In this captivating episode, we journey through the book of Daniel, where ancient prophecies intersect with heartfelt prayer. Learn the spiritual significance of Daniel’s supplications and how they resonate with believers today. Bible teacher David Hawking illuminates the profound connection between recognizing sin, acknowledging divine commandments, and witnessing God’s faithful response. Elevate your prayer life by embracing the timeless lessons from Daniel’s devotion.
Where does the responsibility for what’s happening in society really lie? Does it not lie at the doorstep of all of us who claim to be Christians, but who take this matter so lightly, who are not people of prayer, who somehow relegate prayer to a last resort rather than a first responsibility? Prayer. God answers prayer. Things that we don’t believe are possible. God does them and shows us that he’s a powerful God. The king’s heart is in his hand. He can turn it however he wants.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the Friday broadcast of Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been so broken, so broken, so burdened that the only thing you can do is fall on your face before God and just pour out your heart? That’s exactly where we find Daniel today, in deep prayer, interceding for his people with tears, confession, and a desperate plea for mercy. But this isn’t just a prayer. It’s a lesson. Daniel shows us what it means to stand in the gap, to own our sin, and to believe that God is still faithful to forgive and to act. Stay with us. Day one of God Answers Prayer begins in just a moment. First, we’re going to share a quick word from David.
SPEAKER 04 :
We especially want to thank all of you who have written us and called us and you’ve been ordering materials and many of you, knowing the needs of our radio broadcast, have come graciously and kindly donated to this ministry. I want you to know that these particular months beginning this year, they’re tough financially, and we’ve been watching it very carefully, and we want to pay all of our bills. So any help you can give us, folks, we really appreciate. And thank you ahead of time for all of your prayer and support.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you, David. And folks, if you’d like to send in a gift right now, you can do that by phone at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 1-888-75-BIBLE in Canada or online at davidhawking.org. And we’ll share some additional ways you can get in touch later in the program. Right now, though, here’s David with day one of God Answers Prayer.
SPEAKER 04 :
Will you take your Bibles and turn to Daniel chapter 9, please? The subject is God Answers Prayer, one of the most marvelous sections of Daniel, and one which ministers to the heart, to say the least. Right in the midst of all these prophetic visions and prophecy, Daniel goes to prayer. Daniel chapter 1, we read only down through verse 23, right up to the 70 weeks prophecy, which will be our next subject. In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord, given through Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make requests by prayer and supplications with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession and said, O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and mercy with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments. We have sinned and committed iniquity. We have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and your judgments. Neither have we heeded your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to you. But to us shame of face, as it is this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off, and all the countries to which you have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against you. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face. to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he said before us by his servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed your law and has departed so as not to obey your voice. Therefore the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us because we have sinned against him. And he has confirmed his words which he spoke against us and against our judges who judged us by bringing upon us a great disaster. For under the whole heaven such never has been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. And as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us. Yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind and brought it upon us. For the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which he does, though we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made yourself a name as it is this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all your righteousness, I pray, let your anger and your fury be turned away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of your servant and his supplications. And for the Lord’s sake, cause your face to shine on your sanctuary, which is desolate. 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 do not present our supplications before you because of our righteous deeds, but because of your great mercies. O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act. Do not delay for your own sake, my God, for your city and your people are called by your name. Now while I was speaking, 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, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications, the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore, consider the matter and understand the vision. Will you join me, please, in prayer? God, I thank you that you answer prayer. You, Lord, have done exceeding abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. You have shown that we’ve asked nothing in your name. You said, ask and we shall receive, that our joy may be full. You have told us if we ask anything in your name, according to your will, you hear us, and you will give us the petitions that we have desired of you. You have told us that if we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, the Father would be glorified, the prayer would be answered. You said whatsoever things we ask in faith, believing, we shall receive. You told us to seek and we would find, and knock and it shall be open. You told us to keep on asking, and then we would receive. God, you try all men’s hearts and you know us. You know us so well. You know what’s wrong. You know what’s standing between us and you. God, we come to you asking you to show us again the power of answered prayer. