Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Since February of this year I've been posting prayers based on the book of Nehemiah. As I've also been reading through the book of Daniel, I couldn't help but be grabbed by Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9. (If you read this prayer along with Nehemiah's (Neh. 1) and the prayer of Israel in Neh. 10, you can't help but see some similarities. I'd encourage you to read and reflect on those three prayers.)

At the time of Daniel's prayer, the seventy years' captivity was about to be completed. In about 539 BC we find Daniel being filled with faith and being led of the Spirit of God to confess and repent of the sins of Israel and intercede for her, all in anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promise to show His steadfast love, mercy and grace on Israel again, to deliver them from exile and return them to the promised land.

Please note that this prayer was prayed a year before the first wave of exiles return in 538BC (Ezra 1), eighty-one years before the Ezra returned with the second wave of exiles (Ezra 7), and ninety-three years before Nehemiah returned with the third wave of exiles (Nehemiah 2).

In other words: Daniel was praying before even one Israelite began the journey back to the promised land. Even one! Even before the commandment was given by Cyrus King of Persia for the first wave of exiles to return.

I know full well that many of us can be discouraged as we pray for revival. We've seen the ruins in the Church.

We've seen doctrine discounted. We've seen grace cheapened. We've seen the Christian life misrepresented as an arduous legalism. We've seen dead doctrine without life. Etc.

And so it is that we too are in exile, in a sense. It sometimes seems that we've not even seen one Israelite on that road back to Jerusalem.

Yet, can we not each proclaim that we have seen the work of God in our own hearts? Can we not also see those blessed times when God has privileged us to see some of the firstfruits being born of His Spirit in the lives of few souls?

However, it is true that we can too easily lose our vision of God and His mighty, wonder-working power to revive His people, to breathe life into the dead, dry bones. We forget the God who raised Jesus from the dead can sweep into our lives and into our churches at any moment and orchestrate a great work of revival to His glory alone. We focus on the impossibility, rather than our God. We forget that nothing is impossible with Him.

We forget our God is the God who declares His reviving work before it springs forth:

If you are already burdened over the current state of the Church and you have been praying (like Nehemiah and Daniel), God has already given you eyes to see and a heart to weep over the shame, reproach, rebellion, ruins we are in. Yet, there are times when each one of us is tempted to doubt. We begin to wonder what God is doing, but along with Habakkuk, God reminds us that the just shall live by faith. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. If we do not believe, surely we will not be established. May He grant us sufficient grace to trust Him and persevere in prayer before His throne.

We do know God will fulfill all His promises to His Church in His time. We know that His love for us in Jesus Christ will never end, and His good hand will continue to be upon His Church in the same way that our Savior ever lives to intercede for us at the Father's right hand. Let our importunity take us back again and again to His throne of grace, so we might approach Him with boldness and confidence, nothing doubting. Our God is the God who will perform what He has promised. And He has the power to perform what He has promised. We cannot ever expect the Lord God to move any sooner than He ordains, yet we do know that He does want us to continue to intercede on behalf of the Church, so we might be no longer be a shame and reproach in the earth but rather be a praise to His holy and blessed and glorious Name. We may not understand God's timing, but we can always trust His plans for us are good. We can trust the Lord God will continue to faithful to us for Jesus' sake, because of His covenant of grace, not because of anything we have done or we could do...and in spite of what we have done. May we continue to praise and worship God our Father for His continuing covenant mercies poured out on us through His Son Jesus Christ. We can trust that our God waits to move only so He might be more greatly exalted, since all things are about Him and His glory. May we patiently wait on Him to work in His way and in His time and continue fervent in prayer on behalf of His Church.

We also know that the Lord has promised to pour out a spirit of grace and supplications on His Church. We have seen this happen time and again throughout Church history, when the Church is at a low point, it is then that God begins to burden a handful of people to pray. They don't work up the desire to pray, but He sovereignly gives them the desire. I know God gave me such a desire a little over a year ago and He continues to fuel it. I wasn't looking for that, and I know apart from His Spirit continuing to constrain me to pray, I would have given up praying long ago. I confess I have been tempted to give up, and I confess there have been times when I have not be instant in prayer and continuing as I ought. Nevertheless, not because of my own will or my own power, but because of His Spirit, I am still praying today. And I know many of you are also. I thank God for each of you.

