As Daniel eight ended we saw one sick prophet. He had seen the future, and it was not pleasant for his people. There was the little horn, the Old Testament antichrist Antiochus Epiphanes. Followed by the Antichrist of the end times. These men would seek to utterly stamp out the Jews. They would not be successful, but witnessing the havoc they would wreak caused Daniel to faint and become ill.

 

This sick prophet looks to his Lord in prayer. That’s how chapter nine begins. When this chapter is preached or referenced, the focus is typically limited to the prophecy of verses 24-27. But Daniel’s prayer precedes the prophecy that he records, and that prayer occupies verses 4-19 of the chapter! Verses 20-23 are snippets of a conversation between Daniel and Gabriel concerning the prayer.

The prayer covers more than twice the amount of inspired ink as the prophecy. That’s a big deal, and that will be our focus this evening, as well as next Wednesday for certain. Daniel was a praying man. We have already learned that, and not just from chapter six and the lion’s den. Prayer has been his consistent pattern from the beginning of the book. He is an example for us to follow, and his prayer in chapter nine is a model of intercessory prayer. 

 

This one praying prophet demonstrates seven principles of intercessory prayer for us to imitate. We will not work through all seven in one sermon, but here they all are in one sentence:

Please join us tonight in person at 7pm. Our SHinE Kids (K-5) and G.O.E Teens (6th-12th) will also meet at 7pm in the Family Life Center. The adult prayer time and Bible study may also be viewed at Facebook.com/BBCMountVernon.