O Lord, Listen and Take Action

With various tragedies striking our families, friends, church families and acquaintances, I’ve been doing a lot more praying lately. Praying for those who have lost loved ones expectantly and others whose expected death is heartbreaking to deal with. Praying for those who have experienced blows out of the blue. Praying for those who struggle on a daily basis to continue in the midst of the grief and difficulty surrounding them.

This morning, as I was reading through Daniel 9, I was struck by Daniel’s prayer to the LORD on behalf of his people, on behalf of Israel. Daniel’s prayer is offered up during the time of Israel’s 70 year captivity in Babylon – although I’m not quite sure where in the timeline of that captivity Daniel is. However, the chapter begins with Daniel noting the Lord’s promise to Jeremiah that Israel would be slaves for 70 years. Then, Daniel begins his prayer. He praises the LORD for who He is; Daniel admits the sin of his people, recognizing how far they had fallen from what the LORD asked of them; he asks the LORD to remove His wrath upon Israel.

“So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 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, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets . . . Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 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. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action!’” (Daniel 9:3-6, 9, 18-19)

I encourage you to take a moment and read all of Daniel’s prayer. What truly stood out to me was verse 18—Daniel’s recognition that his supplication would not be heard by the LORD because of any good work he or any Israelite had done. His supplication would not be heard by the LORD because Daniel deserved to be heard. His supplication would not be heard because it was required that the LORD hear his every request. Daniel recognized and admitted that the LORD would hear his supplication because He is a compassionate God. A God who loves His people. A God who is concerned about that which concerns His people.

The same is true for us as it was true for Daniel. We too must recognize that it is not our good works that we have done that causes the LORD to hear us. The LORD doesn’t hear us because we deserve to be heard. He doesn’t hear us because it’s a requirement on His part. Our God hears us because He is a compassionate God. A God who loves us. A God who is concerned with that which concerns us.

We might not always feel that the LORD hears us. We might not get an immediate answer to the requests and supplications we bring to Him. But rest assured – He hears. He answers. All in His timing. Remember, Israel was captive for 70 years. That’s a long time. But during those 70 years, the LORD did not abandon His people. No matter how long it takes for your captivity and pain to end, He will not abandon you or leave you to fight your own battle. The LORD is a compassionate God who hears you when you call. May that truth and the promises in His Word give you the strength you need to endure your captivity.