Greetings to you, Saints in Christ Jesus. We bless the name of the Lord for the opportunity to present to you another episode of our daily study of the scriptures. We thank God for the gift of life and for His benefits on us each new day. Praise be to God.
Let us Pray as we declare the following statement of faith together:
In our today’s episode 579, we shall be examining the book of Daniel Chapter 9 titled:
Meet A Selfless Man Who Prayed Earnestly To God For His People
In this chapter, Daniel was studying the scroll containing the prophecies written by Prophet Jeremiah and something caught his attention – it’s about the prophecy that Jerusalem would be in ruin for 70 years. He became worried and instead of remaining in the worry state, he swung into prayer.
Looking at the content of his prayers, we will realise that Jerusalem’s ruin and Israel’s captivity were avoidable, had they listened to the warnings from all the prophets that God had sent to them. But then, they chose to disobey, and they reaped the consequences. Let’s read some of the ways by which the Israelites chose to disobey God. On their behalf, Daniel said:
We have sinned, we have been evil, we have done wrong.
We have rejected what you commanded us to do and have turned away from what you showed us was right.
We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our rulers, our ancestors, and our whole nation.
You, Lord, always do what is right, but we have always brought disgrace on ourselves. This is true of all of us who live in Judea and in Jerusalem and of all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far because they were unfaithful to you.
Our kings, our rulers, and our ancestors have acted shamefully and sinned against you, Lord.
You are merciful and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you. Daniel 9:5-9
The prayer of forgiveness continued till verse 20 and then in verse 21, answer came.
God sent Angel Gabriel to deliver the answer and to also explain the prophecies to him.
The seventy prophetic weeks means four hundred and ninety natural years, which should pass from the date of the proclamation to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple till the death of the Messiah. Please read Daniel 9:20-27.
According to a renown Bible Scholar called Clarke, he says:
When Daniel says, “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week,” that is seven years, Daniel 9:27.
This confirmation of the covenant must take in the ministry of John the Baptist with that of our Lord, comprehending the term of seven years, during the whole of which he might be well said to confirm or ratify the new covenant with mankind. Our Lord says, “The law was until John;” but from his first public preaching the kingdom of God, or Gospel dispensation, commenced.
These seven years, added to the four hundred and eighty-three, complete the four hundred and ninety years, or seventy prophetic weeks; so that the whole of this prophecy, from the times and corresponding events, has been fulfilled to the very letter.
It therefore means that the Messiah had already come. He was unjustly killed, but on the third day, he resurrected.
Unfortunately, the Jews did not believe this. Rather, they are still waiting for their own Messiah till date.
Nevertheless, the lesson we are to derive from this passage is that God still answers prayers. If only we can find a single soul to stand in the gap just like Daniel did for his people, God is always ready and available to answer prayers.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says:
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
What are you going through right now? Instead of grumbling, whining, and complaining about your current situation, why not turn it into prayer moment with God, humble yourself before Him, supplicate on behalf of your family and see how He is going to come through for you in a remarkable way. If God can do it for Daniel, He can do it for you too.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed.
Let us Pray as we declare the following statement of faith together:
I refuse to worry about anything. Rather, I choose to pray about everything. Divine right action is mine. Divine success is mine. Divine love fills my soul, and whatever I do will prosper. As I engage my thoughts in prayers, I receive speedy answers, in Jesus name. Amen!
Bible Readings For Today: Ezekiel Chapters 16, 17, 18 & 19 with Isaiah Chapter 39
I call you blessed now and always.
Wednesday October 28, 2020 (DDMI)
