Doctrines in Daniel’s Prayers - Lost Pines Bible Church€™s Prayer of Daniel 9 Doctrines in Daniel’s Prayer Page 3 of 25 This was not panic prayer, he was prepared Do we prepare

Daniel’s Prayer of Daniel 9

Doctrines in Daniel’s Prayer

Page 1 of 25

DDooccttrriinneess iinn DDaanniieell’’ss PPrraayyeerr Gary Stevens

Lost Pines Bible Church

RReevviieeww

What is Prayer?

Why do we pray?

How do we pray?

How often do we pray?

Do we pray effectively?

Is our prayer powerful?

What makes a prayer effective?

James 5:16 – The effective prayer of a righteous man avails much (has much power, is

powerful, had impact)

James 1:6-8 and James 5:15 God honors prayers that are uttered in unconditional faith

AA PPrraayyeerr ooff DDaanniieell

Dan 9:1-19

Before we analyze this prayer, was it effective?

Dan 9:20-23

At the beginning … the command was issued

Mat 6:8

You are highly esteemed

AA PPrraayyeerr ooff DDaanniieell -- BBaacckkggrroouunndd

He was a righteous man who was highly esteemed

His prayer was going be answered as soon as he started

That is effective prayer

Why was Daniel praying?

What was the main purpose of his prayer?

What was the secondary purpose of his prayer?

AA PPrraayyeerr ooff DDaanniieell -- PPuurrppoossee

Verses 2 and 22-23

Main purpose was for wisdom and understanding

He needed to understand what he had read in the books

The books in this context are the writings of Jeremiah

Jer 29:10 (Part of the weeks refers to missed Jubilee celebrations)

What does Jubilee mean?

Trumpet Call



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Main purpose – Understanding

Before moving on

– If you were to pray for understanding, what doctrines would you bring before the Father to

make your point

Secondary purpose – verse 3

– Prayer - that was for understanding

– What is supplication?

AA PPrraayyeerr ooff DDaanniieell –– SSeeccoonnddaarryy PPuurrppoossee

Supplication

– A cry for mercy

(I Kings 8:28, II Chron 6:19, 24, 29, 35)

– To implore favor, entreat

I Kings 8:33, Ester 4:8, Job 8:5

Sackcloth and Ashes

– What does this mean?

– Is it consistent with supplication

Recall “What should I wear?” study

Sackcloth is used figuratively for heavy afflictions

– Psm 35:13, 69:11

Ashes are a symbol of grief and mourning

– Job 2:8, Isa 58:5, Jer 6:26, Matt 11:21

What does fasting represent?

– There is whole huge doctrine around fasting

– Here it represents several things:

Trying circumstances (I Sam 1:7)

Prospect of Threaten Judgments from God (I Kg 21:27)

So what is his secondary purpose?

To confess the sins of the Children of Israel and his own sins

By doing so, he wishes (desires) to reduce the judgment and punishment against the Children

of Israel

What Doctrines do you apply in this situation for this type of prayer?

You will notice that there is a tremendous amount of thought in choosing the Doctrines Daniel

applies in his prayer

AA PPrraayyeerr ooff DDaanniieell –– AAnnaallyyssiiss PPaarrtt 11

Notice verse 3

I gave my attention to the Lord God

– He put on sackcloth and ashes

– He fasted – How long does it take to fast? (More than 15 minutes or 1 hour)

– He fasted while he prayed

– This is full undivided attention with no distractions

– This is total commitment and humility before God

– Verse 21 – He did this long enough for extreme weariness

Daniel prepared himself to pray

Both physically, mentally, and spiritually



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This was not panic prayer, he was prepared

Do we prepare and pray like this for wisdom in understanding and decisions

He was called to interpret those scriptures

But we are called just the same

Is his calling more important than ours?


The prayer

– Great and Awesome God

Why is God great and awesome?

Remember your homework assignment?

– Why do you love God?

– Who keeps his covenant

What covenant?

– Who keeps His lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments

Why is God great and awesome?

In this context, the promise of victory

Deut 7:12 – 21

Daniel is not using shallow and flattering phrases or expressions

Daniel is applying Doctrinal principles from the start of his prayer

He is looking for victory in his life by recalling the promise the LORD made to the Children

of Israel about following His commands

These things I recall to mind therefore have I hope

What Covenant?

I Kings 8:22-28

– Do these words sound familiar?

II Sam 7:4-17

Psm 89:31-34 – Davidic Covenant

Did Daniel find comfort in this covenant and God’s faithfulness?

Daniel knew for sure that Israel would be one again and be in fellowship with God

Had to be hope (confident expectation) in his troubling times

My belief is that Daniel had these verses committed to memory and he actually recited them

as part of his prayer

He had Doctrine in his soul he could use


Lovingkindness – hesed – this is God’s zeal, goodness, love, kindness, mercy, and grace

toward man

It is the complete expression of His total essence

What is important is:

– For those who love Him and keep His commandments

John 14:15 – “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”

John 14:21

John 15:10

Daniel understood these principles especially with respect to the Covenant



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AA PPrraayyeerr ooff DDaanniieell –– AAnnaallyyssiiss PPaarrtt 11,, 22,, 33 -- CCoonncclluussiioonnss

Daniel prepared for prayer

– Mentally, Physically, and Spiritually

Daniel used Doctrines to remind God and later tell God (going boldly before the throne) of

His promises and commitments

Not just a single Doctrine, but several complex doctrines and scripture that are intertwined

and form the basis for his prayer

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CCoonncclluussiioonnss

As we learn to concentrate our thoughts on the essence and attributes of God rather than on

ourselves and our circumstances, (that is, we focus our thoughts and prayers on spiritual

matters) we gradually come to realize that we could not have a problem that He cannot solve

(solved already). We also realize that we do not need to know what God is doing only that He

knows what He is doing. This is total trust and faith in person, plan, and power of God (A

bond servant).

