4 And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,

5 w e have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.

6 We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.

7 To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.

8 O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.

9 To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him.

— Daniel 9:4-9

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and salvation from Christ to you.

Throughout his prayer, Daniel acknowledged and declared the wide chasm between God’s holiness and the sinfulness of His people. Like a prosecutor, Daniel clearly stated the case against a rebellious people before their divine Judge. However, Daniel also identified himself with the accused. He did not lord his mature faith over his fellow Jews but entered their situation with clarity and compassion.

Daniel opened his prayer by praising God’s greatness and faithfulness. In the same sentence, Daniel openly declared his people’s rebellion: “We have sinned and done wrong.” Despite the people’s waywardness, Daniel invested his trust in the love and promise-keeping nature of his great and awesome heavenly Father. Because God’s people had turned away from His commandments and ignored His prophets, Daniel understood that Israel deserved every day spent in exile. But Daniel also trusted God’s heart and enduring nature. He knew God would never disown the people who bore His name.