A Prayer For The Nation
Daniel 9:1-19
There is a mountain of undeniable factual information about the strong biblical foundation of this country. There are so many quotes about the foundational role God and the Bible had in our nation’s founding that we could read them one after another for these ninety minutes and not come close to reading them all.
But I have to read just one of the hundreds that I could read. Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901, and he is one of the four presidents sculpted into Mt. Rushmore (if Mt. Rushmore hasn’t been blown up in a peaceful protest).
Theodore Roosevelt
“Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes… that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally… impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals . . .”
Theodore Roosevelt was absolutely right. The problem is, God and the Bible ARE being removed from the whole of our civic and social life. We are on the brink of removing all influence of God and the Bible from this nation. We are on the verge of witnessing what Theodore Roosevelt said would be impossible to even imagine one hundred years ago.
I believe it first started in 1962 when prayer was first taken out of school, and it peaked when President Obama repeatedly apologized to the world and assured them we were no longer a Christian nation.
And I believe our nation is at the most critical crossroads in our history – right now. We’ve certainly thought this (and said this) before, and every time we come to this place, we think it’s the worst that it’s ever been. Because every time, IT IS worse than it’s ever been because we keep getting closer and closer to the complete rejection of God from our society.
And the only thing that has kept that from happening, and the only thing that will keep that from happening, is the people of God falling on our knees and interceding on behalf of this great nation, standing in the gap and crying out to God on behalf of this great nation, and being willing to stand up to those who are committed to systematically removing the Biblical principles this great nation was built on.
There are Christian leaders all over the country calling for prayer and fasting and intercession right now because this election on Tuesday – more than any other that any of us remember – involves a move either toward or further away from the influence of God and the Bible on this nation.
Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and nations have been turning from God since the very first nation God created in ancient times – God’s own nation of Israel – did the exact same thing that we are doing today. And the nation of Israel suffered the consequences of removing God from their nation, and we, as a nation, are moving toward the same thing.
For Israel, it began with hundreds of years of being led by different kings, some of which were godly and some of which were ungodly. But, the general direction of the nation was consistently away from God and away from God’s principles, just like the general direction of our nation has been for at least the past sixty years.
Finally, on the verge of Israel experiencing the consequences of their rejection of God, the prophet Jeremiah gave the nation their last warning. Turn to Jeremiah 25:4-7.
Jeremiah 25:4–7 (NLT)
4 “Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention.
5 Each time the message was this: ‘Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever. 6 Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’
7 “But you would not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer.
Israel had rejected God and his instructions for so long, and so finally, God did exactly what God promised he would do. God had promised Israel that he would send them into exile as captives in Babylon for seventy years if they did not repent and turn back to him as a nation. And Israel did not repent and turn back to God, and God brought the consequences he promised he would.
Now, skip ahead sixty-eight years to the Book of Daniel – Chapter 9. The prophet Daniel had faithfully served the Lord in captivity in Babylon for sixty-eight years when one day, he reads the words of Jeremiah (that we just read) and he realized there was still a condition on Israel’s part for God to restore the nation at the end of seventy years.
Daniel realized that even though God had promised it as prophecy, the restoration of Israel was only going to happen if the people of Israel would do what God said was required, which was turn from their rejection of him and turn back to God and to his principles for the nation, and only then would God’s promise to restore them come to pass.
Daniel realizes God’s people were at a critical crossroads. The time was short, and the need was urgent.
And so, Daniel goes to prayer on behalf of God’s people, and he pleads for God’s mercy on his nation.
And this is a prayer that is absolutely required for us to pray for our own nation if we desire to be restored as a nation to a right place with God.
So, mark this prayer – and remember it – and go back to it on behalf of our nation, that God’s promises and his involvement would be restored to our nation.
In Daniel Chapter 9, as Daniel begins his prayer on behalf of the nation, notice what his first subject is. Notice what his first focus is.
Daniel 9:3-4 (NLT)
3 So I turned to the Lord God (Set My Face to God) and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.
4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.
Daniel starts with who God is, which is exactly how we should start our prayers for ourselves and our nation. Daniel starts his prayer of intercession and repentance with who God is.
You are a great and awesome God!
You always fulfill your covenant
You keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands
THAT is WHO God IS.
And then, Daniel moves to what we have done.
Daniel 9:5-6 (NLT)
5 But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.
6 We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.
Verses 3-4 are EXACTLY who GOD is
Verses 5-6 are EXACTLY what WE have done
BOTH of these things are a confession to God. To confess simply means to agree with God, and so this prayer starts with agreeing with God.
1). That God is an awesome and loving God
2). That we have sinned and rebelled against God
And then, Daniel repeats this process in his prayer, first who God is, then, who we are.
Daniel 9:7-8 (NLT)
7 “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you.
8 O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.
Daniel is crying out on behalf of his nation here. He’s confessing and repenting on their behalf, and Daniel fully includes himself in this prayer as guilty, along with the people.
And then, again, the prayer foes back and forth between confessing God’s greatness and confessing our sin.
