And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Daniel 9:3
Have the numbers in fellowship in the Assembly where you meet increased or decreased in recent years? If it’s like most Assemblies where the Word of God is honoured and every effort is made to be faithful to the truth, it’s getting harder and harder to fill the chairs at most meetings. Numbers dwindle as the old folks go Home, as others move away or become disillusioned or discouraged, as young folks fail to grasp the value of New Testament Assembly truths and drift away to denominations or nothing. Our testimonies and their impact on our communities continue to shrink. Just as Daniel was saddened by the desolation of Jerusalem, so we in our day are saddened by the creeping desolation of the places where the Lord has been pleased to place His Name in our day. But note in today’s text that Daniel was prepared to do something about it.
In the previous verse, Daniel had been studying his Bible. He discovered in Jeremiah’s prophecy that God had placed a time frame on the desolations of Jerusalem. The seventy years were rapidly passing by, and Daniel realized that there was hope of a restoration when the time frame was complete. As a result, he began to pray. His prayer included an acknowledgment of his own and all of Israel’s sin, an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God, and an entreaty that God would show mercy and kindness on the people He had placed under chastisement. Some of Daniel’s prayer approach would undoubtedly go a long way to correct some of the declension among God’s Assemblies today.
Study Daniel’s approach to his prayer, the fasting, sackcloth, and ashes that accompanied his prayer, and the great remorse he displayed as he drew near to God. When was the last time any of us gave up even one meal so we could spend time in prayer? When was the last time any of us took such pains to take a place of deep humility before God? When was the last time you heard somebody in a prayer meeting remind God of what wretched and undeserving sinners we are, in the same tone as Daniel prayed? One thing that was absolutely missing from Daniel’s prayer was any evidence of pride or any hint that God owed him anything. Do we pray as though we deserve God’s blessing?
We need to get Daniel’s vision of God and Daniel’s vision of himself, before we can expect God to come in and restore us. -Jim MacIntosh