Lord, you are great and deserve respect as the only God. You keep your promise and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments. We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commandments and laws. We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the common people. You, Lord, are righteous. But we—the men of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, and all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far—are still ashamed because we have been unfaithful to you. [Daniel 9:4-7 (GW)]
The book of Daniel was written during the Babylonian captivity. Nebuchadnezzar had assaulted Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and exiled the people of Judah to Babylon. Jeremiah had prophesized that Jerusalem’s desolation would last seventy years and Daniel realized that their time of exile was nearly complete. After fasting, donning sackcloth, and covering himself with ashes, Daniel passionately prayed and pled with God to return His people to their land.
Found in Daniel 9, his prayer starts with worship and praise but quickly moves into confession—admitting that the people were rebellious and disobedient and had ignored God’s prophets, abandoned his word, and disregarded his commandments. Admitting that they’d been warned time and time again, He acknowledges the justice of Jerusalem’s desolation and the righteousness of God’s severe judgment. He concludes with a plea to God to forgive them and restore Judah and Jerusalem.
Today, the first Thursday in May, is the National Day of Prayer, and many of us will meet in front of courthouses or in houses of worship and pray for our nation. If there ever was a time our nation needs prayer, it is now! This year’s theme is “Hear us…Forgive us…Heal us! For the Glory of Your Great Name” and is taken from Daniel 9:19. Today’s prayer was written by Anne Graham Lotz and, like Daniel’s prayer, clearly acknowledges the sins of our nation’s people. I have included just a few of the highlights (actually our low points) of her prayer, but I urge you to read and pray the entire prayer for yourselves.
We confess our foolishness of denying You as the one, true, living God, our Creator to whom we are accountable, living as though our lives are a cosmic accident with no eternal significance, purpose or meaning. … We confess we no longer fear You, and thus we have not even the beginning of wisdom with which to handle the vast knowledge we possess. … We confess our arrogance and pride that has led us to think we are sufficient in ourselves. … We confess to believing that the prosperity of our nation has been great because we are great while refusing to acknowledge that all blessings come from Your hand. … We confess that we have allowed the material blessings You have given us to deceive us into thinking we don’t need You. … We confess that we live as though material wealth and prosperity will bring happiness. [Anne Graham Lotz]
Unlike Judah, our nation is not yet in ruins and we haven’t been taken captive by a pagan army, but not much else is very different. Have we learned nothing in over 2,500 years? What will it take for God to get our attention? We still put ourselves before God, commit crimes against both God and people, defy and disobey our Lord, and have turned away from His word. We should be ashamed. The sole hope for us and our nation is found in God. Today’s prayer ends with these words:
Therefore, we turn to You with tears of shame and a heart of fear for the judgment we are provoking. We repent of our sin. Please, God of Our Fathers, do not back away from us. Do not remove Your hand of blessing on us. As we return to You with humility…With sincerity…Out of necessity…With a desperate sense of urgency. Please! Return to us! Hear our prayer. Forgive our sin. Heal our land. … For the Glory of Your Great Name…JESUS. [Anne Graham Lotz]
Lord have mercy upon us!
After more than a year without a pastor, our northern church is finally getting its new minister. He will be stepping into some very big and well-worn shoes. The last pastor was at his post for over forty years. To say that the congregation has become somewhat set in their ways is probably an understatement. “But we’ve always done it that way!” and “He’s not like Pastor S!” are bound to be said more than once.
The words Soli Deo gloria, meaning “glory to God alone,” were the words at the end of the actor’s bio in the show’s playbill. The addition of those three words in his brief resume was the actor’s way of acknowledging the source of his talent and dedicating his work to God’s glory. I thought of those words when someone flattered me recently. While I knew “Glory to God alone,” was not the right response, I wasn’t sure what was.
An interview with God would appear to be a journalist’s dream opportunity! As I started thinking of questions, I realized I wouldn’t want to know the answers for many. I don’t want to know when or how I’ll die and I certainly wouldn’t want to be privy to that information about anyone else. I wouldn’t want to know exactly what will become of friends who don’t believe or who will go where at judgment. A friend said he might ask how he was doing but, fully aware of his failings, realized he probably wouldn’t want to hear God’s answer. Some friends in Chicago might want to ask Him about the Cubs but, unless they were gamblers, knowing the answer would be a season spoiler. There is much that God could tell me that I wouldn’t want to know because I could never live with the weight of His answers.
While in my early thirties, in an attempt to straighten my teeth and correct an overbite, I wore braces for four years—and even had to wear the dreaded head-gear at night! For some reason, as the years dragged on, I seemed to think that everything I didn’t like about myself and my body would be miraculously corrected once the braces were removed. I imagined that, with straight teeth, I could possibly bear some resemblance to Cheryl Tiegs, a super-model of the era. Needless to say, I was disappointed when the braces were finally removed and I still looked just like me—only with nicer teeth. Not that looking like me was so bad, but I certainly wasn’t going to be asked to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue! The fact that I didn’t want to do so made no difference; I just wanted everything I didn’t like about myself to miraculously change. It took some much needed maturing, both spiritually and emotionally, to understand that my discontent had nothing to do with my appearance and that real change doesn’t come from the outside; it comes from within.
Devotions of the Heart 