“Urgency of Prayer” | Daniel 9:1–19 | Pastor Keith

Our world is dying, and I'm not saying it because of climate

change, because it's just the cycles of the world.

Doctor David Bellamy, we touched on that the other week, told us

that. But our nation spiritually,

families crumbling, the church is lacking in power and God at

this time in our world's history is calling you.

You were gathered here, those of you online, watching as he did

with young Samuel to hear him. Young boys and young girls,

those of you here in the sanctuary, God is looking for

David's. He's looking for Mary.

Mary, you remember, was between the age of 13 to 15, and she

bore the Son of God. She took on the greatest task

where she knew she was going to be called immoral.

That's a nice way of putting it for the rest of her life.

And she would have to tell Joseph she was pregnant even

though she had not been with any man.

You teenagers. God is looking for Jeremiah's.

Jeremiah was called to be a preacher.

Much of Daniel today, Chapter 9 is to do with Jeremiah.

He's between the age of 15 and 17.

God asked him to do one of the most difficult mission ever as a

prophet to call out his nation for idolatry.

God is looking for Daniels, Meshach, Abednego, Shadrachs.

He's looking for Andrews teenagers, Andrews teenagers who

will get your kids at school. Ask your teenage friend to come,

your teenage sports team person and your team to come to church

to know Christ. Young adults those of you who

are young adults, God is calling out for esters for you to stand

up for such a time as this for Joseph's for young Joseph's to

be to be strong and and always wanting to just serve the Lord

no matter where it put placed him.

Moms and dads this morning. God is desperate for Abrahams

and Sarahs people of faith mum and dads of faith.

He's desperate for Zechariahs. Maybe you're a bit older and

Elizabeth's, he's desperate for Hannah's who will pray and say,

Lord, this child that I have, I'll dedicate him completely to

you. She did that with Samuel.

We're in a period in our world's history like never before.

We are on the verge the edge of a period in church prophecy that

Jesus said this world has never experienced or will ever

experience ever again. Matthew 24 The rapture is

imminent. Nothing needs to happen.

Nothing more needs to be set. The rapture can occur at any

moment. Following the rapture of the

Church will be the tribulation period.

Seven years of virtually how long upon earth?

Seven years. You don't want to be here.

The judgement of God, the Antichrist, who I believe is

alive. I don't know who He is walking

our earth. He will soon rise to power.

There's never been a period like this for the urgency of you to

pray. So I'm not another message on

prayer. Well, there's four of you here

this morning as we listen to God's Word.

Those who'll have hard hearts as the Word of God goes out, the

Word of God will do what it's sent to do.

It won't return void. Isaiah chapter 55, verses 10 and

Isaiah 55:10

11 says that. But the seed as the word goes

out will land upon your heart. And it's up to you whether you

have a hard heart and it just bounces off.

Then as those of you who'll have a second heart, that'll be those

of you who'll who'll listen to it for a moment.

So yeah, that's really good. I need to do that.

And you'll walk out the church, go home, forget all about it.

No, Root. And then we, those of you who

go, yeah, God spoke to me today, you know, we need to take that

to account. And as you go about your

business, Pastor Mullen said you'll be too busy.

You know, you can be too busy. You say I'm too busy.

Yeah, you are. You're too busy.

You know who's in control of that?

Nobody else but yourself. You can't be too busy for God,

like you can't be too busy for your husband, too busy for your

wife. You can't be too busy for your

family, for your children. You can't do that.

It's, it's, it's, it's not kosher.

You cannot be too busy for God. And then there's the fourth

heart, which I pray all of you will have, will be soft hearts

that you'll hear the word of God.

It'll go deep into your being, your very soul, and you'll live

and obey what God's Word says to you today, and you'll bear fruit

in your life, fruit in yourself as an individual, in your

family, in your marriage, in your children.

There's never been a period like now for the urgency of you to

pray, but it's a choice. You must choose to pray.

Now Daniel has been reading the background to Chapter 9 is this.

