“O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. (Daniel 9:4-5)
Daniel, that great man of God, prayed this prayer of repentance and shame. He prayed for God’s forgiveness – for himself and all his brethren – that they may return, and be under the grace of the Almighty.
And we, too, could pray this same prayer - for our brethren, our people, our nation. For we, too, know that God’s love never fails – we have seen His love displayed to us. Yet we, too, have sinned and done wrong. We, too, have rebelled against God – through our actions, and our inaction.
Of course, we go on to read that Daniel’s prayer was answered by that great messenger, Gabriel. This mighty Angel of our Lord explained to Daniel that God’s punishment would continue for some time, but that later the Anointed One would come. Their Messiah would come and deliver them!
We, too, can rejoice that the Anointed One has come... Our Messiah came and delivered us, just as it was written! So, although Daniel’s prayers were for ‘his people’ of Israel, the deliverance promised to God’s children came to ALL of His children – Jew and Gentile alike…
So we, too, can sing as Martin Luther King Jr., that great man of God, quoted from that famous spiritual…. “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last”!
#LoveMatters