7th.: Daniel's Confession
The prophet Daniel prayed a lot.
Daniel chapter 9 gives one long prayer of confession.
This prayer would take many days to examine.
We shall focus on only one verse: 9:13.
Leading up to this verse Daniel cited several examples of how the Israelites disobeyed God.
This disobedience angered God that He sent the Israelites (with Daniel) into exile.
(Note, Daniel had not 'sinned' per-se. However, the sins of his fellow Israelites had affected Daniel.)
Verse 13b-d reads, "All this evil is come upon us; yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God that we might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth."
The act of genuine prayer requires us to turn our heart to God.
It is a necessary part of our turning away from our sins.
By turning to God to pray, we can then understand God's truth, as opposed to 'our truth'.
“We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.” (Dan. 9:18b).