Daniel has been reading the Holy Scriptures, the scrolls, They've

come into his presence, especially the prophecy of

Jeremiah, which Jeremiah had written in 597 BC, telling them

this message. Jeremiah chapter 25, verse 8 to

Jeremiah 25:8–12

12. I'll read it to you.

Therefore. Thus says the Lord of hosts, and

he's speaking to Judah and to Israel.

Because you have not heard my words.

They've heard them, but they didn't pay attention to them.

Remember the wise man and the foolish man building a house.

They both heard. All four hearts and the sorrow

on the sea. They all heard.

You'll hear today, but it's what you do with it.

Because you've not heard my words.

And behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,

says the Lord. And Nebuchadnezzar, the king of

Babylon. My servant will bring them

against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these

nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, make them

an astonishment, A hissing and perpetual desolations.

Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice

of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the

bride. Tragedy was to come to Israel.

The sound of the millstones, of the light of the lamp.

In other words, there's not going to be anyone working and

enjoying food. Verse 11 And this whole land,

Israel shall be a desolation and an astonishment.

And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years.

This is before it all happened. Then it will come to pass when

70 years are completed in Babylon.

Then 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.

Jeremiah 2910. It then says, For thus says the

Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will

visit you and perform my good work toward you in causing you

to return home. Now here's what he says at the

end of this in Jeremiah and Daniel has been reading this,

the Lord says, for I know the thoughts that I think towards

you. This is God speaking the same

God who says judgments going to come, says the Lord thoughts of

peace. I don't want to do this, but

you've left me no choice not of evil to give you an expected

end. Then after that 70 years, then

you shall call upon me, and you shall go and do what you'll

pray. You'll pray unto me, and I will

listen to you, and you shall seek me.

And when you seek me because you're praying, you'll find me.

And when you shall search for me with all your heart, and I'll be

found of you, says the Lord. And I will turn away your

captivity. I will gather you from all the

nations and from all the places where I've driven you, says the

Lord. And I'll bring you again into

the place which I cause you to be carried away from captive.

There are three significant chapter nines in the Old

Testament, and each of them contain a prayer of similar

nature. Ezra Chapter 9.

Ezra 9 · chapter mention

Nehemiah Chapter 9. Daniel Chapter 9.

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention Daniel 9 · chapter mention

In each instant we find a servant of God on their knees

before the word of God with the word of God praying and

interceding for the people of God.

In verses 1 to 2 will see the promptings of prayer.

Why did Daniel pray this prayer And I've got to tell you this is

my favourite prayer in the Bible.

Daniel Chapter 9 in verse one. It will tell us the time of the

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

prayer prayer that it was the period when Cyrus the Persian

remember Babylonian falls in the Medes and the Persians take over

placed his uncle Darius on the throne of Babylon to rule part

of the new Medo Persian Empire. The events in Chapter 9 follow

chronologically those from chapter 5 that doesn't go 567.

It's actually chapter 5 and then the events in Chapter 9 follow

chapter 5 S 9 verse one follows directly Daniel 531.

It was the year 538 BC. Now, remember, it was a massive

period of upheaval, not only in Babylon with the fall of Babylon

and the Medes and the Persians taken over, but a massive

upheaval in Daniel's life. So what did Daniel do when

things around him, it's getting to the end of the Babylonian

empire. He's read Jeremiah.

He knows things are about to change.

Prophecy is ringing in his ears. He's stationing the future that

it's about to change that God had planned.

So what does he do? He buried himself in the Word of

God. I pray that you are students of

the Word of God, particularly now, Daniel, the Book of

Revelation. Your kids need to know the Book

of Revelation. They need to know about the

rapture. They need to know about the

coming tribulation. They need to know why such

things are happening in Israel right now.

In particular, Daniel buried himself in the prophet Jeremiah.

You see, reading the Scriptures, being passionate about prayer,

tells us that they stand and fall together.

If you're not a praying person, I guarantee you're not reading

the Bible. If you read the Bible solidly, I

guarantee you're a praying person.

If your prayer life is lacking, you need to grab the Bible.

Give yourself to a steady, quiet, reflective reading.

Perhaps just start with one book and you will be prompted.

