Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.James 5:16.NJKV

When you began to plead with God, he answered you. He loves you, and so I have  come to tell you the answer. Now pay attention while I explain the vision Daniel 9:23 GNB

God thinks highly of you, and at the very moment you started praying,  I was sent to give you the answer. Daniel 9:23 CEV

At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you,  for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. Daniel 9:23 ESV

Daniel 9:1-23

Recurrent Thought

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us I John 5:14.

Prayer is the major means of communing with God. Daniel is a person of Prayer who regularly prayed to get God’s attention when he was in difficult times. Babylon was difficult place to live in as a refugee. To survive in Babylon, you had to thrive in Prayer. Daniel 9: 1-23 is Daniel’s prayer with awesome content. Daniel went to the Lord with specific requests and he assumed God would answer him. The previous chapters reveal that Daniel a person of prayer, and his prayer were answered.

Background

• Daniel after having read the Prophecy of Jeremiah he came to realize they were supposed to be in Babylon only for Seventy Years and at this time. and he believed that this has come to an end (Ch.9:2).
• During the first year of King Darius whom was made King of Babylonian side when the Medo-Persian army conquered Israel (Ch. 5:31). 
• Daniel has lived through the 70 years of exile. He came as a young man of about sixteen Years old and is now about 90Yrs plus. Daniel was carried in the third year of King Jehoiakim; to the first year of Dairus is about seventy (70) Years.
• The best way to know to know this was to consult God and he did this through Prayer. He knew that God answers prayer (Ps. 65:2)
• Just for information sake, Darius is called the "Son of Ahasuerus.” This Ahasuerus was a brother of Cyrus’s grandfather, Therefore, Darius was Cyrus’s uncle. Ahasuerus was a common name among the kings of Persia, its Greek form was Artaxerxes (Dan. 5:31)
• Daniel goes to Prayer seeking the Wisdom of the Lord on this issue of when the exile is to end.

One essential and unique aspect to this chapter is that when God sent the answer, he does not only give him the solution to his immediate request, but he also provides the futuristic prophetic calendar of the coming of the Christ. Today we want to deal with the Prayer Daniel prayed (Ch. 9:1-27)

Notice the Prayer of Daniel

Chapter 9:3 reveal that Daniel’s prayer was to be no ordinary one, and to be engaged in no ordinary manner. He decided to prepare solemnly for this prayer session, with Fasting, Sackcloth and ashes. Daniel was conscious not to be sufficient in himself. Fasting is a form of humbling oneself, putting on sack cloths and spreading ashes on oneself are acts of mourning and being broken. We may not do what Daniel did, but it is essential to understand that every one conscious of their weakness, ought to collect all the help they can command for the correction of their sluggishness, and stimulate themselves to an extraordinary prayer time

Recognize the Different Elements of Prayer

The prayer of Daniel, perhaps beyond any other in the Sciptures, contains in it all the major elements of what Prayer contains. We recognize the following five Elements of Prayer

