The Sunday School Lesson
Intercession in Crisis

DAN. 9:1 In the first year of Dari'us the son of A-hasu e'rus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chalde'ans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Dan'iel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jer-emi'ah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Je-ru'sa-lem.

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the LORD My God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Ju'dah, and to the inhabitants of Je-ru'sa-lem, and unto all Is'ra-el, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

HEART OF THE LESSON

Daniel lived a long life. When he was taken captive from Jerusalem in 605 B.C. he was probably about fifteen. Daniel 1:21 says that he continued serving in the royal court of Babylon at least until the year that King Cyrus of Persia overthrew the Babylonian Empire, which was 539 B.C., sixty-six years later Thus, Daniel lived to be at least eighty-one years old.

1. Listening to God's Word (Dan. 9:1-2). Sometime near the end of that time, during the reign of Darius the Mede, Daniel was meditating on the writings of Jeremiah, noting especially his prophecy that the time of the Exile would be seventy years (cf. Jer, 25:11-12; 29:10-14). Knowing that that time was near, Daniel considered how the prophet's words would be fulfilled.

As all believers should, Daniel started his search for God's will by reading the Scriptures.

2. A prayer of confession (Dan. 9:3-7). What Daniel read in Jeremiah's prophecy reminded him of how deeply his people had sinned against God and failed to keep covenant with Him. Thus Daniel turned to God in prayer, acknowledging, "We have sinned." Note that by saying "we," Daniel included himself among the sinners.

All the evidence we have of Daniel's life reveals that he was a righteous man. What is more, since he was only a youth at the time he was taken from Jerusalem, it is unlikely that he was a participant in the idolatry and covenant breaking that eventually led to Judah's conquest by Babylon. Still, Daniel clearly knew that no one is holy but God, and he identified with his fellow Jews, So when confessing their sin, he included himself among the guilty.

It is critical for us to remember that none of us comes before God with clean hands. Not one of us has any claim on righteousness apart from what Christ grants us when we seek salvation. Thus, as we approach the holy God in prayer, it is always right for us to confess our own lack of holiness.

3. A prayer of intercession and supplication (Dan. 9:17-19). Next, Daniel interceded with God on behalf of his people, asking God to redeem them and their city, Jerusalem.

Intercession is not simply mentioning somebody's need in prayer. Rather, it is praying with sincere and intense desire that God will act for the good of those on whose behalf the prayer is offered.

When we intercede, we are often praying exclusively for others, but as we have noted, in this case Daniel included himself. We should not limit our intercessory praying to our own needs, but it is also right to include ourselves among those for whom we intercede.

Daniel said to God, "We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies" (Dan. 9:18). He knew for certain that nothing his people had done had warranted their redemption. The only ground on which Daniel could ask for God's help was God's great mercy.

Intercession is not about persuading God to do something He would not otherwise do. Rather, it is tapping into that great mercy that is one of God's attributes. God is love (I John 4:8), and mercy is a significant facet of that love.

Intercession, then, is an important, appropriate, and vital kind of prayer.

QUESTIONS

1. What did Daniel acknowledge about God? 2. What were the things Daniel said his people were guilty of doing in straying from the Lord? 3. What could Daniel not offer to God as he prayed for Israel? What did he rely on instead? 4. What encouraging lesson can we learn about God's forgiveness?

(Reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society and Union Gospel Press, P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio, 44101)