No matter what, you'll be driven to pray.

As you read the Bible, you will begin to pray because as you

read, what happens? You read the Bible, God starts

speaking to you. The Holy Spirit will direct your

thoughts to matters and people He wants you to pray for.

Give Dad a call, you'll be reading it.

And listen Give Dad a call, you'll be reading it.

Maybe you're the husband, you know I'm reading the script.

I need to forgive my Ask God to help me to be a better husband.

I need to ask my wife to forgive me.

I need to, as I'm reading the scriptures, you're reading the

the word of God and and the Holy Spirit speak.

You need to go and speak to your child that one.

She needs a special time with you now.

You need to courage encourage her.

You need to speak to her now. And that's what happens.

It's how God moves in your life and it's in that time of prayer.

You go there. Most people treat prayer like

going to the to the corner store.

Here's my list. Here's my shopping list.

Instead, when you go to prayer, you sit and God begins to speak

to you and it changes your life. It changes your direction from

being selfish Sam, to being considerate.

It lights up your sensitivities to your marriage where it's

wrong, where it's not happening to your parenting when you're

falling short, to your children where they missing you in some

area. There's a need that one has

because each of your children are unique.

They're not the same. You can't have the same things

for all of your children. They're unique.

They require different attention.

But remember, they're made in the image of God, and God is the

only one who knows what they need.

So the Scriptures grabbed Daniel's heart.

As he knew from Jeremiah, the 70 years were nearly up for the

period of captivity in Babylon. It's nearly time to go home.

Daniel now is about 90 years of age, and he stirred in his heart

as he reads this prophecy and acknowledges the time is at

hand. It's time to you and I today.

It's time. We're not going to Babylon.

Guess what? We're going to go to heaven.

It's nearly time. It's time to pray like never

before because your relatives, your unsaved loved ones at the

moment, should the rapture occur, who's going with you?

Who's staying behind? He begins to pray one of the

most amazing prayers in the Bible.

Daniel does. It is said that when a man or

woman of God believes the promises of God like Daniel, his

or her faith becomes active, not passive.

It's too many weak, passive church attenders now.

Faith always draws you as a believer to God.

So we see the pursuit of prayer, verse one in the first year of

Darius the son of Ahasiris 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

that is the the prophecies, the word, the Scriptures, the number

of the years specified by the word of the Lord through

Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the

desolation of Jerusalem. So as I read that, what happened

then because of that, I set my face toward the Lord God to make

request. How?

By prayer and supplications with fastings, sackcloth and ashes.

Sackcloth is is camel hair. Basically you turn it inside

out, you put it on you. It's uncomfortable.

It's like wearing a Bale of hay and it's to to to cause you to

reckon, recognise and remember the position that you're in that

we're in difficult times to put aside just a cruisy life and to

remember I need to pray now known as Daniel took the Bible

literally 70 years. It's 70 years.

Daniel could have said, well, this is going to happen.

Why? I'll just do nothing.

I'll just, it'll happen. It's just going to happen and it

will happen because God said it. So I'll just do nothing.

Are you doing nothing about the rapture?

You know, Peter says we ought to pray to speed it up, to speed up

the coming of the Lord. You know, the Bible says that

we, we don't just sit around and go.

All the rapture will happen sooner or later, just whenever.

No, no, the Bible says you and I are to pray.

Actually, the last prayer of the Bible, the last prayer on the

Bible says this Lord, come quickly.

It is said that Daniel set his face under the Lord.

That means with deep devotion and intense desire he turned to

God. This prayer was a prayer with

passion. But notice it says that Daniel's

prayer was accompanied by fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

The only time we hear about fasting today is when someone's

trying to lose weight. All a symbols of deep

repentance, devotion and humility.

Fasting, supplication, the wearing of the sackcloth were

all outward marks of an inward contrition.

Daniel was he was broken, sad, had penitence in his heart.

Daniel is, remember, the Prime Minister of Babylon.

So he lays aside his Armani suit, his Italian shoes that

he'd be wearing, and he puts on sackcloth the rightful position

clothing before God to come before God says I don't want all

your sacrifices and this and that.