Conclusion 2 from Essence of God. If we know God and understand His attributes, we will

be in awe of Him – this humility is the foundation for Wisdom


Sovereignty

Righteousness

Justice

Love

Eternal Life

Omniscience

Omnipotence

Omnipresence

Immutability

Veracity


Stop and

Remember

Jesus’

Love, then

Every

Obstacle will become an

Opportunity for you to drive

On

In

Victory



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SSoovveerreeiiggnnttyy

God is the supreme being of the universe

King of Heaven and Earth

He has absolute authority and volition

His divine will is above will

– In perfect harmony with freedom of choice (volition)

He always has everything under control

– He has assigned to every living thing its place in the universe and the scope of its freedom

and authority

Isa 46:8-10 and Eph 1:5 (6-14)

– Remember this and be assured …

– Again, note we are spiritual and our rewards are for the Glory of God

– Why did you wake up this morning?

…works all things after the council of His will

Lam 3:22-23

… to the praise of His glory

If we know this to be true then:

– We can give thanks for everything since we know He is in control

The debt ceiling raising – stock market “crash”

The rulers in Congress

They are there because God placed them there for a reason

– When we are abiding, then we know that we occupy the only safe place in the universe, the

center of His will

– This also allows us to accurately interpret the historic and present trends

Deut 4:39 (40)

Dan 4:34-35

Psm 33 – Reassures us that Jesus Christ controls history

Mat 6:10

Psm 46:10

Jude 25

I Sam 2:6-8 (1-8)

I Chron 29:11

II Chron 20:6

Acts 17:24 (25-26)

Prayer

– Dan – Great and awesome God

– Dan – Divine Institutions

– Us – The situation we are in is part of the perfect plan of God – Maybe not what we want,

but what we deserve for where we are spiritually and for where we are with our walk with

God

– Our leadership and country, the economy, work

– Thankful for all the privileges to which we have been elected

– Accurately interpret trends – Revival in Country



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RRiigghhtteeoouussnneessss

God is absolute Righteousness and perfect goodness

– Man only has relative righteousness and is flawed by his old sin nature and sin (Isa 64:6)

He is free from sin and it is impossible for God to do anything wrong (He is perfect)

He is absolute Righteousness in His person and ways

He cannot look upon or have fellowship with anything that is not perfect righteousness

– This is a problem for man

– Man is imperfect and sinful

God had a plan (His plan is part of Sovereignty)

– Impute the Righteousness of God to those who believe (Rom 3:22-24)

– Believers can now have fellowship with God

– This is why/how we can pray directly to God the Father

Because He is perfect and right, His plan and will is perfect and right

If we understand this then:

– We know whatever He does or allows in our lives is perfect

– We know that all His actions are perfect

– If we know that His plan is perfect, then we can be thankful for all things. We have the

knowledge that whatever happens to us is consistent with God’s righteous attitudes and

actions towards us

I Sam 2:2

Lev 2:2

Psm 11:7 22:3, 47:8, 111:9

Jer 23:6

Luke 18:19

John 17:11, 25

Rev 3:7 6:10

2 Cor 5:21

1Jn 2:1

Prayer

– Dan – You are Righteous

– Us – When we realize that God is Righteous, we realize in our prayer that He is totally

perfect and thus His plan and our position in it is perfect

– Thankfulness for imputing His +R to us so that we can have fellowship with God – as we

have been called to do so

SSoovveerreeiiggnnttyy aanndd RRiigghhtteeoouussnneessss

Rom 8:28 – Causes all things to work together for good …

Understanding these together results in

– Phil 4:11

– James 1:2

Understanding these two should be motivation to want to know more about God and do His

commandments



Page 7 of 25

JJuussttiiccee

God is absolutely just – He cannot do anything unfair

He is not a respecter of persons

By virtue of being the Creator, He has absolute right of authority over His creation

He has given to man fair and righteous laws

We have broken them

His Righteousness demands that disobedience against His laws be punished

God’s Justice fulfilled that demand when the Son was judged for all the sins of all mankind

Because of this, God is just (fair and right) to forgive anyone who accepts Christ provision

He is also just to condemn anyone who rejects that provision

The Justice of God ensures that everything that is in line with +R is blessed and everything

that is not in line +R is condemned

Justice and Righteousness combined for the mechanics of salvation

Every person has the same opportunity to be saved

2 Chron 19:7

Deut 32:4

Psm 19:9, 50:6, 89:14

Rom 3:26 (21-26)

Rom 2:11

Mat 5:45

1pt 1:17

James 3:17

Prayer

– Dan – His confession of the sins of Israel were based on his knowledge of the Justice of

God and the fact that God had to judge Israel and would continue to do so until they

repented (Both sides of Justice)

– Us – We understand the discipline we are undergoing is completely fair and perfect

– Us – We understand the blessings (spiritual or temporal) are completely fair and perfect

– We understand the discipline the Nation is suffering is part of what God said would

happen

– We understand that He is just in sending unbelievers to the lake of fire just as He is just in

bestowing escrow blessings in time and eternity to us (those who are saved)

– We understand the fairness of election and our callings

LLoovvee

The Love (agape) that is part of the essence of God is part of His eternal Being and can never

be increased, diminished, or changed

This love is not an emotion but it is a relationship and “mental attitude” based on the entire

essence of God

– Love completely understands both sides of the Justice of God, the Omniscience of God,

etc.



