When it is said
Daniel prayed it in sackcloth and ashes while he fasted. He prayed for his people and for Jerusalem, which lay desolate.
A reader may pray it for their own country, confessing its sins as their own and asking for God’s mercy.
Where it comes from
Author known
Why Daniel prayed it
In the first year of King Darius, Daniel learned from the sacred books that Jerusalem would lie desolate for 70 years, as the LORD had told the prophet Jeremiah. Then he turned to God with prayer and fasting, in sackcloth and ashes (Daniel 9:1-3). He confessed his own sin and the sin of his people Israel, their kings and leaders among them (Daniel 9:20).
The rest of the prayer
The full prayer (Daniel 9:4-19) also tells of the disaster that fell on Jerusalem. Daniel says his people would not obey the laws God gave them through the prophets, so the curse written in the Law of Moses came on them. Yet he remembers how God brought His people out of Egypt. Then he asks God to turn His anger from Jerusalem and let His face shine on His ruined sanctuary (Daniel 9:15-17).
God’s answer
Daniel was still praying when the angel Gabriel came to him, about the time of the evening offering (Daniel 9:21). Gabriel had come to tell him that an answer went out as soon as Daniel began to pray, because Daniel was greatly loved. God had set a time for Daniel’s people and holy city to put an end to sin, atone for wickedness and bring in everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:22-24).
The Scripture in it
And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, Who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.”
O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him
“Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God Who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
… and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.