You know you come that don't mean nothing, but what I want

from you is a broken and a contrite heart.

I want a heart that when I speak you, you realise where you are,

what I've done for you and how great I am.

But we want to know this morning, what was it really that

drove Daniel to pray this prayer, the prophecy of

Jeremiah? Yes, it was nearly time.

It's about 67 years. It's about 3 years to go in

Chapter 9, so it's soon. Do you understand how prophecy

works? The prophecy of the time in

which you and I are living? Do you know, as I said, what the

last prayer in the Bible is? Revelation 2220.

He who testifies of these things says surely I'm coming quickly.

That's what Jesus said. John's response was Even so come

Lord Jesus. It's time to be praying this in

agreement with John and now is the day to choose to pray.

It's a choice. Even so come Lord Jesus verse 4

And I prayed to the Lord my God. So what did he do?

I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession and said, O

Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant, that means

He keeps His promises and mercy. Underline that with those who

love Him and with those who keep His commandments.

But there is something that as I read Daniel this time in leading

up today and this prayer this week, and I was reading it over

and over and over. What is it, Lord, that I never

saw like before? He says, Oh Lord, great and

awesome God who keeps his covenant and mercy for those who

love him. Daniel as he read the

Scriptures, as he experienced living miraculously in Babylon,

Daniel knew deep in his heart what God was like.

And you got, you know, the way that you pray or you don't pray

tells everybody else, especially yourself, what God you worship.

If you don't bother with prayer, it means you don't believe God

loves you, you don't trust him. You just go about your business

and you just go, well, I received Christ and at the end

of the day, I hope I'm saved. But if you believe God as your

heavenly Father, if you believe you were lost, you were a

Sinner, that you man your life without Christ, you'd probably

be in gaol dead or in some place that you know, you wish, man, it

wasn't looking good. You see, Daniel knew what God

was like. He says, God, you're great and

you're awesome. Not like awesome today you go,

oh man, that's awesome. The word awesome is pronounced

in the Hebrew Yoray, and it means to fear, to Revere, to be

awed by, to honour. Daniel knew who God is.

He knew who he really is. Why?

He had experienced God's power from the time that he and his

three friends arrived in Babylon.

God had seen the power move amongst him.

He'd been in the lion's den. He he'd been given the visions,

he'd spoken to Nebuchadnezzar. Placed in a high position.

He wasn't dead, he had found favour.

But he says in verse 5, we have sinned and committed an

iniquity. We have done wickedly and

rebelled even by departing from your precepts and your

judgments. You see, when you realise how

great and awesome and loving God is.

And man, I was touched this morning again as we took

communion and we held that cup. Now I know it's not blood, but I

pictured the cup. Christ's blood.

You ever been somewhere, ever, you cut yourself badly and

there's blood everywhere. We're on the cross at Calvary

and all over Christ's body. Blood was everywhere.

Innocent, innocent blood. And it was shed for one reason.

It required His blood for the forgiveness of sins, because the

blood of animals just covers it, but the blood of Christ removes

it. It makes you innocent like Him.

It makes you right before God. It makes you forgiven.

It makes you acceptable to God. You see, Daniel knew.

He says I'm a Sinner. We have sinned.

We have rebelled against covenant keeping, merciful,

awesome God. We have turned our backs on Him.

We have scorned him and his commands.

Verse 6 Neither have we heeded your servants, the prophets who

spoke in your name to our kings, and our Princess to our fathers

and all the people of the land, the children of Israel.

As Jeremiah tells us in great detail that when the prophets

like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk and others living at that time,

they both an all warned Judah in Israel, you're worshipping

idols, you're neglecting God, you're farming the land, you're

not giving it a year of rest. It's you're not doing right.

Judgements going to come and God warned them and God warned them

and God warned them over and over of the outcome if they

continued in sin and adultery. I want to ask you this morning,

has God been warning you? Good thing is 1 If God is

warning you, that means he loves you.

But 2 has God been warning you? You know that little voice and

you've ignored it and ignored it and ignored it?

