Daniel’s prayer for Israel while they were in captivity is not simply a historical story. It is an example for us to follow. Just as Israel ignored the warnings from God that led to Jerusalem’s destruction, so the nations today are ignoring the abundant warnings in the Scriptures about the destruction set to happen in our day. It is time that we follow Daniel’s example of seeking God, asking His forgiveness, and praying for His blessing to be on our nations.
Show Notes:
The United States of America has enjoyed tremendous blessings since its founding. And we celebrate those blessings every July 4th. But even more than that, we celebrate the fact that God was involved with our founding. This nation began because people were seeking God and acknowledging Him in its formation. But we must do more than remember what great things God did in the founding of this country. We need to be walking with Him today in such a way that the blessings, the gifts, and the peace that we have experienced in this country will continue.
This applies to all nations; and Christians everywhere need to be seeking God that His covering and blessings will rest on their nations. A great example of this from the Scriptures is Daniel. Daniel was very concerned about his nation, the nation of Israel, and he prayed, “Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.” When we look at all that is turning our own nation away from God and away from the values that are the source of the blessings we enjoy, we should feel a deep personal shame and seek God as Daniel did.
Daniel walked uprightly before the Lord and had not done any of the things God was judging Israel for. Yet he humbled himself and accepted responsibility along with all Israel for the situation they were in. As Christians we cannot exclude ourselves from the responsibility for our country. Let us evaluate our own hearts and minds. Let us lift our own thinking and ways of acting before the Lord for Him to examine. Let us be honest with ourselves about why we are in the circumstances today that are troubling the nations. Those circumstances are God’s way to get us to turn to Him. Let us turn to Him with all our hearts and seek Him for His blessings to be restored to us.
Key Verses:
- Daniel 9:2–12. “Open shame belongs to us … because we have sinned against You.”
- Psalm 132:14. “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”
- 2 Chronicles 7:16. “My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”
- Daniel 9:16–22. “For Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.”
Quotes:
- “I wish we as a global community of the Body of Christ would seek God on behalf of all our nations.”
- “God so loved the world and He so loved mankind that He’s bringing about an opportunity of grace for us to cry out to Him and find deliverance through Him.”
- “If we get instruction and answers from God, let us not this time harden our hearts. Let us not at this time close our ears and our minds to what His Word is speaking to us. And let’s believe that He brings in this generation the insight and the understanding that will, by His grace, bring deliverance to this age.”
Takeaways:
- We should be those who acknowledge our own responsibility for whatever direction our nation is going and whatever troubles it finds itself in. And we should be seeking God for our nation to return to Him and see His blessings return to us.
- Let us not follow the example of those who ignored the warnings, hardened their hearts, and turned away from the prophets and the Word God was speaking. Instead, let us follow Daniel’s example of admitting our guilt and seeking God for His grace and forgiveness.
- We need to change the atmosphere of anger in this country. The drive to not listen, to not learn, to not love but rather to hurt one another, leads to violence. And violence will beget violence until we find ourselves on the brink of civil war once again.
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