If you are reading this and you have not yet received a burden from the Lord to intercede for the Church, but you are only praying because you think you ought to, I ask you to ask Him to give you such a burden. You will know you have received it once you have received it. His love will constrain you in the calling to pray.

If you are reading this and you have already received such a burden from the Lord, I want to encourage you to persevere in prayer. If you have come short in praying as you ought (and we all have at one time or another), please confess that to the Lord, receive His forgiveness and cleansing through the blood of Jesus, and then ask Him to work in You to will and to do of His good pleasure. We can trust Almighty God will equip us with all we need for doing His will, and for some of us, a big part of His will for us is a call to intercessory prayer on behalf of the Church. As we obey Him in this calling, we can trust He will grant us grace and joy beyond what we can imagine.

Let us be encouraged and challenged as we look to the example of Daniel. Our brother had been carried away into exile and dwelt in exile for years and remained faithful to God there, and then, as God moved Him, He zealously approached the throne of grace in full confidence that God would be faithful to keep His covenant promises to Israel for His own sake and the sake of His Name.

I've included Daniel's prayer (KJV) below. I may post more on this Scripture another day, but today I wish to present it as is. It's simply wonderful. May the Holy Spirit encourage you through it as He has me, and, as He leads you, please add your own prayers below.

Co-laboring with you, seeking His face for revival for His sake,
Karen

Daniel 9:1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

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 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. 8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10  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. 11  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. 12  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. 13  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. 14  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. 15  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.

16  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. 17  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. 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.

I've been posting for quite some time on Nehemiah, with my last posts focused on Nehemiah 9 and 10. My last post was an exhortation for us to praise God for the unilateral covenant He makes with us through Jesus Christ because any and all covenants we make with God will fail. Prior to that, I reminded us that we ought to be examining ourselves and confessing our sins, yet as we do so, we can be tempted to despair and resort to our own power, to earthly means to be holy, rather than relying wholly on God's Holy Spirit to do so.

As I reread portions of Nehemiah 9 once again, verses 36 and 37 really hit me, particular the phrase: we are in great distress.

We see the people of God were living so far below the life God had for them, and they had seen that. They got to the point where they cried out to Him that they were in great distress.

However, instead of casting themselves on God's covenant love, mercy, grace and power (as they had just recounted prior to that confession: see all the references in the previous verses in Nehemiah 9 to God's continuing love for them in spite of their sin and rebellion), Israel went ahead and made a series of resolutions to do better. They made promises they could never keep in their own power, and we read of their total inability to keep those promises (see Nehemiah 13).

We may shake our heads at Israel, but don't we so often do the very same thing? We see God's holiness, and we see our sins and failures in contrast. Then we begin to despair. We resolve and promise to do better. We forget our absolute powerlessness to walk in God's ways and our utter dependence on God's strength to do anything good. And we will fail. Time and again . . . and again . . . We will fail like Israel. We foolishly forget the unilateral covenant God has made with us in Jesus Christ.

As I reflected on this section in Nehemiah, I began to consider it was somewhat similar to where Paul was in Romans 7:

Hadn't Paul gotten to where, like Israel, he was saying, "I am in great distress"?

But unlike Paul, Israel did not really see they were totally dependent on the Lord God for their salvation from beginning to ending. That's why they began making all those promises and resolutions (Neh. 10) – even though they'd just professed God as

Israel really didn't understand the extent of the covenant God had made with them. They didn't understand God's greatness, God's might and God's awesomeness. They did not really understand God was a God who keeps covenant. They did not understand the steadfastness of God's love for them. So they went back and began to resort on their own feeble abilities, rather than resting in His covenant and relying on His mighty power.

How often do we do the same? How often do we try to live the Christian life in our own power and our own abilities? Do we really understand God's greatness, God's might and God's awesomeness? Do we really understand the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God who keeps covenant with us for Jesus' sake? Do we really understand the breadth and length and height and depth of God's love for us in Jesus Christ? How often do we forget that God's covenant mercies in Christ are wholly sufficient to save us from both the penalty of sin as well as the power of sin!

