9:4
So what was Daniel’s response in prayer? The dominant point is that it is God oriented. “I prayed to the Lord and confessed”. Confession of our sins is vital and central. We tend to downplay this these days, but this is a great mistake. “Repent and believe”, and “repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” are repeated commands in the New Testament. The fundamental element of the fall is a rejection of God and His ways. We think that we can decide what is right and wrong, and that we do not need to worship God. God is a “great and awesome God”. And He keeps His covenant of love. We are creatures who do not keep our promises. And is a covenant of love with those who “love Him and keep His commandments”. We are so prone to blaming God, but it is always we who are to blame, not God.
9:5
“We have sinned and done wrong”. Until we reach the point of admitting this, owning up to it, we will not make any progress. “We have been wicked and rebelled”. We spend an awful lot of time in self-justification and denial. As long as we stay in that state there is no prospect of progress. This is not just a matter of not liking the state we are in, the consequences of our actions. It is admitting that “we have turned away from your commands and laws”. We should have been obeying God’s commands, not going our own way.
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