Revcort's Ramblings

Scripture Focus

“O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.” — Daniel 9:18 (ESV)

Devotional Thought

As we continue reading Daniel’s prayer on behalf of himself and the people of Israel, we come to verse 18 and find a statement that I believe every Christian needs to understand. It speaks not only to why we pray and why God answers our prayers, but also to the very foundation of our relationship with Him. Daniel says, “For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”

That is an extraordinary statement, especially when we consider who is praying. I think most of us, at least when we first come to faith in Jesus Christ, are keenly aware of our sin and what it deserves. Scripture tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). If we’re honest about our condition before a holy and righteous God, we must acknowledge that if we received exactly what our sins deserved, we would face His judgment and eternal separation from Him. We don’t deserve heaven. We deserve judgment.

That’s not a particularly popular message in our world today. Most people would rather believe that they’re basically good and that God will surely recognize their good intentions. But the gospel begins with the recognition that we are sinners who cannot save ourselves. We desperately need the mercy and grace of God, and that mercy has been made available to us through Jesus Christ.

But I’ve noticed something over the years, both in my own life and in the lives of other believers. Once we’ve been Christians for a while, especially after we’ve spent many years faithfully serving the Lord, we can gradually begin to develop a rather self-righteous attitude toward our relationship with God.

We would probably never say it out loud, but somewhere in the back of our minds we may begin thinking something like this: When I first came to God, I was just a desperate sinner in need of grace. But look at me now! I’ve been faithful. I’ve served the church. I’ve given my time and resources. I’ve taught, prayed, worshiped, and tried to live according to God’s Word. Surely I’ve earned a little special consideration by now. I’m one of God’s A-team!

It reminds me of that famous scene from the movie A Few Good Men, when Colonel Jessup angrily defends his actions by declaring, “You want me on that wall! You need me on that wall!” Sometimes I wonder if we don’t approach God with a similar attitude. We begin to think that our faithfulness has somehow made us indispensable to His work. We might even start believing that God owes us something because of everything we’ve done for Him.

Now, let’s consider Daniel. If anyone in Scripture could have made a case for his own faithfulness, Daniel certainly would have been a strong candidate. The first eight chapters of his book have already demonstrated that repeatedly. As a young man taken captive into Babylon, he resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food. He remained faithful to God while surrounded by a culture that worshiped false gods. He demonstrated remarkable wisdom and integrity while serving under powerful rulers. God gave him the ability to understand dreams and visions and revealed extraordinary truths about the future through him.

And when Daniel’s enemies conspired to have him thrown into a den of lions, they couldn’t find any corruption or negligence in his conduct. Their only hope was to make his faithfulness to God a crime. That’s quite a testimony, isn’t it? By the time we reach Daniel 9, we’re reading the prayer of a man who has spent decades faithfully serving the Lord under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. If anyone might have been tempted to approach God with a spiritual résumé and ask for a favor, surely Daniel would have been that man.

But that’s not what he does. Daniel doesn’t say, Come on, Lord, it’s me! You know how faithful I’ve been. I’ve stood up for You when nobody else would. I’ve served You all these years. Surely You can do this one little thing for me. You know I’m one of Your favorites! No. Daniel says exactly the opposite.

“For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”

Daniel understood that his faithfulness, as genuine and commendable as it was, did not put God in his debt. He wasn’t asking God to restore Jerusalem because Israel deserved restoration. He wasn’t asking for the exiles to return because he had somehow earned that privilege through his obedience. He was appealing to the mercy of God because he knew that mercy was their only hope.

And that brings to mind something Jesus taught in Luke 18. Jesus told a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, a man who was outwardly religious and took great pride in his obedience to the law. The other was a tax collector, someone who would have been despised by many in Jewish society. The Pharisee stood and prayed, thanking God that he wasn’t like other sinners. He reminded God that he fasted twice a week and gave tithes of everything he possessed. His prayer was essentially a list of his religious accomplishments. He was quite impressed with himself, and apparently he expected God to be impressed as well.

