Lesson 22 – Response to a Humble Prayer

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16.

SEARCHING FOR UNDERSTANDING

SUNDAY

1. What did Daniel see come to pass in fulfillment of the vision given in Chapter 8? With what thought was he preoccupied?

Daniel 5:30, 31; 9:1, 2 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. 9:1, 2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

“Daniel’s prayer had been offered ‘in the first year of Darius’ (verse 1), the Median monarch whose general, Cyrus, had wrested from Babylonia the scepter of universal rule. The reign of Darius was honored of God. To him was sent the angel Gabriel, ’to confirm and to strengthen him.’ Daniel 11:1…. “The answer that was given, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,’ filled him with perplexity. Earnestly he sought for the meaning of the vision. He could not understand the relation sustained by the seventy years’ captivity, as foretold through Jeremiah, to the twenty-three hundred years that in vision he heard the heavenly visitant declare would elapse before the cleansing of God’s sanctuary. The angel Gabriel gave him a partial interpretation; yet when the prophet heard the words, ‘The vision … shall be for many days,’ he fainted away.” –Prophets and Kings, pp. 556, 554.

MONDAY

2. How did he go about his search for more understanding? What did he recognize as the reason for what had happened to his people?

Daniel 9:3-8 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by depart- ing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:6 Neither have we hear- kened unto thy servants the proph- ets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princ- es, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

“In his petition he identified himself fully with those who had fallen short of the divine purpose, confessing their sins as his own….

“Though Daniel had long been in the service of God, and had been spo- ken of by heaven as ‘greatly beloved,’ yet he now appeared before God as a sinner, urging the great need of the people he loved. His prayer was eloquent in its simplicity, and intensely earnest. Hear him pleading:…”–Prophets and Kings, p. 555.

PRAYER AND CONFESSION

TUESDAY

3. To what did he cling? What law did he remember?

Daniel 9:9-13 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusa- lem.13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and under- stand thy truth.

“Have not we as great need to call upon God as had Daniel? I address those who believe that we are living in the very last period of this earth’s history. I entreat you to take upon your own souls a burden for our church- es, our schools, and our institutions. That God who heard Daniel’s prayer will hear ours when we come to Him in contrition. Our necessities are as urgent, our difficulties are as great, and we need to have the same inten- sity of purpose, and in faith roll our burden upon the great Burden-bearer. There is need for hearts to be as deeply moved in our time as in the time when Daniel prayed.” –Conflict and Courage, p. 256.

WEDNESDAY

5. What had been said to Moses concerning this law? What divine characteristic did Daniel acknowledge in his prayer?

Deuteronomy 28:15, 36, 37 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 36 The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.

Daniel 9:14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righ- teous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

“To this point Daniel’s prayer is employed in making a full and heartbroken confession of sin. He vindicates fully the course of the Lord, acknowledg- ing the sins of his people to be the cause of all their calamites, as God had threatened them by the prophet Moses.” –Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, p. 195.

“The prophet Daniel was an example of true sanctification. His long life was filled up with noble service for his Master. He was a man ‘greatly be- loved’ (Daniel 10:11) of Heaven. Yet instead of claiming to be pure and holy, this honored prophet identified himself with the really sinful of Israel as he pleaded before God in behalf of his people: ‘We do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy great mer- cies.’” –The Great Controversy, p. 470.

NO RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ONE’S OWN

THURSDAY

5. Being conscious of the sins the people had committed, what was his fervent request?

Daniel 9:15-18, first part And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wick- edly.16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fa- thers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctu- ary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and be- hold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name…

“Daniel makes no plea on the ground of his own goodness, but he says: ‘O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our des- olations, and the city which is called by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies.‘ Daniel 9:18. His intensity of desire makes him earnest and fer- vent. He continues: ‘O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God: for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name.’” –That I May Know Him, p. 271.

FRIDAY

6. Upon what could neither he nor his people depend? Therefore, what did he rely on?

Daniel 9:18, last part, 19 …for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness- es, but for thy great mercies.19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

“The prophet now pleads the honor of the Lord’s name as a reason why he desires his petition to be granted… Not that God is moved with motives of ambition and vainglory; but when His people are jealous for the honor of His name, when they evince their love for Him by pleading with Him to work, not for their own personal benefit, but for His own glory, that His name may not be reproached and blasphemed among the heathen, this is acceptable with Him. Daniel then intercedes for the city of Jerusalem, called by God’s name, and His holy mountain, for which He has had such love, and beseeches Him, for His mercies’ sake, to let His anger be turned away. Finally, his mind centers upon the holy sanctuary, God’s own dwelling place upon this earth, and he pleads that its desolations may be repaired.” –Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, p. 196.

A RAPID RESPONSE

SABBATH

7. What wonderful experience did he make through this prayer? What commission was now to be completed?

Daniel 9:20-23; 8:16 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Ga- briel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.22 And he in- formed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore under- stand the matter, and consider the vi- sion. 8:16 And I heard a man’s voice be- tween the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

“Heaven was bending low to hear the earnest supplication of the proph- et. Even before he had finished his plea for pardon and restoration, the mighty Gabriel again appeared to him,…” –Prophets and Kings, p. 556. “Yet God had bidden His messenger: ‘Make this man to understand the vision.’ That commission must be fulfilled. In obedience to it, the angel, some time afterward, returned to Daniel, saying: ‘I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding;’ ‘therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.’ Daniel 8:27, 16; 9:22, 23, 25-27. There was one important point in the vision of chapter 8 which had been left unexplained, namely, that relating to time–the period of the 2300 days;…” –The Great Controversy, p. 325.

FOR PERSONAL STUDY

In Heavenly Places, pp. 75,
Selected Messages, book 3, p.
The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 193-196