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God’s love does not depend on us, but on His perfect integrity

It is His divine passion for the ultimate good of man

Love is the motivation behind Grace

It is not passive, but active

It is not casual, but sacrificial

Long before the creation of anything, Love existed among the three Persons of the Trinity

Once you are saved, you cannot be separated from the Love of God (Rom 8:38-39)

It was because of the Love of God that we have a way to salvation and a life of

communication and fellowship with Him

If we understand the Love of God then:

– It is the Love of God that should motivate us to love Him (we love Him because He first

Loved us)

– God does not love you because you are wonderful – get over yourself

– Love is in harmony with all the other attributes

– Love is not emotion but Doctrine

If you love Me you will keep My commandments

– There is nothing we can do to lose the Love of God

– Similarly, there is nothing we can do to increase the Love of God (you cannot bribe or

charm God to get more of His love or make Him love you more)

– Forgiveness will be part of your lifestyle

– The Love of God accepts the decision from the Justice of God that the penalty for your

sins has been paid and thus your sins are forgiven

He is willing that none should perish, but all should be saved, yet He knows that a

perfect provision has been made and that those who believe are saved and those who do

not are condemned. We have volition to make that decision

– And actually blotted out

– And never an issue again

– Growing spiritually and thus increasing your understanding of the Love of God allows for

your personal love for man and for God to grow and become a meaningful factor in your

spiritual life

– The Love of God should motivate you to thank Him on a continual basis for His salvation

plan

– The sacrifice of His Son, the total separation was so much more than we can ever

comprehend, that we should be totally disgusted with sin and recognize that our sin caused

this (We need to recognize the sinfulness of sin)

– This should motivate us not to sin and to learn the doctrine so that we do not sin

The Righteousness, Justice, and the Love of God combined are called the Integrity of God

If you put all three of those together and understand 1/100,000,000,… of what that means then

you will stand in awe of God, sit on your fannies and learn His word, and bow on your knees

in prayer, and then run and spread the Gospel

1John 3:6 4:8, 4:16

Not much else to say, lets all go home

Jer 31:3

1 John 4:19



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Rom 8:32

John 3:16

1 Cor 2:9

1 Cor 13:

Gal 5:6

Prayer

– Daniel – Understood the Lovingkindness of God toward himself and the children of Israel

– Us – Thanksgiving to God for His wonderful plan of Salvation

– Us – Thanksgiving to God for His perfect, just, and compassionate way He deals with us

– Us – That we can understand His love and abide in it

Abiding in God’s Love is the “secret” to a successful Christian way of life

– It improves our relationships with fellow believers

– Allows us to grow spiritually without outside distractions

– Allows us to be at peace with non believers

– Allows us to be at peace with believers

– Allows us to understand God and have a personal love for Him

– Forgiveness

– Relaxed Mental Attitude towards others

– Protection of the responsible souls

– Respect for the Justice and +R of God

EEtteerrnnaall LLiiffee

God is absolute existence

God has always existed (there was never a time when He did not exist) and always will exist

(there will never be a time when He does not exist)

He is not subject to time

He invented time

– Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning

Not really the beginning, but the beginning for us

– Man needs the concept of time (order) to survive (Sovereignty of God)

– Do you thank God for time? Do you use his gift wisely?

God sees everything from an eternal perspective

– We see from a temporal perspective

Thus He has our welfare in view for all eternity

– We look at it for the moment (or shortly thereafter)

Which is better?

– That is why we need to focus on and learn about God’s plan instead of our plan


– We know the situation we are in is for an eternal benefit not living for the moment

– Our attitude toward God and the Mind of Christ should be from an eternal perspective, that

is, our time on earth is to build up eternal rewards that will glorify Christ forever

– The extremely brief amount of time we have to come to class and learn (3 times a week, 4

with Greek Class, 5 with prayer meetings) is less than trivial to build up and gain eternal

rewards with Christ

– Reiterate – the situation you are in now is nothing, if you realize that an application of

doctrine will cause spiritual growth that will reap rewards eternally



Page 10 of 25

I Tim 1:17

Psm 9:7, 111:3, 102:27 135:13

Isa 9:6

Ex 3:14

Psm 90: (90:2)

Deut 32:40

Job 36:26

Isa 43:13

Lam 5:9

Hab 3:6

Prayer:

– Daniel focused on the promises (covenants) God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, … and

Israel in general. Daniel knew that because God transcends generations, He would be

there with Daniel at that time to fulfill those promises that were relevant and He (God)

would be there for Israel in the future (eschatology)

– Likewise we are to “look for new Heaven and a new Earth in which Righteousness dwells,

therefore, be diligent …”

– Our Father is Eternal therefore we are eternal

– Do your prayers focus on glorifying God for eternity or satisfying yourself for the

moment?