Daniel 9:9-10 (NLT)
9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. (that’s who God is)
10 (who we are) We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets
Listen, guys, Israel was a nation established by God’s hand. And God gave us (as a nation) instructions to follow through his Word, and we followed them for a time. And then, we began turning from those instructions, and we chose to rebel against God and reject his instructions.
And God promised Israel there would be consequences if their nation chose to reject God and turn their backs on him, and God promises us the same thing.
Daniel 9:11 (NLT)
11 All Israel (the nation) has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice. “So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin.
God’s law promised both blessing for walking with God in obedience and consequences for turning from God in disobedience. God has made both promises perfectly clear, and God will keep his Word.
And so, them, Daniel acknowledges that God did keep his Word.
Daniel 9:12-14 (NLT)
12 [God] You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem.
13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth.
14 Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.
God will keep his Word, and God will do exactly what he has promised both in blessings and in consequences.
God is a merciful God, and he is always willing to forgive and restore, but that forgiveness and restoration will not come without us turning from sin and turning back to God.
And without that repentance, the consequences that God promises will follow our continued rejection of him.
And then, in verse 15, Daniel goes all the way back to God rescuing his people from Egypt, which was really the beginning of Israel as a great nation. And we can go all the way back to God’s involvement in our American Revolutionary War. (Google “God’s hand in the Revolutionary War,” and you’ll see.)
Here’s God’s deliverance of Israel.
Daniel 9:15 (NLT)
15 “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness.
It’s not quite as big as Israel, but the miracles of God in our War of Independence are also clearly recorded, and yet, like Israel, we have turned from God and rejected him in order to embrace our own wickedness.
And so, finally, as Daniel begins to wrap up his prayer for his nation, we can see exactly how we should wrap up our prayers for our nation.
Daniel’s final plea to God is not based on anything the people could offer. His prayer of intercession is based completely on who God is. It’s based solely on God’s own character, God’s own nature, and God’s own faithfulness.
All Daniel can do is confess and repent of his nation’s sin and cry out to God for mercy on behalf of his nation, and today that is what we should be doing.
Notice, Daniel’s prayer ends based solely on who God IS and not in any way on what the people deserve.
Daniel 9:16-19 (NLT)
16 In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.
17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.
18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.
19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”
God, we cry out for your mercy on our nation, not because we deserve it but for the honor of your name. We have nothing to offer you, God, except that we belong to you, and we bear your name.
And on that truth alone, we come to you God to cry out for your mercy on our nation and to pray for a revival and a return to you and to your great plan for this nation.
Lord God, you are full of unfailing love and mercy; that’s who you are. And Lord, we have rejected you as a nation, and we have turned our backs on you. Please save our nation, Lord – not because we deserve it, but for the glory and honor of your own name.
But I have to read just one of the hundreds that I could read. Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901, and he is one of the four presidents sculpted into Mt. Rushmore (if Mt. Rushmore hasn’t been blown up in a peaceful protest).
Theodore Roosevelt
“Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes… that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally… impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals . . .”
Theodore Roosevelt was absolutely right. The problem is, God and the Bible ARE being removed from the whole of our civic and social life. We are on the brink of removing all influence of God and the Bible from this nation. We are on the verge of witnessing what Theodore Roosevelt said would be impossible to even imagine one hundred years ago.
I believe it first started in 1962 when prayer was first taken out of school, and it peaked when President Obama repeatedly apologized to the world and assured them we were no longer a Christian nation.
And I believe our nation is at the most critical crossroads in our history – right now. We’ve certainly thought this (and said this) before, and every time we come to this place, we think it’s the worst that it’s ever been. Because every time, IT IS worse than it’s ever been because we keep getting closer and closer to the complete rejection of God from our society.
And the only thing that has kept that from happening, and the only thing that will keep that from happening, is the people of God falling on our knees and interceding on behalf of this great nation, standing in the gap and crying out to God on behalf of this great nation, and being willing to stand up to those who are committed to systematically removing the Biblical principles this great nation was built on.
There are Christian leaders all over the country calling for prayer and fasting and intercession right now because this election on Tuesday – more than any other that any of us remember – involves a move either toward or further away from the influence of God and the Bible on this nation.
Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and nations have been turning from God since the very first nation God created in ancient times – God’s own nation of Israel – did the exact same thing that we are doing today. And the nation of Israel suffered the consequences of removing God from their nation, and we, as a nation, are moving toward the same thing.
For Israel, it began with hundreds of years of being led by different kings, some of which were godly and some of which were ungodly. But, the general direction of the nation was consistently away from God and away from God’s principles, just like the general direction of our nation has been for at least the past sixty years.
Finally, on the verge of Israel experiencing the consequences of their rejection of God, the prophet Jeremiah gave the nation their last warning. Turn to Jeremiah 25:4-7.
Jeremiah 25:4–7 (NLT)
4 “Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention.
5 Each time the message was this: ‘Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever. 6 Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’
7 “But you would not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer.
Israel had rejected God and his instructions for so long, and so finally, God did exactly what God promised he would do. God had promised Israel that he would send them into exile as captives in Babylon for seventy years if they did not repent and turn back to him as a nation. And Israel did not repent and turn back to God, and God brought the consequences he promised he would.