1. Adoration of God
   “O Lord, the great and dreadful God” (Dan. 9:4).”
   • Prayer begins with expressing Reverence to Yahweh
   • Prayer recognizes the supremacy of God either in His Mercy or Justice
2. Expression of Faith. 
   “Keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments” (Dan. 9:4). 
   • Faith in God as merciful, gracious, and ready to forgive, also expressed in Dan_9:9 : “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him.”
   • “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb_11:6). 
   • Daniel’s faith further expressed in his appropriation of the Lord as his God. Not satisfied with calling Him “our God,” he twice over invokes him as “my God.” Faith believes, accepts, and appropriates God as our covenant God in and through Christ. “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” “My Lord and my God.” “If we wish our prayers to be heard,” says Keil, “then God, to whom we pray, must become our God.” 
3. Confession of Sins
   “We have sinned,”. (Dan. 9:5-14). 
   • This confession is the larger part of the Prayer. This is prayer of Identification. He confesses on behalf of the Nation
   • Daniel expressed words of confession, and felt as one who sinned. He confesses the sins of the whole people in both its sections, and of all classes, including his own. 
   • He acknowledges the sufferings entailed by them, and the justice that inflicted them. “Righteousness belongs unto Thee, but unto us confusion of face” (Dan. 9:7-8). 
   • Furthermore he confesses their negligence to respond to the Lord when he judged them.. In confessing sin we are to remember and confess its peculiar aggravations. 
4. Thanksgiving and Praise
   “O Lord God, that hast brought Thy people out of the land of Egypt,” (Dan. 9:15). 
   • Specifically expressing words of gratitude for demonstration of His acts of goodness
   • Ensure that Thanksgiving accompany your supplication when making your requests known to God (Php. 4:7). 
   • Ensure that Thanksgiving for any past mercies of God be expressed to him in prayer; Daniel identified God’s mercy to the nation of Israel. Daniel makes thankful acknowledgment of God’s past mercies
   • Gratitude glorifies God for we do his Will. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you.” 
5. Petition or Supplication 
   “O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech Thee let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away,” (Dan.9:16-19). 
   • Supplication and petition, is when we make request to the Lord. Supplication is earnest asking. Supplication is Prayer for Mercy and Compassion
   • Without this there may be devotion and communion with God, but scarcely prayer. This is intercessory prayer. It is when one stands and prays on behalf of others.
   • Supplication is the center of Daniel’s prayer. He was praying for forgiveness and favor on behalf of his people and country. 
   • Daniel’s supplication was full of intense earnestness. “O Lord, I beseech thee.… O my God, incline Thine ear and hear.… O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God.” 
   • Prayers that get results are those that effectual and fervent prayer.” Jacob wrestled with the angel and refused to let him go without bestowing a blessing.
   • Supplication recognizes God’s superiority and pleads with deep humility. “We do not present our supplications before Thee for our own righteousness’s, but for Thy great mercies.”
   • When he petitions God, he does it as a prevailing plea. “For the Lord’s sake” (Dan. 9:17)

Let us remind ourselves that Daniel was not going to class to learn the different elements of Prayer. This was an overflow of his fellowship with God. He just prayed with conviction focusing on the need he presented to God. Here are three elements that are essential in Praying to get Results.

1. Recognize God’s Word as an Initiator and Regulator of Prayer

   • Daniel Started to pray when he read scriptures. It is the Word that initiated His prayer
   • In the Word he found out the facts of their Identity, Present and Future Realities
   • The Word of God regulated his Prayer. They were to be there for 70 Years
   • The Word He read to be turned into prayer. Believing prayer is a fruit of the study of Scripture. 
   • Daniel read and then prayed. To read little is often to pray little; and reading without praying is of little worth. 
   • The most profitable reading of the Scriptures is that sends us to our knees. 
   • Meaningful, lively, fervent, and successful prayer (that is the child) is a result of a precept, a promise, or a prophecy
2. Brokenness Is the Key means For Receiving God’s Insights (Revelation)
   • Effectual Prayer develops humility and dependence, which in turn sets the heart and mind to receive God’s light (Word). "To that man will he look, who is of humble and contrite heart." 
   • Prayer brings the soul near to God; it lifts us up to heavenly elevations; 
   • Setting to pray is setting yourself to receive Gods revelation
   • A clear understanding of God’s character produces humbleness and seriousness in prayer. It brings a true sense of sin, which leads to confession and pleading. 
3. Fervent Prayer of a Righteous Person unlocks Heavens (9:23, James 5:16)
   • Intentional and Intense Prayer gets Heaven Results 
   • Intense prayer get Heaven Results through heavenly means such as angelic visitation
   • Intense Prayer may unleash visions and dreams which are means of receiving God’s light

Conclusion

Learn to allow the Word of God initiate and regulate your prayers. Learn to incorporate as many elements of prayer in your prayer time. 

Altar Time

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us I John 5:14.
And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1John 5:15 

Questions for Discussion

1. When Daniel confesses that we Sinned, Is this acceptable before God when he was not the actual person who sinned?
2. Can You think of other reasons that can make Prayer Get Results