Daniel: Lessons in Prayer

A number of valuable lessons can be learned from the approach of Daniel to prayer. Most of these comments come courtesy of “The ArtScroll Tanach Series on Daniel”. Thanks Sandi for showing me the companion book on Ezekiel.

Daniel Prayed Three Times a Day.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Dan 6:10)

According to ArtScroll Daniel, “The practice of praying three times a day, though not a Torah obligation, had already been instituted in Daniel’s time…The Talmud (Berachos 26b) holds multiple views...Patriarchs instituted the practice of praying three times a day. The specific times for prayer were instituted later by the Rabbis to correspond to the sacrifices….Midrash Tanchuma (KiSavo 1) states that Moses mandated the practice of praying three times a day…Rambam implies that Ezra and his rabbinical court (The Great Assembly) mandated the number of prayers to be said daily. According to the view, Daniel's practice of praying three times a day must have been a private custom of his own…(but) Daniel’s acceptance of the custom of prayer three times per day gave it the force of a halachic obligation.”

Daniel Prayed on His Knees.

The practice of “he got down on his knees” was performed by Solomon (2 Chron 6:13) and Ezra (Ezra 9:5). Ezra “fell on (his) knees with (his) hands spread out to the LORD”

ArtScroll Daniel -“But the custom has been discontinued throughout Jewry. Perhaps the reason given by R’ Yishsachar Eilenberg (T’shuvas Be’er Sheva 73, p 221) for the discontinuation of another custom found in Scripture pertaining to prayer, that of holding the hands together in an upright position applies here too. He maintains that Jews discontinued the practice after it became the universal Christian custom.”

The Prayer of Many is Sometimes Answered Immediately.

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, (Dan 2:17-18)

ArtScroll Daniel - “The power of collective prayer transcends individual prayer. The prayer of the many is sometimes answered immediately as it is written, ‘Who is like HASHEM our God in all ‘our’ calling to him’” (Deut 4:7) (R’ Shmuel Masnuth).

Prophets Read Prophets to Understand the Word of God.

I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. (Dan 9:2)

Any argument against the value of reading God’s word can be quickly dispelled by understanding that even prophets read the word of other prophets to understand the word of the LORD. What else needs to be said?

Even Prophets do not have a Complete Understanding of the Word of God.

“in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.” (Dan 9:2 - NIV)

“In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, consulted the books concerning the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD that had come to Jeremiah the prophet, were to be the term of Jerusalem’s desolation” (Dan 9:2 – Tanak)

The phrase of the Tanak, “Daniel consulted the books” is different from “Daniel understood from the Scriptures”. The commentators of the The ArtScroll Tanach Series on Daniel understand the phrasing of the Tanak to imply that Daniel, “initially erred in the computation of these seventy years.” The reasoning goes that Daniel thought the seventy years prophesized by Jeremiah (Jer 29:10) where the time between Nebuchadnezzar’s original subjection of Jerusalem until the temple would be reconstructed. However, there are three seventy-year periods involved in the prophecy of Jeremiah.

1. Seventy years from the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign until the end of the Babylonian Empire (607 BCE – 537 BCE).
2. Seventy years from Nebuchadnezzar’s original conquest of Jerusalem until Jews were allowed to return to Israel (606 BCE – 536 BCE).
3. Seventy years from the destruction of the Temple until the completed rebuilding of the second Temple (586 BCE – 516 BCE).

If Daniel truly did misunderstand, none of us should ever think our doctrinal beliefs are infallible.

Daniel Fasted as He Prayed to God.

“So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” (Dan 9:3)

Although we understand that Yeshua fasted for forty days (Matt 4:2), spoke of the principle of fasting to his disciples (Matt 6:16), and was practiced by believers in the first century (Acts 13:2, 14:23), we generally do not comprehend why fasting moves the LORD to action. The ArtScroll Tanach Series on Daniel offers an interesting explanation on the reason for fasting. “Abarbanel (Mayenei HaYeshuah 10:1) sees the fast as a substitute for a sacrifice. The loss of body fat and blood caused by the fast can be a substitute for the fast and blood that ought to have been offered on the altar. This idea is echoed quite often in the Selichos for the High Holy Days.” (page 243). In other words, fasting is a way people can make an offering to the LORD.

Daniel First Confessed His Sins Before Praying for Others.

The phrase, “I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:” (Dan 9:4), is seen as separate confession from the specific words of the pray that begin, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commandments” (Dan 9:4). Daniel first confessed his own sins to restore his relationship with God on a personal basis so that he would be considered worthy to pray for the entire Jewish people. This pattern somewhat follows the High Priest who must first made offerings for himself and then the needs of the people (Heb 7:27).

Prayer Does Not Necessarily Affect Free Determination

“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” (Dan 3:17-18)

ArtScroll Daniel - “Alshich cites the view of Zohar (Parshas VaYeshev 37:22) Even though God intercedes to save someone endangered by the forces of nature – e.g., drowning or wild animals – he does not interfere if the person is threatened by another human being. To do so is to tamper with the principle of free determination, the cornerstone of God’s purpose for this world; it is His intention that humans, with their gift of their own free determination should recognize His Presence in the world and submit to His will. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar was saying correctly, that even though God’s intercession could save them from the fire, who will save you from ’my hands’?” (ArtScroll Daniel, page 122).

Scott