– Do your prayers have an eternal focus?

– Daniel realized the eternality of God and His promises to Israel and that Israel was wasting

time not fulfilling those promises and they needed to get moving

Focus your thoughts, biblical studies, and prayers on the eternal perspective of glorifying

Christ forever

What you learn about the mind of Christ in your finite amount of time on earth determines

your escrow blessings in eternity

Even though we are eternal beings, God knew we could not live without time, thus He gives

us blessings for living in time

“This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it”

Lam 3:22-24

Luke 12:11-12

SSiiddee BBaarr -- PPrraayyeerr

True Evangelism

– “No human service or device can take the place of the intercession of a priest who is

cleansed and ‘acceptable to God’”

– “The importance of preaching and teaching the truth is in no way lessened by this

emphasis on priestly prayer”

– “It must only be borne in mind that prevailing prayer necessarily accompanies all other

ministries”

How often do you pray for the deacons and their individual functions within the

church?

How often do you pray for the nursery and prep school?

How often do you pray for the person cleaning the church?



Page 11 of 25

How often do you pray for the songs?

“Without prayer there will be little understanding and vision of Doctrine, even though

faithfully presented”

“Prayer is said to be the cause. It is because of prayer that God promises to do. He is pleased

to work through preaching, but His mighty undertakings are conditioned on prayer”

Get this next point and lock it in your mind forever and apply it everyday

“Effective preaching is one of the necessary means in answering faithful prayer”

If your prayer life is active and is seeking spiritual truths, then the pastor will be motivated by

and lead by the Holy Spirit to present doctrines that will give you answers

John 14:14 – If you ask Me anything in My Name, I will do it

This passage clearly illustrates how easy it is to acquire Spiritual knowledge

We are to ask

“God reserves to Himself, the undertaking and accomplishment of every object of human

intercession”

Any spiritual transformation can only be accomplished via divine strength

We are commanded to pray for wisdom and God will grant it

Such prayers strengthen the individual, the pastor, and the local church

Example of prayer being answered by the Holy Spirit motivating and inspiring a teacher

Acts 10:19-33

Cornelius was praying for wisdom and to understand Doctrine

God sent Peter with a specific message because Cornelius’ prayer was answered

– He was righteous and God-fearing

Notice the answer to his prayer required him to do something

Notice there was a group and:

– “We are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the

Lord”

Can we say that every time we come here?

Again, Are your prayers spiritual?

OOmmnniisscciieennccee

All knowledge belongs to God

God knows everything past, present, and future, everything actual and everything possible

He understands all things

He has known and understood everything forever

His knowledge is not limited by time or space

God does not learn

He knew all things at all times

God cannot be confused or surprised

– You cannot shock God with your sin

God knew you would be in this situation

God knew all the “things” it would take to get you out of or through this situation

You cannot teach God anything

– “I will teach Him a lesson”

The Bible is the Mind of Christ that He has shared with us for a purpose

That purpose is for us to learn everything in the Bible, in time

The Bible is just a finite amount of knowledge



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If we understand these things then:

– We know someone who has all the answers

– We know someone who is smarter than us and has shared that wisdom with us

– When we face an exigency in life, we can comfort in knowing that God knew in eternity

past that we would be here and that He knew in eternity past all it would take to get of it

1John 3:20

1Sam 2:3

Psm 139:1-6

Psm 147:4

Jer 16:17 (18 - +R and Justice)

Ezek 11:5

Matt 10:29-30 (32-34 +R and Justice)

Rom 8:27 – 33 – How many attributes are mentioned

Heb 4:13

Prayer

– Daniel – He understood that God knew Israel would turn away and that the Justice of God

would punish Israel. He also understood that God knew they would return to Him and be

blessed. He realized that he may not have another opportunity (day by day concept) and

that this prayer needs to be effective to bring about change to Israel

– Us – First – we cannot hide our sins from God

– Recognize that, humble yourself, and confess – You do not get away with it

– Keep an RMA in your current situation, knowing that God knew in eternity past that you

would be here

– And, He knew you would need doctrine to get through it and He knew exactly what

doctrine you would need and He provided that for you

– We should thank God for knowing that He knew in advance everything that we would

need to understand His perfect Person and plan. He imparted that knowledge to us through

the Bible. We are to know it in its entirety. That should motivate us to learn doctrine and

learn the only “perfect” knowledge available to us in the Mind of Christ

OOmmnniippootteennccee

God is infinitely, awesomely powerful

He can accomplish anything He wills

He never wills anything contrary to His +R and Justice

He created the universe and restored the earth

He rules and upholds everything

This applies to Spiritual Power as well as physical power


– We should utilize the spiritual power to the maximum

– Along with Omniscience, we know that God knew in eternity past we would be in this

situation. His omniscience also knew what we would need to win. We also know that

God (in His Sovereignty) had a plan so we could excel in victory. God’s omnipotence

provided everything (Spiritual and physical) to make the plan come to fruition.



