Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
The promise belongs to letters sent to the Hebrew captives in Babylon, and its assurance of return was sure, connected with the close of seventy years of Babylonian captivity and of Jerusalem's desolation. God had scattered His people because they had failed to serve as missionaries and had separated themselves from surrounding peoples, so that knowledge of His truth could reach the world. Yet He would visit them and keep His good word to cause their return, planning peace and not evil to give them an expected end. He would end their captivity and bondage, gather them from the places where they had been driven, and bring them back to their homeland and to Jerusalem, if they were loyal, true, and submissive.
In response, after the seventy years were complete, the people would turn to Him and seek Him with all their hearts, calling upon Him and going to pray to Him. Then He would hear their prayers, show them favor, and be found by them. Daniel and his companions studied this promise, and Daniel understood that the desolation would last seventy years. When rapid events among the nations showed God's hand at work Daniel gave it special thought, and his faith in the prophetic word led him to enter into the prayer and seeking it foretold, which reveals where he obtained his skill and understanding.
The faithful who sought the Lord in this way were ready to respond to Cyrus's decree by returning to Jerusalem and restoring the temple. As a general principle the promise shows that the Lord is always ready to hear the prayers of the contrite soul and those who earnestly seek Him, answering their petitions when they call on Him and pray to Him. This supports earnest seeking and trust in God rather than distrust. Calling on God includes coming to Him just as they are and asking for wisdom from above with humility, earnestness, and faith as Daniel did. Those who do so will be blessed with increased ability and power from heaven and will see the salvation of God, and prayer must be more earnest than ever before, with even the prayers themselves prompted by the Holy Spirit.
The promise belongs to letters sent to the Hebrew captives in Babylon, and its assurance of return was sure, connected with the close of seventy years of Babylonian captivity and of Jerusalem's desolation. God had scattered His people because they had failed to serve as missionaries and had separated themselves from surrounding peoples, so that knowledge of His truth could reach the world. Yet He would visit them and keep His good word to cause their return, planning peace and not evil to give them an expected end. He would end their captivity and bondage, gather them from the places where they had been driven, and bring them back to their homeland and to Jerusalem, if they were loyal, true, and submissive.
In response, after the seventy years were complete, the people would turn to Him and seek Him with all their hearts, calling upon Him and going to pray to Him. Then He would hear their prayers, show them favor, and be found by them. Daniel and his companions studied this promise, and Daniel understood that the desolation would last seventy years. When rapid events among the nations showed God's hand at work Daniel gave it special thought, and his faith in the prophetic word led him to enter into the prayer and seeking it foretold, which reveals where he obtained his skill and understanding.
The faithful who sought the Lord in this way were ready to respond to Cyrus's decree by returning to Jerusalem and restoring the temple. As a general principle the promise shows that the Lord is always ready to hear the prayers of the contrite soul and those who earnestly seek Him, answering their petitions when they call on Him and pray to Him. This supports earnest seeking and trust in God rather than distrust. Calling on God includes coming to Him just as they are and asking for wisdom from above with humility, earnestness, and faith as Daniel did. Those who do so will be blessed with increased ability and power from heaven and will see the salvation of God, and prayer must be more earnest than ever before, with even the prayers themselves prompted by the Holy Spirit.