Our august God!

Sorry for not posting the last 3 days friends.  To make up for it, today's comments will encompass 3 verses.  In Daniel Chapter 9, Daniel had just read what the prophet Jeremiah had written about the Lord saying that Jerusalem must lie desolate for 70 years.  Things are looking dire for him and his people.  So what does Daniel do?  He prays! 

Let's take a look at Daniel 9:3,4,5: "I turned to the Master God, asking for an answer—praying earnestly, fasting from meals, wearing rough penitential burlap, and kneeling in the ashes. I poured out my heart, baring my soul to God, my God: 'O Master, great and august God. You never waver in your covenant commitment, never give up on those who love you and do what you say. Yet we have sinned in every way imaginable. We've done evil things, rebelled, dodged and taken detours around your clearly marked paths...'"  MSG

I had to look up the definition of august, as an adjective, above.  I've always thought it was just a summer month:)  To my great pleasure, I found that it means "marked by majestic dignity and grandeur."  How fitting that our Lord be called an august God!  It looks like we could learn a thing or two from Daniel in how He addresses an approachable, yet Holy God.  He first humbles himself and extols the virtues of a faithful God.  He then takes responsibility and owns up to the sins he and his people have committed.  The prayer goes on, and we will look at some later verses as the month goes on.  But, today, I just want to look at the example of Daniel.

As a church, we have been going before the Lord, seeking His face, for the position we have found ourselves in.  We realized that the hearts of our people needed to be united as one, in total commitment to our august God.  As we have met Him in prayer, daily, we have found that, like Daniel, we are  relying on God, alone, to come to our rescue.  We are seeing, more and more, that He is faithful.  But, more importantly, we are seeing that our confidence in God comes from our communication with Him.  He wants us to seek Him, to talk to Him.  When our eyes are fixed on Him, our hearts follow suite.  When our eyes are fixed on Him, it is far more difficult to go in the wrong direction.  When our eyes are fixed on Him, we leave the results of our prayers in His hands.  Our august God is more than able!

As the chapter continues, it reveals how God responded to Daniel's prayers.  God sent the angel Gabriel to give Daniel insight and understanding about what was to come.  He told Daniel that the moment he began praying a command was given.  He also told Daniel that God loved him very much.  We can have that same assurance, I believe, because the same God that responded to Daniel responds to us.  We eagerly wait for His insight and understanding and we believe that He has given a command on our behalf.  We are trusting in our faithful august God.  Oh how He loves us!