Page 13 of 25

– There is nothing God cannot do

“What so ever you ask in My Name, believing you shall receive”

– God’s Omnipotence can deliver on this promise – Think Spiritual “what so ever”

– Job 42:2 – I know that You can do everything

– Luke 1:37 – “with God nothing shall be impossible”

We should never doubt God’s ability to deliver on His promises

We should never doubt God’s ability to answer prayer – especially when they are spiritual and

glorify Christ

We can be thankful in the presence of our own weaknesses, because God is our strength

Psm 147:5 24:8 93:1

Gen 17:1 18:14

Isa 40:26

Jer 27:5 32:17 ff 27

Matt 19:26

1 Chron 29:11-12

Psm 33:9 66:7

Rom 13:1

Heb 1:3

Neh 1:10

Heb 7:25

Eph 1:18-21

Prayer:

– Daniel 9:4 – Great and awesome God … God is able to deliver all things and provide

victory in any situation. He started his prayer by recognizing the Omnipotence of God and

knowing that whatever he asks for in this prayer (wisdom) God can grant that prayer for

victory in the angelic conflict

– Do we humble ourselves before God and realize that we can do nothing and do apply Job

42:2.

God can do all things and

God’s will cannot be thwarted

– If our prayer glorifies God and is in His will, the power is limitless ( Eph 1:17-21)

– Do we utilize this unlimited power in our prayer?

OOmmnniisscciieennccee aanndd OOmmnniippootteennccee

God knew in eternity past that this event or circumstance would occur and He knew the exact

solution of resolution to that exigency. He also has the power to provide all the necessary

tools (doctrine and wisdom) for that situation and the power to see you through that exigency

With this you can have a tremendous relaxed mental attitude in every situation

OOmmnniipprreesseennccee

God is in all places at all times

Implies, God can see and hear everything at all times (He knew in eternity past that you would

do or say that)



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You cannot hide any thought, deed, or word from God. There is no hiding place and nothing

is secret

On the flip side, this also implies God is present in all situations and because of His eternality,

He has all the time to devote specifically to you

You cannot use up all your time with God

He gives you full attention as if you were the only person on the earth


– We know that God will never leave you nor forsake you

– When you walk in the sand, the other set of footsteps will always be there

– When witnessing, the unbeliever should realize he/she cannot hide or run from God

– In any exigency, you are never alone

In fact, you are not alone, but He is Omniscience and Omnipotent

– Thus your “Best Friend” knows all things and knew you would be here and He is all

powerful and has already provided all the tools you need and He is there to guide and help

you use them

What do you have to worry about?

Why do you doubt or fret?

Jer 23:24

John 14:23

I Kings 8:27

Isa 66:1 (2)

Deut 4:39 – In Heaven and earth at the same time

Psm 139:

Prov 15:3

Prayer

– Daniel 9:7 – He realized and knew that Israel could not hide or run from their iniquity.

And because of that, the iniquity was not going to “disappear”

– We should realize that our sin is sin and we cannot hide it from God

– We cannot run and hide from the punishment that we deserve

– We should realize we have an Omniscient and Omnipotent God, next to us in all situations

– Actually better than that, we should realize that we have an Omniscient and Omnipotent

God indwelling us

IImmmmuuttaabbiilliittyy

God has never changed and God will never change

He can neither increase nor decrease

His attributes and essence will always be the same

God’s word is unchangeable

Faithfulness stems from immutability

Reflective of God’s thinking in eternity past when He contemplated the sinfulness of man

+R cannot have anything to do with a sinner

Justice can only condemn sin

God cannot love a sinful man without compromising His +R and Justice

Eternal Life cannot die and



Page 15 of 25

Omnipresence cannot reduce itself to a single point (i.e. the cross)

Immutability cannot change

Grace came through

– By Jesus Christ becoming a man He would not be restricted by the attributes of deity

– He could then pay the penalty for our sins by being judged for our sins

– God the Father was propitiated by the work of Christ on our behalf

– Did not compromise any attributes of His essence to love us

Because of his Immutability and Eternal Life

– His Love never changes

– His Love is undying and enduring

We live in a constantly changing world, but God never changes

– Jesus Christ never changed or changes

– Salvation never changed or changes

– The Mind of Christ never changed nor does it change now

This is the only constant we have in our lives


– We know that God’s plan never changes, His Word never changes, His love never

changes, His +R and Justice never change, His Omnipotence never changes (i.e. there are

never power outages or power surges)

– We have total stability and reliance on the faithfulness of God

God is faithful in keeping His promises

– Num 23:19; I Kings 8:56; 2 Cor 1:20; Tit 1:2

– Heb 10:23 11:11

God is Faithful to forgive

– 1 John 1:9

– Note: He is not Faithful based on anything we do, this is His total work and attribute

He is Faithful to keep us saved (eternal security)

– 2Tim 2:12-13 (vs 7)

He is faithful to deliver us from pressure and testing

– 1Cor 10:13; 1Pet 4:19

He is faithful in the administration of His plan

– 1Cor 1:9

He is Faithful in His provision

– 1 Thes 5:24

Isa 40:28

Psm 102:26-27

Mal 3:6

Heb 1:12

Psm 119:89-90

Psm 148:6

Isa 40:8 – 1Pet 1:25

Eccl 3:14

Heb 6:18



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Heb 13:8

Lam 3:22-23

Prayer

– Daniel – Daniel realized that God made promises to the Children of Israel

These promises involved punishment

These promises involved blessing if they repented

He was praying for their sins and confessing because he knew God would not just

change His mind about Israel and suddenly bless them

He knew if Israel would repent, He (God) would be faithful to His promises

Us

– We have already seen the 6 faithfulnesses of God. How many beyond confession do we

use?