O, Lord God,

How often do we fall into the same trap Israel did? We see our sin keenly. We see our failures. We see our great distress. And we are grieved. As well we should be. But then, instead of turning to Christ, we turn to ourselves and our own abilities. We resolve to do better. We make a zillion promises. We mean well. We try to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. But our best and noblest and cleverest efforts in the flesh will never be pleasing to You. Like Israel, we have a zeal for You, but not according to knowledge. Forgive us, O Lord.

We are in great distress. May this great distress turn us to Christ!
If we have found grace in Your sight, show us Your way, that we might know You that we might find grace in Your sight.
You, O God are great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love.
O LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, may we receive of Your fullness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your greatness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your might.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your awesomeness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your covenant mercies in Christ.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know the breadth, length, height and depth of Your steadfast love for us in Christ.

We have received Christ's righteousness as Your free gift to us by faith, but then we confess we so often begin to lapse back into works-righteousness and put ourselves into bondage. We forget the mighty and awesome power and freedom You have made available to us through the gift of Your indwelling Holy Spirit. We forget that Jesus Christ is all-sufficient for our sanctification as well as our justification. We often profess we have Christ's blood covering our sins and we have Christ's righteousness credited to us by faith. But how often do we forget we have Christ's very Spirit, imparted to us, so we might walk in Your will and in Your way for us, to be holy as You are holy? Holy Father, You have given us all we need to walk in Your ways and Your will for us. All! We are partakers of the divine nature! We have Your very resurrection power dwelling in us through Your Spirit! That is why You tell us Your commandments are not burdensome for we have been given the very power we need to obey them. Christ's yoke is easy and His burden is light. But Your commandments will continue to be burdensome and wearisome to us when we resort to working in our own flesh. Not only that, but whenever we attempt to live a holy life apart from Your power, we are robbing You of Your glory.

We are in great distress. May this great distress turn us to Christ!
If we have found grace in Your sight, show us Your way, that we might know You that we might find grace in Your sight.
You, O God are great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love.
O LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, may we receive of Your fullness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your greatness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your might.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your awesomeness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your covenant mercies in Christ.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know the breadth, length, height and depth of Your steadfast love for us in Christ.

Merciful Father, Hear our cries. We are in distress. We are Your children by grace through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Look upon us for His sake. We are in great distress today. We confess this freely to You today. We confess we are so like Israel. We confess we want to walk out a holy and righteous life all by ourselves, all in our own power. We confess we want to take pride in our own ability and strength. Forgive us, Lord God. You will not share Your glory with any other. You alone are God. Humble us and show us our total inability to do anything good, so we might rely wholly on You as we ought and bring You the glory You alone deserve.

We are in great distress. May this great distress turn us to Christ!
If we have found grace in Your sight, show us Your way, that we might know You that we might find grace in Your sight.
You, O God are great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love.
O LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, may we receive of Your fullness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your greatness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your might.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your awesomeness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your covenant mercies in Christ.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know the breadth, length, height and depth of Your steadfast love for us in Christ.

Author and perfecter of our faith, in our distress today, we are here and casting ourselves wholly on Your glorious grace just as we did at the beginning of our life in You. We had nothing then and today we still have nothing apart from that which You give us. All we have is all a gift from You, coming from Your covenant mercies and grace showered on us through Jesus Christ. In and of ourselves we confess we are unworthy. But through You we are made worthy. In and of ourselves we confess we are wretched. But through You we are blessed. In and of ourselves we confess we are impotent. But through You we can do all things. Help us to continue to walk in Your Spirit so we might not fulfill the lust of the flesh but walk in Your holy ways, in thought, word and deed. Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Vine; we are the branches. We confess that without You, we can do nothing. Help us to abide in You and You in us so we might walk in Your Father's commandments as You did and bear the fruit to His glory and have fullness of joy.

We are in great distress. May this great distress turn us to Christ!
If we have found grace in Your sight, show us Your way, that we might know You that we might find grace in Your sight.
You, O God are great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love.
O LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, may we receive of Your fullness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your greatness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your might.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your awesomeness.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know Your covenant mercies in Christ.
Grant us grace upon grace, that we might know the breadth, length, height and depth of Your steadfast love for us in Christ.