping power and guards them from foolish speech.

Daniel's prayer of confessing sin, repenting before God, and continuing in prayer until the Lord manifests Himself with power is the prayer God's people must now offer, assembling together. That kind of prayer is needed among Seventh-day Adventists amid self-confidence and presumption. It applies to a people who have not heeded light sent to them, have departed from God's expressed commands, and have worked contrary to messages long given about the different features of the work. They have selfishly gathered facilities to a few favored places and have greatly neglected the large cities and the Southern field, a wrong that will end when those who claim to believe the truth practise the truth.

Daniel praying and confessing his sins and finding pardon is the pattern for being faithful and true, living wholly for God's glory, keeping the commandments of God, and being ready for the last great controversy and the Lord's coming. Those who pray as Daniel prayed are not asleep but keenly alive to exposure to the enemy's malignant devices, see their only safety in obedience, and make thorough work for eternity. They are guarded and protected by heavenly intelligences, the ministering spirits sent to heirs of salvation, with good and evil angels striving over every man and the outcome decided by the man himself, so they stand in their lot and place under angelic protection.

The prayer is presented as a test of one's spiritual experience joined to the need to humble oneself before God. Daniel humbled his heart in God's sight in this prayer and was called greatly beloved. One who has borne responsibilities and walked in false paths or has been reproved for departing from the faith should read this prayer and copy it by humbling his heart, confessing sins and making a change, so God will speak peace to him.

Daniel in Babylon humbled himself before God and gave God the glory due to His name, teaching God's people to humble themselves in prayer while never erasing the line of separation between God's commandment-keeping people and those who have no respect for His law. Praying it means humbling the soul before God so that He may lift up, expelling pride, self-esteem and stubbornness in view of what redemption cost on the cross, while still holding a true sense of personal value measured by the infinite price paid for redemption. It means valuing every capability and talent as the Lord's precious endowment to be used to His name's glory, making every gift a treasure of influence for reaching perfection and completeness in Jesus Christ and gaining every advantage in the strife for immortality and eternal life.