Daniel Pleads for His People

The events of this chapter take place in 537 BC. Sixty-eight years previously, the teenage Daniel had been taken as a captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had subsequently destroyed Jerusalem and taken the rest of the people into exile. Daniel pleads with God for his homeland and his people. Three times a day he prays, facing Jerusalem, the city he has never forgotten.

What can we learn from the seven elements of Daniel's prayer?

1: Daniel is single-minded and determined to meet with God
2: He comes armed with the promises of God
3: He comes reverently, because he knows the character of God
4: Daniel spends time in confession
5: He makes a specific request
6: He uses convincing arguments
7: He prays with urgency, making an impassioned plea