Now, skip ahead sixty-eight years to the Book of Daniel – Chapter 9. The prophet Daniel had faithfully served the Lord in captivity in Babylon for sixty-eight years when one day, he reads the words of Jeremiah (that we just read) and he realized there was still a condition on Israel’s part for God to restore the nation at the end of seventy years.
Daniel realized that even though God had promised it as prophecy, the restoration of Israel was only going to happen if the people of Israel would do what God said was required, which was turn from their rejection of him and turn back to God and to his principles for the nation, and only then would God’s promise to restore them come to pass.
Daniel realizes God’s people were at a critical crossroads. The time was short, and the need was urgent.
And so, Daniel goes to prayer on behalf of God’s people, and he pleads for God’s mercy on his nation.
And this is a prayer that is absolutely required for us to pray for our own nation if we desire to be restored as a nation to a right place with God.
So, mark this prayer – and remember it – and go back to it on behalf of our nation, that God’s promises and his involvement would be restored to our nation.
In Daniel Chapter 9, as Daniel begins his prayer on behalf of the nation, notice what his first subject is. Notice what his first focus is.
Daniel 9:3-4 (NLT)
3 So I turned to the Lord God (Set My Face to God) and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.
4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.
Daniel starts with who God is, which is exactly how we should start our prayers for ourselves and our nation. Daniel starts his prayer of intercession and repentance with who God is.
You are a great and awesome God!
You always fulfill your covenant
You keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands
THAT is WHO God IS.
And then, Daniel moves to what we have done.
Daniel 9:5-6 (NLT)
5 But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.
6 We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.
Verses 3-4 are EXACTLY who GOD is
Verses 5-6 are EXACTLY what WE have done
BOTH of these things are a confession to God. To confess simply means to agree with God, and so this prayer starts with agreeing with God.
1). That God is an awesome and loving God
2). That we have sinned and rebelled against God
And then, Daniel repeats this process in his prayer, first who God is, then, who we are.
Daniel 9:7-8 (NLT)
7 “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you.
8 O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.
Daniel is crying out on behalf of his nation here. He’s confessing and repenting on their behalf, and Daniel fully includes himself in this prayer as guilty, along with the people.
And then, again, the prayer foes back and forth between confessing God’s greatness and confessing our sin.
Daniel 9:9-10 (NLT)
9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. (that’s who God is)
10 (who we are) We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets
Listen, guys, Israel was a nation established by God’s hand. And God gave us (as a nation) instructions to follow through his Word, and we followed them for a time. And then, we began turning from those instructions, and we chose to rebel against God and reject his instructions.
And God promised Israel there would be consequences if their nation chose to reject God and turn their backs on him, and God promises us the same thing.
Daniel 9:11 (NLT)
11 All Israel (the nation) has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice. “So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin.
God’s law promised both blessing for walking with God in obedience and consequences for turning from God in disobedience. God has made both promises perfectly clear, and God will keep his Word.
And so, them, Daniel acknowledges that God did keep his Word.
Daniel 9:12-14 (NLT)
12 [God] You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem.
13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth.
14 Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.
God will keep his Word, and God will do exactly what he has promised both in blessings and in consequences.
God is a merciful God, and he is always willing to forgive and restore, but that forgiveness and restoration will not come without us turning from sin and turning back to God.
And without that repentance, the consequences that God promises will follow our continued rejection of him.
And then, in verse 15, Daniel goes all the way back to God rescuing his people from Egypt, which was really the beginning of Israel as a great nation. And we can go all the way back to God’s involvement in our American Revolutionary War. (Google “God’s hand in the Revolutionary War,” and you’ll see.)
Here’s God’s deliverance of Israel.
Daniel 9:15 (NLT)
15 “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness.
It’s not quite as big as Israel, but the miracles of God in our War of Independence are also clearly recorded, and yet, like Israel, we have turned from God and rejected him in order to embrace our own wickedness.
And so, finally, as Daniel begins to wrap up his prayer for his nation, we can see exactly how we should wrap up our prayers for our nation.
Daniel’s final plea to God is not based on anything the people could offer. His prayer of intercession is based completely on who God is. It’s based solely on God’s own character, God’s own nature, and God’s own faithfulness.
All Daniel can do is confess and repent of his nation’s sin and cry out to God for mercy on behalf of his nation, and today that is what we should be doing.
Notice, Daniel’s prayer ends based solely on who God IS and not in any way on what the people deserve.
Daniel 9:16-19 (NLT)
16 In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.
17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.
18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.
19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”
God, we cry out for your mercy on our nation, not because we deserve it but for the honor of your name. We have nothing to offer you, God, except that we belong to you, and we bear your name.
And on that truth alone, we come to you God to cry out for your mercy on our nation and to pray for a revival and a return to you and to your great plan for this nation.
Lord God, you are full of unfailing love and mercy; that’s who you are. And Lord, we have rejected you as a nation, and we have turned our backs on you. Please save our nation, Lord – not because we deserve it, but for the glory and honor of your own name.