Daniel 9:3-7
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request 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…”
In this scripture, Daniel is praying for his nation, Israel. The nation had been warned for decades- centuries even- to remain morally pure, to remain faithful to God and His commandments (which were not difficult to keep and were beneficial for the nation at large), and to be as salt and light among the other nations. Despite a few good times, Israel overall refused to do it. The nation sank, guideless and defenseless, and their capital Jerusalem was ravaged by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. I guess you could say that national pride was pretty low.
Daniel and other young princes of Israel had been taken captive by Babylonians and sent to Babylonia to serve the empire there. Daniel grew to become one of Babylon’s wise men, serving as a minister to the kingdom. But he did not forget God nor his heritage. Rather, Daniel’s heart and mind were constantly toward God and His people. The book of Daniel, chapter 9, relates the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man: the prayer of intercession on behalf of his people. Daniel knew that God would open the way for His people to return to the land, that they would not always be captives in a strange land.
I read this prayer often when I think of my own country, the U.S. Early on in our history, our nation had turned its heart to God and His commandments. “No king but King Jesus” was a rallying cry during our fight for independence almost 300 years ago. Our founders who created this amazing government recognized that the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness were not the decrees of politicians or popes, but are endowed to us by God; and that governments were created to protect these rights- moreover, they believed that only a moral and religious people could maintain such a system.
Now as we see morality and true religion going down the toilet, we consequently see the beauty of our government system swirling down with it. It’s distressing to watch. But like Daniel, I know that there are many who have been lifting up intercessory prayers for our nation. We may still see some very difficult times, but I believe like Abraham did, “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18). Even despite the daily dose of discouraging news from the media, from politicians, and others, God is sovereign and our rights do still come from Him.
Intercession is much more than praying a prayer or hoping for something. Intercession is standing in the gap for someone or for something. Sometimes it is prayer, but definitely it involves a lifestyle of commitment and devotion to God. The Bible is full of such examples. I think for us modern-day Christians, we are being called to intercede more than ever before, for “the night is far spent; the day is at hand.”
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March 11th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Great post, especially in light of this story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/03/09/us.religion.less.christian/index.html
March 11th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Good post, Rebecca. Without doubt, intercession is more than a prayer. When I think of the heart that is required, I think of Moses and Paul both offering to have God blot their names out of his book, that others may be written in.
Thanks for participating!
March 11th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Great post! There is a great book about intercession, called “Rees Howells: Intercessor,” written by Norman Grubb, who I think was a British missionary.
And Jean pointed out some great examples above.
I sometimes wonder, especially since I read the story of Rees Howells, that if you were to go through history and examine the times of international crisis — when people thought the world would come to an end — you would find Christians who were interceding in that particular situation, and things turned around.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Howells was from Wales, and came of age during the Welsh Revival, I think around 1906, and you’re right, Herky - it’s a great book! Shortly after my husband and I were married, we were in a Christian book store and this book “jumped” out at my husband to get for me. Dog-eared (and literally dog-chewed!) it’s one I return to again and again. In fact, it’s on my profile.
Thanks for the reminder. Maybe it’s time for another run-through.