Word of Encouragement (2/18/2021)

We are talking about the necessity of prayer as a divinely ordained means by which God accomplishes His purpose. This is to show that our prayer matters in the divine, predestined scheme of things.

One of the clearest and most dramatic examples of this is Daniel’s prayer in Dan. 9. There, Daniel prayed with fasting and sackcloth and ashes, confessing his sins and the sins of his people, Israel. Then, we read in v. 21, “...while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.” What did the angel Gabriel say to Daniel? “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you...” (vs. 22-23). Talk about an immediate answer from God. While Daniel was praying—that is, even before Daniel finished his prayer—in fact, at the beginning of his prayer, “a word went out” in answer to his prayer. What was that about?

We must go back and see what prompted Daniel’s prayer in the first place. We are told, “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans...” (v. 1). Israel (Judah) was in exile at that time. But as you know, it was the Babylonian Empire, which defeated the kingdom of Judah, destroyed the temple, and put the Jews on exile throughout Babylon. But we read in v. 1 that Darius was a Mede (Persian), not a Chaldean (Babylonian). Babylon was just defeated by Medo-Persia and Darius (AKA Cyrus) began his reign as the first emperor of the new Medo-Persian Empire. Why should this turn of events prompt Daniel to pray?

It was because of Jeremiah’s prophecy: “This whole land [of Israel] shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste” (Jer. 25:11-12). According to this prophecy, Babylon was destroyed by Medo-Persia. But there was another prophecy related to it: “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place” (Jer. 29:1). Daniel must have been aware of this. That is why he alludes to the destruction of Babylon at the hand of the Medo-Persian Empire. But he also realized that, while the prophecy concerning Babylon’s destruction was fulfilled, the prophecy concerning Israel’s return was not yet fulfilled. How could that be?

Daniel must have also been aware of another important piece of the puzzle. God already prophesied that Israel would be exiled from the Promised Land for their disobedience back in Lev. 26, even before Israel took possession of the land: “And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste” (Lev. 26:33). But God also promised to bring them back. But for that to happen, something had to happen first: “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me..., then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land” (Lev. 26:40, 42).

This is why Daniel confesses his sins and the sins of his people in the first year of Darius’ reign. And while he was praying—in fact, at the beginning of his prayer—“a word went out.” We understand this to be what we read about in Ezra 1:1: “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing.” This proclamation allowed the Jews to return to the land of Canaan and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:2-4). And this proclamation was issued as soon as Daniel began to pray!

Can we read this and not know that our prayer matters in the divine, predestined scheme of things? Should we not be encouraged to pray according to God’s Word?