16 O Lord, in view of all your righteous acts, let your anger and wrath, we pray, turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become a disgrace among all our neighbors. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication, and for your own sake, Lord, let your face shine upon your desolated sanctuary. 18 Incline your ear, O my God, and hear. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that bears your name. We do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act and do not delay! For your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people bear your name!"
THOUGHTS:
Daniel prays that God spare the people, but not because they deserve it. As humans, we like systems of justice, where everyone gets what they deserve. Yet, in reality, we all stumble and fall short. We pass buy the man who is homeless sleeping on a park bench. We ignore the man who is hungry and carrying a sign saying "will work for food". By God's rules, we all miss the mark sometimes.
As Daniel knows, God's forgiveness is about what we've earned. We aren't forgiven because we are good enough. (If we were "good enough", then we wouldn't need forgiveness.) Daniel is essentially saying "God, I know that we aren't worth listening to based on what we do, so don't pay attention for our sake. God, listen because your nature is to show mercy. Listen because that's who you are." Daniel has faith that God hears us because God wants to listen. Daniel knows that God forgives us because God wants us to be forgiven.
The reason we are worth God's attention is simply because God loves us. To God, we are worth more than we could possibly imagine or describe, all because God loves us. Our relationship with God is based on the foundation of God's love. As you journey through Lent and life, don't let your view of things become a barrier between you and God. Always remember that God loves you, no matter what. Period.
PRAYER:
God, we lift our hearts to you. We thank you for loving us first, and we ask that you help us view ourselves through your eyes. Enable is to grow closer to you, rather than creating divisions in this relationship. We want to know you more. All this we pray in the name of Christ Jesus. AMEN.
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