Daniel 9:14

Daniel 9:14 says, Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.  Daniel is still praying.  He had a real burden for the people of Israel, God's chosen people.  They were still in captivity, but Daniel recognized that it was because of their own iniquity that they were in such a position.  We should not only have a burden for the lost today, but also for God's people who are not living according to His teachings.  God does indeed watch His world.  God did not just create and then abandon the world, nor any part of His creation.  He sees the evil that we do, and when we do not hear and obey His voice, we will be held accountable.  Though as followers of Christ all our sins are forgiven, that does not give us a license to sin freely and follow the ways of those who do not acknowledge God.  Verse fifteen adds, And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.  Daniel acknowledged that God had done a mighty work in delivering Israel out of the land of Egypt.  God has done an even greater work since, in delivering everyone who will believe in Christ as Savior and Lord out of the bondage of sin.  Like Israel after the deliverance from Egypt, we too often sin against God after we are delivered by Christ.  Verse sixteen continues, O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.  Daniel acknowledges the righteousness of God, but since Israel was known as being His people, Daniel said that their captivity had become a reproach to God.  Daniel also acknowledged God's right to be angry with His people because they had sinned against Him.  When we as followers of Christ turn away from His teachings, we likewise become a reproach against God.  It is bad enough for those who do not acknowledge God to live under the power of sin, but for God's people to do so is so much worse.  We know what always happened when Israel disobeyed God.  They were defeated by those who did not follow God.  We cannot expect anything less today, especially since we have a greater understanding of salvation through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse seventeen states, Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.  Daniel asked God to hear his prayers and to restore the temple, which was still desolate.  Daniel asked that this be done for the sake of the Lord.  Those who thought themselves to be more powerful than God saw the desolation of the temple as a sign of their victory over God.  When we allow the things of God, from the church building to our own faith, to become desolate today, those of the world feel the same way.  They feel more powerful than God.  Verse eighteen adds, 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 said he did not come to God from an attitude of righteousness before God but asked for God's mercy instead.  This is the only way we can approach God.  We can never make demands based on our righteousness but must ask for God's mercy that He might be glorified.  Verse nineteen continues, O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.  Daniel asks God to hear, hearken and not defer, for the sake of His kingdom.  When things look desolate for Christians today, this should be our prayer.  As with Daniel, it should all be asked that God might be glorified.