Reading: Daniel 9
‘O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great
mercies’.
Daniel 9:18 (KJV)
Aren’t there times when we feel like we are really doing well in our journey with God? Times when we feel very happy and joyful, which we attribute to how good, kind, and prayerful we have been. Times when we feel like we are getting good results based on our good works.
Consider Daniel 9:18; Daniel’s prayers and pleas for Israel were based on God’s mercy, and not on the righteousness of the Israelites.
Even today, when we consider how wonderful that we have been made righteous through the precious work and blood of Christ, and not by our own works (Eph. 2:8-9), we see that God has been good to us simply because He is a good God!
God blesses us because He is merciful and righteous, and not solely because of our good deeds. He blesses us because He is love and He loves us passionately and enjoys blessing us.
Like Daniel, let us pray for the good of our land. And a s we pray, God will hear and answer us and have His will done. Not because of our good deeds, but rather because He is always good and merciful.
Prayer Focus
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being so good and righteous and merciful! It is because of Your goodness that we have eternal hope, not because of anything we have done. Thank You for You, in Jesus name, Amen.
Written by Maxwell Okoedion of @thelafamily