– God is faithful in his Justice, Love, Sovereignty

“I have had trouble understanding 1 Peter 2:13-17, I need wisdom to be able to apply

these doctrines in the situation at work with my lazy corrupt boss. I know You are

faithful to give wisdom and I know You are consistent in placing authority over me, so

let me understand ABC and glorify You.”



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VVeerraacciittyy

Veracity means truth

God is absolute truth

– There is no variation of truth or shades of truth

– It is absolute truth

– Truth can be measured to His absolute Righteousness

God always acts in truth

God cannot lie in action or word

All His truth that He wanted us to know is contained in the Bible

If we understand this:

– We have the basis for interpreting all things in life

– If an event or speech does not agree with God’s word then it is false

– 2 Tim2:15

– We have to study the Truth, meditate on the Truth, and rightly divide the Truth to know

the Truth

Question is:

– Does “it” line up and agree with the Word of God?

– If Yes, then truth

– If No, then false

– Easy…

Also:

We know that all of God’s promises are truth and with all His other attributes they can come

to fruition for your benefit

All His imperatives or negative imperatives are true and are for our benefit

Psm 33:4, 86:15, 111:7-8

Deut 32:4

Rev 15:3

Dan 4:37

2 Sam 7:28

1 Kings 17:24

Psm 19:9, 119:42, 138:2

John 17:17

2 Cor 6:7

Eph 1:13

In prayer:

– Daniel 9:11, 12, 14 – Daniel understood that God never lies, thus when God said He would

bring calamity on Israel, He would and did and He would fulfill the rest of His words.

That is why Daniel was offering this prayer of forgiveness because he understood the

Truth of God and with the other attributes the outlook for Israel was not good.

Us:

– We need to understand the Truth of God

– We need to know all the words in the Bible are true

This is a situation, we can comfort in knowing that the promises and Doctrinal rationales that

God has given us are true and will come through in the current situation.



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IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn -- HHuummiilliittyy

Conclusion 2 from Essence of God

If we know God and understand His attributes, we will be in awe of Him – this humility is the

foundation for Wisdom

This study is a very brief introduction about humility based on Daniel 4

What is humility?

Webster’s Dictionary – The quality or state of being humble

Humble:

– Not proud or Not Arrogant

– Expressing, reflecting, or offering in a spirit of submission

– Ranking low in some hierarchy

From a Biblical perspective, what is humility?

Rom 12:1-3

It is the renewing of the mind that proves the will of God

Proper mental attitude necessary for learning Doctrine

Also, makes one think of himself no more highly than he ought to think

James 4:6-7, 10

Submission to God

It is a respect and mental attitude towards God and man that comes from the soul that is filled

with Doctrine

It is commanded from God - Col 3:12

Christ is the ultimate example of Humility

Phil 2:1-13

– Humility of mind – regard others as more important than yourself (Love of God)

– Christ demonstrated the ultimate in humility by going to the cross (even after Kenosis)

– Bond servant: Humility in voluntarily submitting to another

– We are to be humble all the time, not just in church

– When we do, God will be at work in us

It is essential for worship and fellowship with God

Mat 18:4 – Salvation is the first humility

Psalm 25:9 (1-9)

– He teaches the humble His way

Psalm 10:17

– He hears and answers the prayers of the humble

1 Pt 5:5-6

– You can only grow spiritually if you are humbled

– He gives grace and He will exalt you

– At the proper time

Unless you are truly humble, you cannot handle all the exalting God will give you (you

will become arrogant again)

– Also peace and assurance (vs 7)

An aside

Verses 8-10

– You are not alone in your trials, problems and tests. (vs 9) they have been accomplished

by your brethren

– God is with you (Omnipresence)



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– Have humility in your suffering, your problem is not unique and you are not alone

– Not even for Christ as we share in his sufferings

Principle:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

– He who exalts himself will be humbled; he who is humble will be exalted

– Mat 23:12

– Luke 1:48-52*

– Luke 14:11

– Luke 18:14

Principle 2

If you do not humble yourself, God will humble you

– True for believer as well as unbeliever

– True for generation after generation

Daniel 4:

Zeph 2:1-7

Exodus 10 (10:3)

Jer 23:16-23

Deut 8:2-3

2 Chron 28:19

2 Chron 12:6-8

Conclusion

– Humility is the basic “attitude” needed by believers to grow in grace

– It is better for the believer to humble himself before God

– If he does not, then God will humble him



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DDaanniieell 99 VVeerrssee bbyy VVeerrssee

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king

over the kingdom of the Chaldeans--

2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years

which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of

the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with

fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

Daniel was preparing for prayer, he was going to pray for a long time and he was

demonstrating to God that he was ready to have a long conversation with him

He was going to do so in humility

Daniel knew that God was the only solution to his problem

That is, he needed wisdom to understand and he knew God had promised to give wisdom. All

Daniel had to do was ask

Daniel had asked for it many times before and he is asking again for it now

The attention demonstrates respect and humility before God

The long time indicates the respect was deep and heart felt

God was someone Daniel wanted to spend time with and talk to

Daniel wanted “advice” from God

Why did Daniel prepare and pray for a long time? Why this time, why this prayer?