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. In the opening three verses, we have the immediate reason behind this prayer. Notice his awareness of God’s word. Verse 2, it’s always the word of God that brings you to prayer. He said, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of years specified by the word of the Lord. He saw from the Bible what God said he would do, and he took him at his word. And he saw from the Bible how God would answer and forgive his people if they’d get right with the Lord. Let’s take a look at that. Turn back to Jeremiah, please, just a little bit to the left of Daniel, and go to Jeremiah chapter 25. The immediate reason behind this prayer was focused on his awareness of God’s Word, what God had said previously, and he took it seriously. Whenever believers decide that God means what He says, and they begin to take His Word seriously, then God begins to answer prayer. Jeremiah 25, verse 11 and 12. It says, “…this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the Lord, and I’ll make it a perpetual desolation.” So I will bring on that land all my words, which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. Daniel read that. And Daniel knew that we were now at the end of that. Daniel knew that Babylon has now been destroyed. As an old man, he’s lived through the whole period. And now the Medo-Persian Empire is in power. He knows God has already fulfilled his word. If God can do that, then God can answer the prayers of his people. Turn to Jeremiah 29. Possibly his focus was also on this passage in Jeremiah. He definitely indicates in Daniel chapter 9 that it was Jeremiah’s prophecy that he was looking at. In Jeremiah 29, verse 10, it says, “‘For thus says the Lord, after 70 years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you and cause you to return to this place.'” For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you. Daniel knew they hadn’t started to pray yet and he knew it was a part of the prophecy. And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Why does God… not answer the prayers that we bring to him. Oh, there are many things we could list, but one of them for sure is we do not seek the Lord with all of our hearts. Verse 14, I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I’ll bring you back from your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations, from all the places where I’ve driven you, says the Lord, and I’ll bring you to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive. Daniel read that and his heart rejoiced. The captivity he saw was going to end. He remembered the prophecy of Jeremiah. His awareness of God’s word caused him to go to prayer because within that he read that God said, then you’ll call on me and then I’ll answer and I’ll listen to you when you seek me with all your heart. That was the motivation behind his prayer. God has done amazing things. God has fulfilled his word and we see it. Like Daniel, we read a prophecy and he looked at it and said, wait a minute. This is the first year of the reign of Darius. God has already fulfilled that portion of it. What remains is for us to get on our knees, and God has promised to take us back. This old man led the people of God in prayer. He said, if God can do that, then God can fulfill everything in that prophecy of Jeremiah. We need to do our part. We need to seek the Lord with all of our hearts. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 7.14, if my people… Not the world, not the unbelievers. If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Where does the responsibility for what’s happening in society really lie? does it not lie at the doorstep of all of us who claim to be Christians, but who take this matter so lightly, who are not people of prayer, who somehow relegate prayer to a last resort rather than a first responsibility? Prayer. God answers prayer. Things that we don’t believe are possible, God does them and shows us that he’s a powerful God. The king’s heart is in his hand. He can turn it however he wants. Back to Daniel again, chapter 9. Not only his awareness of God’s word caused him to go to prayer, but look at his approach to God. That tells me a lot about Daniel. Look at the verse number 3 in the opening phrase. After reading what God’s word said… It says, then, after seeing it in the Word, then I set my face. I want to ask you, out of all the priorities and busyness of life, do you set your face to pray? Do you determine that there’s one thing I’m going to do if everything else doesn’t happen? I am going to pray. Most important ministry of the believer is prayer. I mean, prayer is not the responsibility of a few people who gather in a room at a midweek service in a church and try to call upon God. Prayer is what ought to be the practice and habit of life of every believer who understands his relationship with God. We ought to be praying constantly, as the Bible says, pray without ceasing. It ought to be our relationship with God to talk to him about everything. Every meeting we have, every person we communicate, every situation we face, our first response ought to be, let’s pray. Prayer. Did you set your face toward God? His approach to God. He knew that the Lord would give the answer. He had confidence in God. That’s why it says, I set my face toward the Lord God to make requests by prayer. I saw it in the word. I found out who God is. And I knew that God would answer prayer. And I fixed my face upon him. And I wasn’t going to leave until I had made my prayer to God. Notice also in the third place his attitude toward the matter. The end of verse 3, he was not coming with arrogance and pride. The Bible says that he came with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Sackcloth and ashes. Putting on an old, dirty robe. Not the one we kept clean and washed down at the river this morning. No, just gave me that old sackcloth. It was a symbolic gesture. Find some ashes somewhere. Oh, they didn’t have to be ashes of anything. Could have been a building that burned down or could have been an animal that was burned. Just give me some ashes and I’ll put it on top of my head and you’ll know what I feel. the sign of remorse, the sign of humbling, the sign that I am nothing. Hey, that is so foreign to us. That isn’t the way we think at all. We wonder why God doesn’t answer prayer. Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, the Bible says, and he shall lift you up. I think we learn a lot in the reason behind this prayer. His awareness of God’s Word, his very approach to God, knowing that God would do what he said, and his very attitude in it explains to me a lot of why God answered this old man’s prayer. The second thing I draw to your attention after looking at the immediate reason behind the prayer is the recognition of sin and a willingness to acknowledge it before God. This is the missing ingredient in contemporary praying. We don’t want to deal with this. The recognition of sin and the willingness to acknowledge it before God. That’s verses 4 to 15, a rather lengthy section. Let me break it down by giving you six things that he recognized. Number one, he recognized God’s relationship to his people. What else have we got, people? We come to God because we are his children. And he said, I prayed to God, to the Lord my God, and made confession, said, O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and mercy with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments. That’s our relationship with God. And he started out as he’s recognizing sin in his life and the life of the people. He recognized God’s relationship to his people. We’re coming to somebody who loves us, folks, when we pray. You’ve got a lot of sin and corruption in your life, and so do I. We come before God. Hey, God loves us. We are his children. He invites us to come to the throne of grace where we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. If we’re going to pray right… we recognize God’s relationship to us. Secondly, he recognized their rebellion against God. Verse 5 and 6. He didn’t try to hide it. He mentioned two things in verse 5, refusing to live in obedience to God’s law and will. Refusing. He says, we have sinned. We have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and your judgments. Look, God wants to answer prayer. But I’ll tell you something that hinders prayer. It’s sin and rebellion. The Bible says that rebellion is like witchcraft. It’s better to obey than to even sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15, 22 and 23. We need to obey God. God answers the prayer of those who obey him. He not only recognized that they refused to live in obedience to the will of God, but in recognizing the rebellion, he mentioned they had rejected God’s servants who gave them God’s message. Verse 6, Neither have we heeded your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. We hear the word of God through God’s instruments, his tools, just simple people who preach and teach the word of God. And we hear what God says, and a lot of us, it goes in one ear and out the other. We don’t pay attention to it. We don’t concentrate on it. We don’t want to listen to it. Unless it’s really entertaining and interesting, we don’t listen. You know, it’s difficult to preach in this culture. Do you know that? It’s not difficult to preach the wonderful Word of God, but it’s difficult to preach in this culture. This is the age that I believe the Bible told us about before the second coming of Christ, when people would not endure sound doctrine. They’d want teachers who would tickle their ears and entertain them and say what they want to hear. This is not the age for strong Bible teaching and doctrine. Hey, I know sometimes we’re downright boring, and I know sometimes we’re talking about something you’re not interested in. I know all of that. But you know, it scares me. It scares me in study. It scares me in preaching. It scares me for you. When you hear the Word of God, we’re responsible for it. Then we cry and wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayer and why He’s not working in our life. One of the reasons is we haven’t been listening to His servants teach the Word. We just shut down. We don’t concentrate anymore. Don’t bring our Bibles. Don’t take any notes. Don’t really want to review it during the week. That’s about it. Come, get your shot in the arm, go away and do whatever you want to do. Folks, this is not the way to find God answering prayer.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. We’ll have more teaching from David in just a moment. Stay tuned for that. First though, Matt’s here, and together we’re going to share a great Bible study resource with you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Matt? Jim, Daniel had exceptionally strong character and courage. And one might have a feeling that it’s impossible for us to reach that level, so to speak. But what you see clearly in the book that bears his name is a man and three friends who didn’t put their faith in natural abilities, luck, and certainly not going along with the crowd. They actively put their confidence and courage in the Lord.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, in his strength, faithfulness, love, wisdom, and promises that they actively grew in their knowledge of and commitment to the Lord.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Yeah, and that same confidence and courage to live for our Lord Jesus Christ today, that strong relationship to him is available to us.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, we see it modeled and explained in the 12 chapters of Daniel. Right, and that’s what makes this book so dynamic. So stay with us for the series on radio and save what you learn and share it with others by ordering the complete series on MP3 for just $30.