Has he been saying the same things to you about your life,

about your walk with him over and over and over?

Where are you? Where are you?

You don't talk to me anymore. You don't bother with me

anymore. You've put me aside.

You've got other things before me.

Where are you? In verse 7 it says, 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, in all the countries to which you've driven them,

because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed

against you. O Lord, to us belongs shame of

face to our kings, our Princess, and our fathers.

Why, we've sinned against you, we've sinned against you.

Daniel's words reveal that every action of God is righteous.

Whatever God does, whatever God does, it's always the right

thing to do, including his judgements.

When God judges Australia, and I believe he will, it'll be right.

God can never do anything that is not the right thing to do.

Verse 9 To the Lord our God belong and notice, but where he

keeps, he's telling you what God's like.

This is the God he's praying to. He knows we've sinned, we're

sinners, we've ignored you, but he goes back to God, God.

But you are 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 set

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, because we've done

that, 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, the fall of Israel,

the fall of Jerusalem, and captivity in Babylon.

For under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has

been done to Jerusalem. Again, notice in Daniel's prayer

this wonder of who God is, and that his character, God's

character is. What is the character of God

that you think? When I was a kid, the character

of God that I had raised up on movies was that God was on a

throne and I pictured it a big white cement marble throne,

can't see his face. Around him was clouds.

And alongside was the leather that anyone that did wrong, God

just went and that was the the fear of God that has a child.

But then Jesus came and Philip said to Jesus, any chance you

could show us what God the Father's like, what God's really

like? Philip, come here nose to nose,

grabbed him by the ears. If you've seen me, you've seen

the Father. You want to know what God is

like? Read the Gospels.

Jesus sat and ate with sinners. The woman caught in an adultery

go and sin no more. The lepers never been touched by

anyone. He touches them, he heals them,

the children want to calm and he picks them up and he places them

on his knees and he says just become like the children and

you'll see this Kingdom of God as he hung on the cross.

He didn't cry out this is not right.

I'm not doing this. He never added a word in agony.

Instead he said father forgive them for they know not what they

do. That's what God's like to the

thief on the cross dying next to him rightfully dying for his

crimes said today you'll be with me in paradise.

What was the God like that you probably don't pray to?

He's that God, the angry God, because the Bible tells me the

God of the Bible that Daniel prayed to was a merciful God and

I need mercy. I need mercy every day.

He says God, you are merciful, you pardon even those who have

rebelled against you. He says that there was a very

wicked king that ruled Judah for 55 years and says he did evil in

the side of the Lord according to the abominations of the

nations who the Lord had cast out before the children of

Israel. In Second Chronicles chapter 33,

2 Chronicles 33:2

verse 2, we come across this king and his name was Manasseh

and he introduced idols and idol worship throughout the land of

Israel and God spoke to Manasseh about his wickedness.

Manasseh wouldn't listen to God. Manasseh was then captured

because he wouldn't listen to God, and he was carried off to

Babylon, and he he was put in chains, and whilst he was in

chains, it says in Second Chronicles 3312.

And when Manasseh was in affliction, he sought the Lord

his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his

Father's, and prayed unto him. And he was entreated of him, and

heard his supplication. In other words, God listened to

him and brought him again to Jerusalem.

He forgave him, brought him back to the Kingdom.

And it says then Manasseh knew that the Lord, he was God, he

was God, he was the merciful God.

And Manasseh burnt down all the idols, put them all down.

He humbled himself greatly before the God of his Father's.

The word humbled reminds us that the essence of Manasseh sin was

what pride? The reason you don't pray is

because you don't need to. Manasseh didn't pray.

He didn't go before God in humility because he said, I'll

sort this out. I can get, I'll, I'll fix this.

I'll run my life. The phrase God of his father

reminds us that Manasseh returned to the godly heritage

he received from his father, Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was his dad, and this is a wonderful example of the

principal train up a child and the way he should go, and when

he is old, he'll not depart from it.

Proverbs 22 six. Manasseh was raised by a godly

father. Yet Manasseh lived in defiance

of his father's faith for most of his life.