In one of the lessons we learned from principles of I Peter 2:18-20 is humility to the Holy

Spirit is prayer for wisdom and knowledge

This brings about patience (abiding), in both blessing and suffering, which glorifies God

18. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good

and fair, but also to those who are unreasonable.

19. For if a person is motivated by a mindset oriented toward God and endures distress when

suffering unjustly, this finds favor.

20. For if you are harshly treated when you sin and you put up with it, what credit is there for

that? But if you suffer unjustly when doing what is right and you remain steadfast, this finds

favor with God.

Note: Daniel’s daily prayers were enough to sustain him through the usual daily grind and

exigencies of life

His prayer life was active, vibrant, and constant. Pray without ceasing. This is how we

should be on a daily basis

We have our set times for prayer, once maybe twice or however often and this is sufficient for

our spiritual growth and sustenance

However, now Daniel realizes two things

He probably partially understands the readings from Jeremiah and this disturbs or troubles

him and

He wants wisdom and understanding to fully understand the readings. This is a major

situation

Do you have major situations in life?

He realized that his daily prayers were not going to be enough to prepare and sustain him

through this experience of learning and patience

Enduring with patience (abiding) is not only pleasing to God, but also helps spiritual growth

Abiding takes time to learn, know, understand and apply Doctrinal principles (learn, know



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and understand God)

4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and

awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep

His commandments,

Daniel is recalling promises and he knows the faithfulness of God will fulfill the promises

Great and Awesome God implies His Sovereignty, Justice, Righteousness, Love,

Immutability, Eternal Life, and Omnipotence

Recall where the Great and Awesome came from.

Deut 7:12 – 21 (1-21)

This verse demonstrates the tremendous amount of doctrine that Daniel had stored in his soul

and

His expectation of Victory from God

Victory from God is happiness (inner peace), knowledge and understanding, and fulfillment

of promises

5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside

from Your commandments and ordinances.

Here Daniel demonstrates he knows about sin, good and evil

He gets specific and names the sins for which they are guilty (application of 1Jn 1:9)

Iniquity means perverseness. The children of Israel were famous for that. (Read Jeremiah

about the valley of Gehenna and worship of Moolak)

In other passages translated as guilt for sins

Acted wickedly and rebelled

Wickedness and rebelled implies they found other gods and worshipped them

This led to the iniquity. Which in turn led to more wickedness and rebellion

The vicious sin cycle that occurs when one is arrogant (not humble)

Why is the “even turning away form Your commandments and ordinances” emphasized?

Because God does what? He keeps His lovingkindness and covenant for those who love Him

and keep His commandments

This was a big deal to Daniel. He really enjoyed the lovingkindness of God in its fullest

This is one reason Daniel understood the “sinfulness of sin.” It is separation from God

This was of utmost importance to him. Why?

So as bad as iniquity, wickedness, and rebellion are in themselves, Daniel knows the root

cause is they fell out of fellowship and God did not keep His lovingkindness, but poured out

the righteous due judgment

So the “little” sin of not confessing your sins and not listening and obeying God’s words are

greater and worse than all else, since they caused the downslide

(Obeying God’s commands and confessing are humility)

He realized that you cannot grow spiritually if you are not following God’s commands

You cannot get out of the discipline if you do not follow God’s commands and most

importantly for Israel, they could not fulfill and gain all the blessings God had promised them

unless they were following God’s commands

Note the tremendous amount of humility here both in blessing (which is hard) and in suffering

(which can be easier with the right attitude)

Daniel and his friends were blessed beyond anything they could image (both spiritually in

time and eternity, but also temporally) even though the Children of Israel were in severe

discipline

Yet Daniel realized that for God to be fully glorified and all of Israel to receive the blessings



Page 22 of 25

they had to be positive

Do you have that burden for all of America?

Do you have the burden for yourself?

Eph 1:3-4

Notice in these verses, that you already have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

You do not earn them nor do you need to earn them you have already been blessed with them,

but do you know what they are?

This is the same situation as the Israelites, they had blessings and all they had to do was to

obey God to obtain them

All you have to do is humble yourself before God to know and understand all your blessings

What is stopping you?

We are going through a bunch on Sunday Morning and more on Wednesday night

The filling of the Holy Spirit has to be one of the greatest blessings we can receive

The filling of the Spirit gives us supernatural power to understand spiritual things not of our

limited power and ability, but of God’s infinite power and ability

The amount of Spiritual Truths you can understand is limited only by the Truths in the Bible

6 "Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name

to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.

Daniel recognizes the breakdown in the lines of communication that God has established

Note: Daniel’s daily prayers were enough to sustain him through the usual daily grind and

exigencies of life

His prayer life was active, vibrant, and constant. Pray without ceasing. This is how we

should be on a daily basis

We have our set times for prayer, once maybe twice or however often and this is sufficient for

our spiritual growth and sustenance

However, now Daniel realizes two things

He probably partially understands the readings from Jeremiah and this disturbs or troubles

him and

He wants wisdom and understanding to fully understand the readings. This is a major

situation

Do you have major situations in life?

He realized that his daily prayers were not going to be enough to prepare and sustain him

through this experience of learning and patience

Enduring with patience (abiding) is not only pleasing to God, but also helps spiritual growth

Abiding takes time to learn, know, understand and apply Doctrinal principles (learn, know

and understand God)

7 "Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day--to the

men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who

are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful

deeds which they have committed against You.