But the tax collector prayed very differently. Jesus said, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13, ESV). Do you hear the similarity between that prayer and Daniel’s? The tax collector didn’t attempt to justify himself. He didn’t compare himself favorably with anyone else. He didn’t present a list of good deeds that might outweigh his sins. He simply acknowledged his need for mercy.

And Jesus said something that must have shocked many of His listeners. It was the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who went home justified before God. The Pharisee was trusting in his own righteousness. The tax collector was trusting in God’s mercy. And Daniel, despite his extraordinary record of faithfulness, understood that same truth. Now, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Our obedience to God matters. Our faithfulness matters. Scripture repeatedly calls believers to live holy lives, to serve one another, and to walk in obedience to the Lord. Daniel’s life is a wonderful example of what that kind of faithfulness looks like.

But here’s the distinction we must never forget: Our obedience is the response to God’s grace, not the price we pay to receive it.

We don’t serve God so that He will love us. We serve Him because He has already demonstrated His love toward us. We don’t obey Him to earn our salvation. We obey Him because, through Jesus Christ, He has graciously saved us. Paul makes this beautifully clear in Ephesians 2:8–10. We are saved by grace through faith, not by our own works, and yet we are created in Christ Jesus for good works. Good works are the result of God’s saving grace, not the foundation upon which our salvation rests.

And that truth should keep every one of us humble, regardless of how long we’ve been Christians or how much we’ve accomplished in service to the Lord. Whether you’ve been a believer for five days or fifty years, you still stand before God on exactly the same foundation: His mercy and the finished work of Jesus Christ. You may have taught Sunday School for decades. You may have served as a pastor, missionary, deacon, or church leader. You may have given generously, witnessed faithfully, and devoted your life to serving others. Those things are wonderful expressions of faith, and God is not unjust to overlook the work done in His name (Hebrews 6:10).

But none of those accomplishments can purchase your salvation or make you deserving of God’s grace. I love the words of the old hymn Rock of Ages, written by Augustus Toplady: “Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.” That is the testimony of every person who has truly understood the gospel. We come to God empty-handed, not because our lives have no value or our service has no significance, but because nothing we could ever offer Him would be sufficient to pay the debt of our sin. Only Jesus Christ could accomplish that through His death and resurrection.

And even after years of faithful service, we must never forget that truth. Daniel didn’t forget it. The tax collector in Jesus’ parable understood it. And we would do well to remember it every time we approach the throne of grace. Faithfulness matters to God, but faithfulness never puts God in our debt.

When we stand before Him, our hope will not be found in how much we’ve accomplished, how faithfully we’ve served, or how many good things we’ve done. Our only legitimate claim to His eternal Kingdom is the mercy He has extended to us through Jesus Christ. Not because of our righteousness. But because of His great mercy.

Reflection Questions

1. Have you ever found yourself thinking that your years of faithfulness or service to God should earn you special consideration from Him? How does Daniel’s prayer challenge that attitude?
2. What is the difference between serving God out of gratitude for His grace and serving Him because we believe we can earn His favor?
3. In Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, which attitude do you sometimes find reflected in your own prayers? Are you more inclined to remind God of your accomplishments or acknowledge your need for His mercy?
4. How can remembering that our salvation rests entirely upon God’s grace help us remain humble and grateful as we grow in our faith?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great mercy and grace. I confess that there are times when I allow pride to creep into my heart and begin to think more highly of myself than I should. Forgive me for the times I have acted as though my faithfulness or service somehow makes me deserving of Your blessings. Help me to remember that everything I have, everything I am, and everything I hope to become is because of Your grace. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to accomplish what I could never accomplish for myself. Thank You that my salvation does not depend upon my goodness, but upon His righteousness and His finished work on the cross. Teach me to serve You faithfully, not because I am trying to earn Your love, but because I am grateful that You have already loved me so completely. Keep my heart humble, my faith sincere, and my eyes fixed upon Jesus. May I never forget that I stand before You, not because of my righteousness, but because of Your great mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.