Go to the Home page Weekly bulletin article archives

A Prayer For Our Nation

by Chris Simmons

Daniel is such an impressive man who led an amazing life. Not only did he keep a lifelong commitment to his heavenly Father despite being uprooted from his family and home and taken captive in a foreign land, but he maintained a heart of humility and concern for the spiritual well being of his Israelite nation. By the time we come to Daniel chapter 9 during the reign of Darius, Daniel is an older man having likely been in captivity for over sixty years. Though blessed with positions of authority and prominence within the Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires, he has never forgotten his nation, his people, and the sin of his nation which led to what would be seventy years of captivity. Thus, Daniel chapter 9 records Daniel’s prayer for his nation as verse 3 notes, “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.” Prayer was an important part of every day of Daniel’s life (Daniel 6:10) and no doubt prayers such as those recorded in Daniel chapter 9 were frequently offered but we are blessed to read a portion of his prayer for his people. I think it’s noteworthy that, though Daniel was a righteous (not perfect) servant of God, he included himself in the confession of the sins of his nation – noted by the use of the repeated use of the pronouns “we” and “us” rather than “they” and “them.” That is not to suggest that Daniel committed all of the same sins that his fellow Israelite brethren did, but perhaps he realized (as we should) that there was more he could have done to turn others back to God and His word. The bottom line is, Daniel saw himself as part of the problem as well as part of the solution.

As we reflect on the pandemic that is sweeping our nation (and the world), I wonder if there aren’t some spiritual lessons to be learned by our nation from this. We read in Ecclesiastes 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider – God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.” Though not all adversity is because of sin, it is appropriate in the “day of adversity” to “consider” whether there is sin that needs to be confessed and repented of (cf. I Peter 4:15). That is true when we face individual adversity as well as collectively as a group of people such as a congregation or even a nation. We have such an example in Daniel chapter 9 as Daniel in the following verses uses the adversity of his nation as an opportunity to collectively “consider” their sin. Perhaps during this current “day of adversity,” we would be wise to offer a similar prayer for our nation in which we confess our sins, repent, and turn once again to God. Please carefully note Daniel’s prayer below and consider how it might apply to us and our nation today.

Daniel 9:4-19, “I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, ‘Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day – to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day – we have sinned, we have been wicked. O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

We could talk at length about the specific sins of our nation, as Daniel could have, but we need to recognize that they all stem from the fact that we also as a nation have “sinned” and “turned aside” from God’s word. We haven’t “listened” to His word but instead “rebelled against Him.” We have failed to give proper “attention to Your truth” and failed to pray as we ought. It is up to us to supplicate our heavenly Father to hear our prayer and “forgive” as we confess and repent of the “shame” of our sin and wickedness, as we recognize God’s righteous “anger” and “wrath.”

Go to the Home page Weekly bulletin article archives