Daniel 9:20-27 Dare to Anticipate

Theological Proposition/Focus: God has given us specifics in which we can eagerly wait in anticipation.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: eSince God has given us some specific details of his plan we can hope in the specific not just the general.

Introduction:

Image: The importance of specificity.

When I have taken people flying one of the things that almost everyone seems to be surprised by is the radio calls. Talking to Air Traffic Control is an important skill. But the hardest part of the skill is knowing the right degree of specificity. Every once in a while I will ask Emily to work the radios, what makes it hard is knowing what to say, and what not to say. In general what Air Traffic Control wants to know is 1) Where you are going, 2) That you have all the latest information, 3) Anything special or out of the ordinary about your method of going. In other words they want some specific information but not every detail. They want to be able to accurately anticipate your decisions but they don't care that you are drinking coffee or soda during the flight. For example, if you call up and say I want to fly somewhere in the Omaha area they will say where specifically? However, if you say I want to fly to the Council Bluffs airport and plan to stop there for a cup of coffee and a burger you will have given far too much information.

What I want us to understand as we read Daniel 9:20-27 is that we have some very specific events that we can anticipate. God has not told us every detail but he has told us some details. We should dare to anticipate what God is doing.

Body

God answers prayer (20-23).

The Epistle of James, is attributed to James the Just, the half brother of Jesus Christ. The letter is addressed to Jewish Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire. James is known for its practical wisdom and ethical teachings, emphasizing the importance of faith accompanied by action. It touches on various themes including trials and temptations, the relationship between faith and works, the dangers of wealth and partiality, the power of the tongue, and the need for patience and perseverance in the face of suffering. The book concludes with a call to prayer. And a comparison to the prayers of Elijah. Within context the prayers called for certainly include prayers of repentance and forgiveness of sins. The point that James makes is that the prayer of faith is a powerful thing. One of my favorite parts of James five is James 5:16b, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16b).

When I look at Daniel 9:20-23 I am reminded of the power of prayer. Daniel has been in prayer asking for forgiveness and God to reveal the next steps in his plan. The prophet Jeremiah had told the people that they would be exiled to Babylon for 70 year in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and now as Daniel considered the prophecy he had come to realize that the time was about to be up. The question that was likely on Daniel's mind was, "now what?"

So what does Daniel do with this big looming question? He begins to pray! Daniel enters into a prayer of confession and a request for the "holy hill" The request for the "holy hill" is a request that God would restore Jerusalem. To understand this reference it is helpful to recall Daniel 9:16 "Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. "

Daniel is going to bat for Jerusalem. Really, begging God to restore Jerusalem. So what happens? The results of Daniel's prayer are incredible. You see,

Sometimes the means by which God answers prayer are incredible (21-23).

The angel Gabriel arrives on the scene. We learn that in fact, as soon as Daniel had begun to pray the angel was dispatched to give Daniel an answer to the prayer. You may never get this sort of an answer to prayer but I want us ti understand that our God does answer prayer and at times the answer to our prayers is nothing short of incredible. So, Daniel is about to get an answer but something we must recognize is that

Not every answer to prayer will result in immediate fulfillment of the request.

Daniel in verse 20 asked about God's Holy Hill i.e. Jerusalem. God's answer was not the immediate glorification of Jerusalem but rather a clear explanation of what would happen. Daniel was about to learn much more about God's plan. The 70 years Jeremiah had prophesied were coming to an end. The thing was, the city of Jerusalem was not going to be immediately restored to glory. God had an entire carefully laid out plan and Gabriel was here to give some details to Daniel.

We need to pray with anticipation. The answer might be yes, it might be no, it might be wait. But God answers prayer. We pray with anticipation because we serve a God who answers!

God not only has a general plan for the redemption of His people but He has worked out the specific details too (24-25).

So, why did God not grant Daniel's request to simply rebuild the city of Jerusalem right there and then? Because God's plan involves so much more!