SPEAKER 02 :
In fact, you can order and download right away at DavidHawking.org. Oh, yeah. DavidHawking.org. Or if you prefer traditional audio CDs, we have a series in that format for just $50. Call us in Canada at 1-888-75-BIBLE. In the U.S., call us at 1-875-BIBLE.
SPEAKER 01 :
And Bible by the Numbers, Matt, is 24253.
SPEAKER 02 :
We need to have the courage and biblical conviction today that only comes from a vibrant relationship with the Lord, which is modeled by Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
SPEAKER 01 :
And that’s what this series is all about. The MP3 set, $30. On audio CDs, $50.
SPEAKER 02 :
And we also have the original message, outlines, and study notes in Daniel for just $10.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, Matt, we also want to tell folks about your dad’s powerful book, Daniel, Prophecies of the Last Days. Inside the book, David breaks down the visions, the symbols, and the end-time implications of Daniel in a way that’s easy to follow and grounded in Scripture. And the book is available right now for just $20. To order Daniel, Prophecies of the Last Days, give us a call, 875-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And you can also find this book at davidhawking.org. Now, as David mentioned at the start of today’s broadcast, we’re relying on God to provide through listeners who believe in what we’re doing. If this ministry is blessing you, if it’s challenging you in helping you stay grounded in God’s Word, you can send a gift by mail to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, 8P1. Let’s get back to our study.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thanks for listening to our broadcast. We’re in Daniel 9, verses 1 to 23, on the subject of God Answers Prayer. Let’s don’t forget verses 1 to 3, the immediate reason behind this prayer. I would call it the awareness of God’s Word and His approach to God. He knew the Lord would give the answer. He had confidence in God. And his attitude? Well, he had fasting, sackcloth, ashes. Wow! What we have here is a recognition of sin and the willingness to acknowledge it before God. That’s verses 4 to 15. When Daniel recognizes his need before God, he recognized God’s relationship to his people. That’s verse 4. And he recognized their rebellion against God in two ways. One, they refused to live in obedience to God’s law and will. That’s what’s in verse 5. And then rejecting God’s servants who gave God’s message. And that’s in verse 6. So he recognized the results of sin and that shame of faith. He also recognized their resistance to God himself. In verse 9, it says, we have rebelled against him. Verse 11 says, we’ve sinned against him. Plan to be with us for our next broadcast.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you, David. And by the way, friend, if you missed any part of today’s program or if you want to hear something again, remember you can always go to davidhawking.org and catch up on the most recent broadcast. That’s davidhawking.org. Well, next time on Hope for Today, it’s day two of God Answers Prayer from Daniel chapter nine. You know, Daniel pours out his heart before God. And the response from heaven, it’s swift, personal, and it’s unmistakable. If you’ve ever wondered whether God really hears your prayers, then this message is for you. And you know something? It’s for me as well. We’ll be sure to invite someone you know to listen along with you right here on Hope for Today. Hope for Today
In this captivating episode, we journey through the book of Daniel, where ancient prophecies intersect with heartfelt prayer. Learn the spiritual significance of Daniel’s supplications and how they resonate with believers today. Bible teacher David Hawking illuminates the profound connection between recognizing sin, acknowledging divine commandments, and witnessing God’s faithful response. Elevate your prayer life by embracing the timeless lessons from Daniel’s devotion.
