Prayer of Repentance

What is repentance?

Is it saying, "I'm sorry?"

Is it walking on your knees to a holy place, reciting a prayer?

Not surprisingly, the Bible is the source book for understanding biblical repentance. And we find an example of repentance in Daniel 91:16, giving us five elements of a prayer of repentance.

The first element is the Word of God. Daniel was reading the book of Jeremiah, a prophet in the years preceding, during and after the Babylonian exile. Daniel was living in Babylon in exile, so he knew what the current situation was. Jeremiah helped him understand why it was that way. This understanding caused Daniel to repent. Without the Word of God, repentance has no foundation (v 1-2).

The second element is Daniel's attitude of humility (v 3). Seeking God, pleas for mercy, fasting, sackcloth and ashes are marks of humility. It was not an attitude of "I've got to do this" or "If I do this, everything will be okay." But Daniel was shaken by the truths of God's Word and the evidences of God's wrath.

The third element is Daniel's recognition of God. Look through the prayer and you'll find these words that describe God: great, awesome, faithful, merciful, righteous, just, forgiving, angry, wrathful, listening. Clearly in God's eyes, God was right.

The fourth element is Daniel's recognition of guilt. "We have sinned against You." "To us belongs shame." "We have rebelled." "We have not obeyed." No blame shifting. No minimizing. No excuses.

The fifth is a request for forgiveness and restoration (v 16-19). Daniel cries out to God to restore His people and His land and His city. Not because of Daniel's prayer. Not because of the goodness of the people. Not because they have gone through rehab and are doing better. Not because they made promises to try harder. But because of God's name. Because of God's glory.

When was the last time you repented like that? Just for the big sins? Does God have a sliding scale giving more weight to more serious sins?

We need to walk in repentance.