As Daniel prays he has a high view of God (v4). The word ‘awesome’ is sadly today used in a trivial way, but God alone is awesome, full of awe. Daniel is aware that God is the faithful covenant keeping God of steadfast love. Daniel saw God as truly wonderful and the God he could trust.

Having such a vision of God led to Daniel’s proper view of himself and his people as sinful (v5f). In our praying we should begin with worship and adoration but this has to lead to confession if we have a proper view of God and ourselves.

Prayer is not to be about just delivering a shopping list of requests to God. Prayer needs to be about real engagement with God with awareness of what God is like and what we truly are like.

One of the sins that Daniel highlights is a failure to listen to the prophets and God’s word (v6). Closed ears and closed hearts to God are serious sins. How open are your ears and heart truly to God? Pray about this.

Daniel contrasts the perfect righteousness of God to the unrighteousness of His people (v7-10). Real joy in the Christian life does not come from feeling good about ourselves but rather about feeling good about God.