Daniel’s Prayer

Daniel (דָּנִיֵּאל‎ – Dāniyyēl, meaning “God is my Judge“; Δανιήλ, Daniḗl) is the hero of the biblical Book of Daniel. A noble Jewish youth of Jerusalem, he is taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and serves the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the Persian conqueror Cyrus, all the while remaining true to the God of Israel. The consensus of most modern scholars is that Daniel is not an historical figure and that the book is a cryptic allusion to the reign of the 2nd century BCE Hellenistic king Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

We have collected some of the best Daniel’s prayers to use in request to God. May these prayers for safety bring you comfort and peace of mind. May these prayers for strength encourage your spirit and strengthen your faith.

Painting Daniel In The Lions' Den Peter Paul Rubens

Daniel in the Lions’ Den, c. 1615 by Pieter Paul Rubens

After King Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men could not interpret a strange dream regarding a great image, King Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be executed. Daniel proceeded to go before the Lord in prayer. Afterward, the secret was revealed to Daniel in a dream. A grateful Daniel then went before the Lord in prayer. It is evident from his prayer how much Daniel loved and reverenced God.

“Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter”. (Daniel 2:20-23)

A repentant Prayer of Daniel

“And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, 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. Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

Daniel 9:3-19

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of lovewith those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

“Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lordour God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.

“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The Lorddid not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.

18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

Praying to God

We are all familiar with the story of Daniel. However, most Christians are just curious about Daniel’s prophecies. They want to know about the great image in Daniel 2, the image with the golden head, silver shoulders, brass abdomen, iron legs, and clay toes. They also want to know about the beasts that emerge from the sea in Daniel 7. All of the young people are interested in these matters. Although many years ago I spent a great deal of time studying these things, I eventually came to appreciate other aspects of the book of Daniel even more. Now I like the book of Daniel because in it I see a man who prayed constantly and contacted the Lord continually (Daniel. 6:10-11; 9:3-4; 10:2-3, 12). According to Daniel 6, Daniel was preeminent among the governors and princes in the kingdom of Darius. The other governors and princes were jealous and plotted against him, seeking to destroy him. When Daniel learned of this, he went to the Lord and prayed. The aim of the conspiracy of the one hundred twenty governors was to shake Daniel’s relationship with God. Nevertheless, Daniel opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed three times a day. When Daniel learned from reading the prophecy of Jeremiah that the seventy-year period of exile and captivity was soon to expire, he began to pray (Daniel 9:2-3). Then he received another vision and he prayed continually for three weeks until the answer came (Daniel 10:1-3, 12). Daniel’s prayer life issued out of a holy life. He lived a holy life in the heathen land of Babylon. For example, Daniel refused to eat the king’s food, the food which was first offered to idols and then used to feed the king and his people (Daniel 1:8). Daniel refused that food, and he enjoyed God very much. He enjoyed God as the tree of life.

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