But nevertheless, at the end of his days, he truly repented and

he served God. He was an evil king.

Well, what would you and I'd do if we were God?

We'd wipe him out. What about the prodigal who runs

away and wants the dog? Wants your dad.

Dad. I wish you were dead.

Just give me your money. I'm going off and blows it all.

Oh, you're coming home now, are you?

Oh, what? You still want me dead?

Oh, what's Where's all the money that I gave to you?

The inheritance. You never thought about us?

No. The prodigals dad sat on the

road every day, watching, looking, waiting for his son to

come home. And then the moment he saw him,

the only time in the Bible we ever see God.

In a hurry, he pulled up his garment, which was not the right

thing to do in those days, and he ran down and he hugged his

son. That's the God who you are

missing out on if you don't pray.

It's, it's the God. Do you know him?

Because if you have someone that you really love and who really

loves you, you know what? You've spent time with them.

Oh man, I just want to be with him.

I want to have him speak to me. I want to be in his presence.

Verse 13 as it is written in the law of Moses.

All this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not made our

prayer. Notice that 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.

The Lord our God is righteous and all the works He does,

though we have not obeyed His voice.

The prayer is punctuated by Daniel's personal confession.

I prayed under the Lord. I made my confession.

Verse 4. We have sinned.

Verse 5. But why did Daniel pray this

way? Because Daniel realised all of

sinned. There's no good person in the

world. None seek after God.

When you're a man or woman of prayer, the more time you spend

with the Lord, the greater you understand just who you are

without Him and how great and marvellous and holy He is.

In Isaiah 65, when Isaiah saw the Lord, Isaiah the great

prophet said, woe is me, for I am undone because I am a man of

unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people

of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of

hosts. No man or woman can have a true

concept of themselves until 1 draws near to God, the holy God

of Israel. For when we see God, for who and

what He really is, awesome, God of mercy, holy, and our hearts

for what they truly are. I'm a Sinner, I'm selfish, I'm

arrogant, I do the wrong thing. I think about myself all the

time. Then repentance naturally flows

when we become a person of prayer.

We can no longer live or hide who we are before a holy God.

We find out what we owe Him. I owe you everything, God.

How dependent we are now upon Him.

I can't do anything right without you.

How much we love Him and we trust Him.

How thankful we will always be to Him.

Verse 15. Now the petition and now, O

Lord, our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt,

you see, and we need to remember what has God already done for

you in your life 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 what I pray, let your anger and your fury what be turned

away from your city mercy, Jerusalem, your holy mountain

because of our sins and for the iniquities of our Father

Jerusalem and your people are a reproach to all those around us.

Now therefore, based on that what I've just said, our God,

what does Daniel say? He says, hear the prayer of your

servant and his supplication, and for your sake, Lord, your

face to shine on your sanctuary, which is desolate.

Verse 18 Oh my God, it's personal, Daniel, his prayer,

it's personal. Oh 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 supplication before you because

of our righteous deeds, but because of your great mercies.

We come before you and tell you the truth, Lord, because we need

your mercy. Lord hear, oh Lord, forgive.

Oh Lord, listen and act. Do not deny for your own sake,

my God, for your city, your people are called by your name.

Lord hear, hear me, forgive me, forgive us, listen to us.

Act. Please, Lord, how many of you

have loved ones, family and friends who do not know Christ

as the Lord and Saviour? Don't you rush to them when they

have an hour of need, when you visit them in their affliction?

Don't you do that? See them when they're in a storm

of illness or something else that struck them down?

Listen carefully to Daniel's words for those whom he loved in

his prayer for their souls. Oh Lord, according to your

righteous, I pray, let your anger and your fury be turned

away. Daniel prays.

He intercedes with his heart laid bare before God.

He knows judgement and justice of what is deserved, but he

calls out to God for God's anger and fury to be turned away.

God, I need your mercy. I need your forgiveness.

It's undeserved. Yes, I asked for it.

Hear me, hear my prayer. Because Daniel knows he's God.

Mercy. The Word occurs 282 times and

269 verses in the Bible. But As for me, I'll come into

your house and the multitude of your mercy in fear of you.

