A Departure


For the last 80 weeks, we have taken up a Psalm for the Friday devotional. This week, we take a departure. Last night in one of my small group Bible Studies we were reading Daniel 9 and I was struck to the heart at the appropriateness of the reading for us today; especially in the U.S. where we are facing (finally) an end to the presidential election cycle. It has been a difficult several months for this nation. We are battered and defeated by the entire process. But I believe that God is calling out to us with a loud voice; we have but to turn back to Him and listen. These verses from Daniel seemed to hit the mark. I have omitted the specific references to Jerusalem and kept the prayer more generic than it was originally written. But these words have power and if more Christians prayed them with intensity and intentionality, I believe God would hear and heal our land. Frankly, we have nowhere else to turn. It is past time to turn back to God with hearts of repentance and beg Him for mercy.


Daniel 9:4–19

4O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments,
5we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from Your commandments and rules.
6We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the inhabitants of this land, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which You have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against You.
8To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
9To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him
10and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
11All of us have transgressed Your law and turned aside, refusing to obey Your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against Him.
12He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against the Lord.
13As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.
14Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that He has done, and we have not obeyed His voice.
15And now, O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16O Lord, according to all Your righteous acts, let Your anger and Your wrath turn away, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Your people have become a byword among all who are around us.
17Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of Your servants and to their pleas for mercy, and for Your own sake, O Lord, make Your face to shine upon Your people, who are desolate.
18O my God, incline Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and see our desolations. For we do not present our pleas before You because of our righteousness, but because of Your great mercy.
19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your people are called by Your name.

I will be praying this prayer every day for the next 10 days (and probably beyond). It is never the wrong time to beg God for mercy and to fall before Him and beg forgiveness. As Christians, we know that we have that forgiveness in the blood of Jesus. Now it is time to live our lives like we mean it.

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