Deeper Reflection
In his book, Answering God: The Psalms As Tools For Prayer, the late Eugene Peterson defines prayer as “Answering God”. God has spoken in His Word and prayer is our response to God – answering God – in what He has spoken. Daniel 9:4-19 is a long prayer of Daniel. It is Daniel’s response to the Word of God: “I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures” (v.2, NIV) is followed by “I prayed to the LORD my God” (vv.3-4). Word and prayer are inseparably intertwined, that both together form our communion and conversation with God. But we begin with Scripture.When Daniel prayed, he had in mind the Word of God: “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfil My good word to you” (Jer 29:10). Daniel prayed by looking upward at God and looking inward at God’s people that he himself was part of. Out of the 16 verses in Daniel’s prayer, references to the intensive and extensive sinfulness of God’s people are made in 11 verses (Dan 9:5-11, 13-16). The sinful people of God include “men of Judah”, “inhabitants of Jerusalem”, “all Israel” those who were in exile “nearby” and “far away”, “our kings, our princes, and our fathers” (vv.7-8). But who among these people of God were “those who love Him and keep His commandments” for whom God “keeps His covenant and steadfast love” (v.4)? For Daniel, none was worthy of God’s covenant faithfulness. Will there then be the promised “I will visit you” (Jer 29:10)? The only hope is God’s “compassion and forgiveness” (v.9).