O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” Daniel 9:19 ESV
Did you know according to conservative estimates there are 3,573 promises in the Bible. But some estimates are as high as 8,810! No matter what the number, we know that the Bible is a book of promises. Unfortunately we miss way too many. Why? Because we just don’t know they are there. That’s why I like the suggestion Mark Batterson gives in his book the Circle Maker. Rather than reading the Bible through, we should pray the Bible through. So many people say they read the Bible through every year, but don’t remember what they read. This happens because the goal was to read the Bible through, not understand it better and learn from it. So every year there are hundreds of Scripture prayers that we never tap into, and what better way to pray the will of God than to pray His Word.
Today’s verse for instance, Daniel prayed this because he remembered what Jeremiah the prophet had written; that God would not release His people from captivity until 70 years had past. He knew that time was coming soon, and he was preparing himself and interceding for the entire nation to repent of their sin and return to their land. He also told God he knew He was gracious and merciful and that He loved and longed to restore His people. And in his conclusion (today’s verse) he covers every point. God answered his first prayer fairly quickly. But the next time he prayed it would take 21 days, and he knew God was faithful so he persevered through until the answer came. And it came with an explanation that should encourage all of us to this day, that our prayers are being fought for to be answered. Keep praying, that next prayer may provide the answer.
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