Daniel 9:2-3

In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
Daniel 9:2-3

Because of their disobedience, the people of God had been in bondage in Babylon for 67 years. So when Daniel reads the book of Jeremiah, he sees that the 70 years of captivity that had been determined by the Lord are about to come to an end. What does Daniel do with all this information? It drives him to pray! He prays with supplications, requesting mercy, and with sackcloth and ashes, he offers confession and repentance to the Lord his God. He prays with a firm belief that the Lord is a God of mercy and grace who desires to restore and forgive His people and will keep His word toward them.

That’s what knowing the prophecies and promises of God should drive us to do as well. As we see the times that we are living in, we need to “Set our face toward the Lord with prayers and supplications” because we know the love of God in our lives. The days are short, and the time is now for us to intercede for a lost and dying world.

Pastor Doug Hardin