We Confess, We Pray!

Prayer and Suppliction-

Praying unto the LORD our God- making our confession.

Dan 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 

Dan 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession

Daniel prayed and made his CONFESSION- the following is His confession:

'…and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God'

Dreadful NOT in the way we imagine- read this from Bible Commentator Albert Barnes-

'O Lord, the great and dreadful God - A God great, and to be feared or venerated - הנורא hanôrâ'. This does not mean “dreadful” in the sense that there is anything stern or unamiable in his character, but mainly that he is to be regarded with veneration.'

'…keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments'

This seems to be point noted more than once and even confirmed in the New Testament by Jesus Himself.

Joh_15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

1Jn_2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn_3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

1Jn_5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

1Jn_5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Dan 9:5,6 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. 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. 

Do we sin? Do we commit iniquity? Do we do wickedly? Have we rebelled? Have we departed from God's word? Do we listen to all the word of God given to us by the Holy Spirit as He dictated to men of God in the Bible?

2Pe_1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We are guilty. We need to confess just as Daniel is confessing.

 Dan 9:7-13 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, 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.  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 

We need to TURN from our iniquities so we may understand God's TRUTH.

Dan 9:14-19 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O 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. 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. 

We do NOT come before God for OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. We do not petition God because we have any righteousness in us at all! We do NOT have any righteousness of our own, none! We petition God for HIS mercies!

Dan 9:19 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.

Hear LORD. Forgive LORD. Harken LORD. Defer not LORD.

Please LORD, please. Satan would have us all to sift us all as wheat! Please pray for us even as we pray prayers that are so inferior, so inadequate. Please! As Daniel prayed to YOU we pray! WE PRAY!