I will worship toward the holy temple.

As we wrap this up, God this morning is speaking clearly and

deeply to souls who have fallen away from walking with Him, to

those who have never walked. Perhaps you're here today, but

you've never committed your life to Christ.

You've been religious for some time, but within your heart you

believe you've gone too far. You kind of come to church and

you think I'm beyond being saved.

The God Daniel prayed to speaks to your heart right now.

If that's you invite you to hear him, to know him for I know

Jeremiah said I know the thoughts that I think towards

you, says the Lord thoughts of peace, not of evil to give you

an unexpected end. You see, you think God wants to

judge you. No, he sent his son.

He doesn't want to judge you. He wants to save you.

He doesn't want to judge you. Oh Lord, verse 19 here, Oh Lord,

forgive. Oh Lord, listen and act.

Daniel finishes his prayer verse 20 and the Angel Gabriel

appears. Why?

Why does Gabriel turn up? To give him skill and

understanding. Daniel, I want you to know.

I want you to know I don't want you to be an idiot and dumb in

the things of the Lord. I want you to know what all this

is about. And Daniel, I want you to know

it's time to pray. Do you this morning know it is

time for you to pray now for your loved ones?

How much time do you have? How much time do we have?

For Daniel? It was just three years, and

then that was the end. The needs of the Persians,

Babylonians would fall. The needs of the Persians would

come for Daniel. The time was short for God's

word to be fulfilled. Jesus said let not your heart be

troubled. You believe in God, believe also

in me. For in my Father's house are

many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you,

that where I am, there you may be also.

Jesus said I'm coming again for you and I time is short.

Jesus is coming at at any moment.

And then when the church is raptured, judgement begins.

The Antichrist will come to the stage and the world will bow

before him. And the end for many will be

Daniel took God's word literally.

Do you not like the scoffers? Peter said one of the last days

that we said, well, Jesus has been coming for years.

We've heard nothing's changed. Do you this morning believe in a

literal rapture? Do you believe in a literal

great tribulation? Do you believe in a literal

heaven, a literal hell? You know the people that say

there is no heaven or hell? Let's talk with someone this

morning. You know they say that.

You know why they have to say that?

Because if there is, they're going to find out.

So they have to say, oh, there's no heaven, no hell.

Because they had played safe, it means that they would have had

to repent, they would have had to turn to God.

So they've got to say there's no heaven, no hell.

It's the only way they can go out.

But when they leave this world, they'll stand before God.

Daniel realised that the Word of God would be fulfilled on the

basis of pray, which is why John prayed.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus. We had a prayer night and I

mentioned it to our prayer group the other night, quite a number

of years ago. It was a winter's night and a

group of kids came back. It's about 3:00 and then one kid

stopped out the front riding his bike and I went out to speak to

him and there was a few people in here praying.

He said, what's going on in there?

And I said, Oh, well, there's a church, and we gather on

Wednesdays to pray. You believe in prayer?

I said yes. He says, why aren't there more

people in there praying? And then he wrote off, I've

never forgotten that. You see, it's time to pray.

The God of mercy calls you this morning, but God of mercy seek

me, he says in Jeremiah. And today you'll find me.

I have thoughts of peace for you.

Come and know me. I am the great God of mercy.

If you've not received God's mercy, if you don't know God,

that he is the merciful God, today I want you to bow your

heart. I want you to hear the Holy

Spirit speak to you. And today I want you to

surrender. God wants you to surrender your

heart to a God of mercy and be forgiven.

Be right, be made righteous, even though you don't deserve

it. I don't deserve it.

But the God of mercy invites you today, while there is time,

let's have the worship team come forward.

And as they're playing, if God has spoken to you and you don't

know of the God of mercy, your God is the hard God, the harsh

God that oh man, I don't want to go and pray to him.

Man, I, I haven't been right before him.

God knows that. Well, I've scorned him.

I've not listened. God knows that.

It doesn't change who He is, He is still and always will be the

God of mercy. But the invitation is for you

today to know Him and to be loved by Him.