BIBLE MEDITATION:
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments. Daniel 9:5
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Reading Daniel’s prayer in this verse, you might find yourself asking, “Did Daniel do all that—committed iniquity, done wickedly, rebelled and departed?” No. Daniel simply included himself in his prayer for his nation.
Daniel was one of the mostly godly men in the Old Testament. Daniel is one of only two men (the other being Joseph) about whom the Old Testament says not one word to indicate they ever displeased God. So why is Daniel saying this? Because he was identifying with the sin of his people and lifting them up before the Lord in great humility.
Does God hold me accountable for the abortion in America? Yes! Does God hold me accountable for the pornography? Yes! For the drug addiction, alcoholism, materialism, humanism? Yes, He does. Friend, if the church had done what she ought to have done, and if we would do what we ought to do, these problems would be healed. And while we may not commit these sins, they are still our sins. Verse 20 of this same chapter makes it so clear: “While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel….”
Now, people who don’t know God aren’t going to confess the sin of this nation. Like Daniel, we must set our face and pray with reflection and repentance, confessing our sin and the sin of America. Only sin that is confessed is forgiven.
ACTION POINT:
Have you ever set your face to prayer? So much of our prayer, I hate to say, is casual prayer, prayer that comes with almost a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. We must set our face before God with fasting and determination.