The Lord did them a favor by scattering them all over the place, Why? God demonstrates

Grace in discipline and Daniel understood this

8 "Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we

have sinned against You.

9 "To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against

Him;

Again, notice the grace in discipline – we often forget about that



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10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He

set before us through His servants the prophets.

11 "Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so

the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses

the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him.

12 "Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our

rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not

been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem.

13 "As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not

sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to

Your truth.

Why are the kings, princes, and fathers mentioned twice?

Probably important, but why?

Ezekiel 22:26-31

The teachers and leaders were false prophets, teaching and leading evil

No one to stand in the gap – Alamo story about how the brave men stood in the gap when one

fell. That is battle and that is what brave men should do in battle, like the angelic conflict

Daniel recognized the breakdown in the Divine institutions and the lines of communication

He recognized this is important since they were in captivity so long and with the people

dispersed, that they would lose the history of everything that was taught

Also, Daniel realized that because of this lack of discipline, the potential existed for the

recovery to be long and hard because the people would lose their language and thus not be

able to read and study the books

They would lose their language and be unable to read and understand the writings of the OT

Neh 8:1-8.

If you cannot read and study books, then how can you grow spiritually and recover

Ezra was able to carry on the torch and teach the people and read to them because they could

not read the law of Moses

The law had to be translated

How sad is that? What a way to destroy a society is to take away their language

Daniel understood this. That is why this order was important to him

It is important that even though they were humbled by God, they still did not repent

Their arrogance was great and increased in calamity

Note: this was not ordinary discipline, but greater than anything that had been done before

Remember the first lesson, on how powerful the Babylonians were and what they did to the

people they conquered

This was tremendous discipline and yet they did not repent or humble themselves before the

mighty hand of God

Sounds familiar and happened many times and Daniel realized the danger in that the Children

of Israel may harden their hearts

We act the same way when we rebel

Law of Moses is mentioned more than once - Important

Mal 4:4 – The law of Moses my servant, … which I commanded

Exodus 19:1 ff. The prologue to the law:

Vs 5-8.

As a side note:



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If we ever get to study the law, we will notice immediately that the law in all its components

detail and clearly teach the attributes of God

14 "Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD

our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed

His voice.

Here Daniel recognizes the +R and +J of God and that God is fair in all that He does. God is

immutable and will not change His mind about all of this. Daniel is not whining or

complaining about all of this. He knows and understands Gods attributes and more

importantly, he knows and understands God’s plan. Do you whine? (I Peter Lesson)

Heb 4:9-16

Sabbath Rest

Boldly before the Throne of Grace

Boldly before the Throne of Grace is total humility before God.

It is the ultimate example of being a bond-servant

Totally in harmony with the Master

15 "And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with

a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day--we have sinned, we have

been wicked.

16 "O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath

turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the

iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those

around us.

Daniel acknowledges the sins and the punishment

He is telling God that the punishment on the Children of Israel has become an embarrassment

to not only them but to God Himself, since they are His chosen people and He has done so

much for them

It is like having your apprentice fail miserably

As such, God should remove His punishment

17 "So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for

Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.

Daniel is telling God to listen to his prayer

By doing so, it will benefit God and glorify Him by restoring the Children of Israel

18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the

city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on

account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion

He is telling God again to listen

Also to open His eyes and see

Daniel also quickly and accurately points out that this is all done by the Grace of God

– we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own,

but on account of Your great compassion

This is humility and going Boldly to the Throne of Grace

Here he completely understands the Grace of God. It is not on account of any merits of our

own, but on account of Your …

19 "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my

God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

Again, Daniel is commanding God on what to do

This is not for Daniels gain, but for the glory of God



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This is the burden he shares for the Children of Israel – like we are to share in the suffering of

Christ

He realizes that the Children of Israel cannot do this by themselves and that if God restores

them, then God will be glorified

Do you talk to God that way?

Do you have the confidence and humility and knowledge of God’s plan and purpose to do so?

DDaanniieell 99 CCoonncclluussiioonnss

Daniel had an active daily prayer life that sustained and edified him

We should have an active and daily prayer life that sustains and edifies us

Daniel used intense, focused, and lengthy prayer for the “special” occasions

We are commanded to do the same

Daniel used Doctrine in his intense prayers and probably in his daily prayers

That is a principle we should use as well

Do you quote scripture or cite doctrines when praying?

Do you pray for your wisdom and understanding of Doctrinal principles?

This not only benefits you, but Pastor Cliff as well

The Holy Spirit will guide him in preparation of his lessons to give you the wisdom or

application for which you prayed

Do you know enough Doctrine and are you humble enough to go boldly to the Thorne of

Grace?

Why do you go boldly?

To receive mercy and find grace in the time of need

Note: this in Daniel’s case was spiritual need for wisdom

The essence of God is a simple basic Doctrine that we can apply everyday in all situations

Finally – Did you do your homework assignment:

List all the reasons why you Love God

Do you know all the Spiritual Blessings in the heavenly places?

Documents

Doctrines in Daniel’s Prayers - Lost Pines Bible Church€™s Prayer of Daniel 9 Doctrines in Daniel’s Prayer Page 3 of 25 This was not panic prayer, he was prepared Do we prepare