So yesterday morning I commented about the passage in the CLP Sunday School lesson (on the subject of forgiveness!). This morning, in my curiosity, I checked to see what the International Sunday School lesson for tomorrow is about. Imagine my surprise. Since September 2017, I’ve thought more than usual about Daniel’s prayer (and one of Ezekiel’s). So here I am, commenting on the passage for this lesson as well…

Is Daniel’s confession a model for leaders to follow? Should a father pray this way about the sins of his ancestors or of his own present family? Should the chairman of the board pray thus concerning the errors and outright sins of the entity he leads?

Was Daniel’s prayer of confession a public prayer? We aren’t told clearly, but the setting hinted at seems more in line with his practice of praying to God in his own house (Daniel 6:10). I’m certain it was a personal prayer to God, not a public confession to an assembly. I doubt Daniel prayed as he did in the presence of the sinners he had in mind, genuinely attempting to take on their sins as his own or pretending to do so under false pretense.

Did Daniel pray out of a sense of personal guilt for the specific sins he mentioned? I’m inclined to doubt it. I suspect his confession was closely tied to his personal identity with Israel and his forefathers. I also suspect a strong linkage between his prayer, his calling as an Old Testament prophet, and his role among God’s people in captivity. I don’t think fathers or chairmen in our day have that kind of identity or linkage.

So what should I as both a father and a chairman take away from this passage? Well, maybe three other pieces I wrote can help answer that question. Please read on, clicking beyond the excerpts below to the full articles.

I wonder if we have become a little brazen in our praying.
I wonder if we have become a little narrow in our praying.
I wonder if we have become a little impatient in our praying.
I wonder if we have become a little blind in our praying.

Daniel’s prayer took into account the problems and sins of his whole generation…and of his forefathers. It would seem that the prophet saw a multi-generational pattern that needed to be broken. While he did not need personal forgiveness for the sins of others, he recognized that he needed to clearly and conclusively reject the attitudes and lifestyles of others that had directly contributed to his own bondage to the heathen. Perhaps the issue in your life is music. Repent and seek the Lord’s forgiveness for listening to the wrong stuff. Turn it loose and turn away from it. That clears your conscience and your record before God. But what about your peers? And what about your parents? Reject before God the wrong patterns of music accepted by some in your age group; you cannot repent for others, but you can reject what they accept. If your taste for heathen music comes from careless or unwise choices and practices by your parents or grandparents, tell the Lord you want to step away from that heritage.

(Excerpted and adapted from Daniel Believes and Prays, which I wrote a little over 20 years ago!)

Two More Excerpts From My Old Writings

Do not underestimate the impact of preceding generations. There are parts of our individual heritages which we likely need to specifically reject. Do not misunderstand me here: Unless you are also guilty of them, you do not need to repent of the sins of your forerunners. However, knowing that generational influence you would be wise to be especially alert to their manifestation in your life. A study of the Jewish kings makes this influence unmistakably clear. Learn from the good kings who refused to continue in the ruts. Be it lust, materialism, immorality, rebellion, coldness or anything else, determine to be that breakwater which stops such influences from rippling their way through further generations. Among many instructional passages in this vein you will find Exodus 34:7, 2 Chronicles 34:21, Amos 2:4 and Daniel 9:16. (The Sufferings of God’s People)

The people of Judah were judged in part because they erred after the same errors and sins of their fathers. We need to beware of falling into the same life pattern. As Christians with a godly heritage, our task isn’t to preserve the status quo because then we will repeat the errors of our forebearers. God demands that we actively pursue the faith! We must be discerning in taking up the faith of our fathers, building on that which is godly and Biblical as well as casting aside anything which might fall short of that holy standard. How are you and your congregation doing? (Judgment on Judah and Israel)

What do you take away from this passage?