真誠的認罪
但以理書九章1至14節
1瑪代族亞哈隨魯的兒子大利烏立為迦勒底國的王元年，
2就是他在位第一年，我但以理從書上得知耶和華的話臨到先知耶利米，論耶路撒冷荒涼的年數，七十年為滿。
3我便禁食，披麻蒙灰，定意向主神祈禱懇求。
4我向耶和華─我的神祈禱、認罪，說：主啊，大而可畏的神，向愛主、守主誡命的人守約施慈愛。
5我們犯罪作孽，行惡叛逆，偏離你的誡命典章，
6沒有聽從你僕人眾先知奉你名向我們君王、首領、列祖，和國中一切百姓所說的話。
7主啊，你是公義的，我們是臉上蒙羞的；因我們猶大人和耶路撒冷的居民，並以色列眾人，或在近處，或在遠處，被你趕到各國的人，都得罪了你，正如今日一樣。
8主啊，我們和我們的君王、首領、列祖因得罪了你，就都臉上蒙羞。
9主─我們的神是憐憫饒恕人的，我們卻違背了他，
10也沒有聽從耶和華─我們神的話，沒有遵行他藉僕人眾先知向我們所陳明的律法。
11以色列眾人都犯了你的律法，偏行，不聽從你的話；因此，在你僕人摩西律法上所寫的咒詛和誓言都傾在我們身上，因我們得罪了神。
12他使大災禍臨到我們，成就了警戒我們和審判我們官長的話；原來在普天之下未曾行過像在耶路撒冷所行的。
13這一切災禍臨到我們身上是照摩西律法上所寫的，我們卻沒有求耶和華─我們神的恩典，使我們回頭離開罪孽，明白你的真理。
14所以耶和華留意使這災禍臨到我們身上，因為耶和華─我們的神在他所行的事上都是公義；我們並沒有聽從他的話。
信息分享
例如，在但以理書第二章，但以理正面對一個重大的危機，他急需為此向神祈禱。來到第六章，他要面對一個嚴峻的考驗，要迫使他不認主。在這一章，我們看見他為他的同胞獻上認罪的禱告。而且，他並非以「局外人」的身分來為他們代求，而是認同自己是他們當中的一分子，以一個民族的整體來祈求神的赦罪。
我們還可以從另一個角度來檢視他的禱告生活：在第三章，他跟三位朋友一同禱告；在第六章，他獨自向神祈禱；而第九章則是一種認罪的代求和恆切的禱告。由此可見，但以理是一位禱告的戰士；他深信神本為善，因此便不住地向神呼求。
但以理之所以發出這篇感人的認罪禱文，原來是他讀了先知書之後有感而發。神的話語感動了他的心，催逼他向神禱告。我們的讀經生活本該如此：神的話語應該激勵我們向祂禱告。
催逼但以理禱告的另一個原因，是他渴求神的旨意得以成就。但以理從先知書的預言中發現，神預定猶太人被流放到巴比倫的年數快將屆滿，因此，他便趕緊祈求神按照祂的旨意而行。
當神計劃或開始一項工作的時候，祂總會將禱告的負擔放在祂兒女的心中，要他們不住為有關的計劃禱告。
我們藉著這種奇妙的禱告，便可以與神同工，實現神的旨意。許多時候，信徒要經過一個真誠認罪和被神潔淨的過程，才能清除一切障礙，讓神的工作得以展開。此刻的但以理便是為此而禱告。這個道理對我們有甚麼啟發呢？
今天，大多數教會都急需復興。只有當神的百姓願意花時間用神的話語來省察自己，再以痛悔的心來到祂的面前，復興才能開始。但以理在這裡為我們立下了一個美好的榜樣。我們願意認真反思，並且領悟當中的教訓嗎？
TRUE CONFESSIONS IN DANIEL'S DAY
Daniel 9:1-14
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—
2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.
7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.
8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.
10 We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.
12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
13 “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.
14 Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.
Message
For example, Daniel chapter 2 finds Daniel praying urgently in a time of crisis. In the sixth chapter he faces a strong temptation to deny the Lord. In this chapter, he is confessing the sins of his people and identifying himself with them.
Looking at his prayer life from another angle, there is united prayer with his three friends in chapter 3. There is personal prayer by himself in chapter 6. There are intercessory as well as persistent prayers in chapter 9. Daniel was a man who prayed, and always did so with recognition of God's goodness.
The marvellous example of prayer in this chapter arose form his reading of the prophetic Scriptures. The Word of God had stirred his heart to pray. That is how it should be. Our daily reading of God's message should lead us to prayer.
Notice also that it was the realization of God's purposes which stirred Daniel to pray. Daniel could see that the time which God had decreed for the Jews to be in Babylon was almost completed. He therefore began to ask God to do what He had promised.
When God plans or begins a work, He almost always lays a burden in the heart of one of His children for prayer concerning that plan.
In the strange mystery of prayer, God's purposes are carried out as we co-operate with Him. Often there has to be genuine confession and cleansing before the way is clear for God to work. That is why Daniel prayed as he did. What does that say to us today?
The great need of most of our churches is revival. But revival usually comes when God's people take time to look at themselves in the light of God's Word and then seek His face in repentance. Perhaps through our reading today, Daniel is giving us an example of how to do this. Are we listening to what He is saying to us?