When We Turn: The Power of Repentance and Prayer

In this soul-stirring episode of the Press Movement Podcast, we continue our walk through the Book of Daniel, this time with special guest Brother Deshaun Harewood as we dig deep into Daniel chapter 9. We uncover what happens when understanding meets confession and how one man’s heartfelt prayer can move heaven.

Daniel reads the prophecies of Jeremiah and realizes the time of Israel’s desolation is coming to an end. He responds not with assumption, but with confession, repentance, and earnest prayer—taking full ownership of his people's wrongs and appealing to God's mercy for His name’s sake.

Deshaun breaks down how Daniel’s prayer aligns with God’s unchanging nature and why repentance is still foundational today. We’re reminded that even when we don’t feel it, God is already working at the beginning of our cry.

Be inspired to press in, repent, and watch God respond—because prayer reaches every situation.

#PRESStoPray

#PowerofPrayer

#Repentance

#Prayer

#ChristianBibleStudy

#ChristianPodcast

Transcript

Press means to apply force. When God said press, prayer reaches every single situation. He gave us permission to apply force to every situation that we will go through.

And in this podcast, we are going to learn to apply force to what's applying pressure to us. Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the Press Movement Podcast.

Thank you for joining me today as we are continuing in the book of Daniel. And I have a very special guest here with me in the person of Brother Deshaun Harewood. Welcome, Deshaun.

Hi. How are you? I'm good. You? I'm good.

So today we are continuing in Daniel chapter 9, and I'm going to let Deshaun take it from there. All right. Daniel 9, we'll start in verse 2. It says, In the first year of his reign, talking about King Darius, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

What I love about this verse is Daniel pray with understanding. He starts off saying that he understood by the books the number of years which Jeremiah said. So if we went to Jeremiah 25, we see the first time Jeremiah comes and talks to them about the seventy years of desolation that they're going through.

So if we start like verse 4, Does then the Lord have sent unto you all his servants, the prophets, rising early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened or inclined your ear to hear? They said, Turn ye again now, every one, from his evil way and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever. And go not after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands, and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, sayeth the Lord, that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

So Jeremiah comes to them in chapter 25 and really tells them, These are all the things you aren't supposed to do. And you guys did them. They did everything they weren't supposed to.

Then in chapter 29, he comes again to them and he tells them what to do while they're in this desolation. Tell them to build houses, plant gardens, eat fruit, marry and have children like they're set up there because they're for 70 plus years. For 70 years.

But if we go to verse 10 in Jeremiah 29 says, For thus saith the Lord, After 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, perform my good work toward you, and causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

Ye shall seek me and find me, and ye shall search for me with all your heart. And that's what Daniel was finally doing. The time is coming.

At the end of the 70 years is coming. He understood that. Now he comes in verse three and he's saying, And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek my prayer and supplications, but fasting with sackcloth, ashes.

He took everything that he knew what to do and brought that before God. And then verse four says, And I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession. And I love that word.

As we go through the rest of this prayer, that's all he did was just for 12 verses, just confessed everything they did wrong. And he didn't take himself out of it. He had himself into it saying I did wrong.

He said we multiple times. And it wasn't that he had to talk to some man about a confession, but he went straight to the We go on and says, And said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, to them that keep his commandment. We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and thy judgment.

So he pretty much just said everything Jeremiah said, but he started off reverencing God before anything, before he confessed, confessed to any wrong. Talks about great and that dreadful God. Then in verse five, he talks about how they sin.

Verse six, he's saying, Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants, the prophets, who spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. God sent people to speak to them, but they didn't hear him. They didn't take the time to hear what he had to say.

And Daniel understood this. Now, finally, reading that word and knowing that if he come to him, my mind goes to 2 Chronicles 7 14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This is God speaking to Solomon, but it's still the same people that are called by the same name because it's the same God that does not change. Daniel understood this. So once he gets to verse seven saying, O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces.

That word confusion meaning shame, saying righteousness belongs to you, but we should have the shame of what we're doing. We did so much wrong. But it goes on and says, As at this day, the men of Judah into the inhabitants of Jerusalem and unto Israel that are near and that are far off through all the countries, whether thou hast driven them because of their trespasses, that they have trespassed against thee, O Lord, to us belong confusion of faces to our kings, to our princes and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

He doesn't leave anybody out when he's saying this, saying that all of Israel, we have all made these mistakes. And if you get into verse nine, it says to the Lord, our God belongeth mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him, neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants, the prophets. He's saying it again.

We didn't listen to what you already said. To you belongs righteousness. To you belongs mercy and forgiveness.

It's not ours to give, but he's going into the one who's able to do it. But verse 11 says, Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing that they might not obey thy voice. Therefore, the curse is poured upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

And he hath confirmed his word, which he spake against us and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil, for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us. Yet may we not our prayer before the Lord, our God, that might turn from our iniquities and understand that truth.

Therefore, have the Lord washed upon the evil and brought it upon us. For the Lord, our God is righteous in all his works, which he doeth, for we obey not his voice. And it was saying right at the end here that everything that God does is righteous.

Everything he's doing is correct. We go to Leviticus 25. That's where God first gives him that commandment that the land needs its Sabbaths.

But we go to Leviticus 26, 32, talking about this specific thing. It says, And I will bring the land into desolation, and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you, and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as long as it lie desolate, and ye be in your enemy's land. Even then shall the land rest and enjoy her Sabbaths. The word of God is going to happen.

When God says it is going to happen, and he tells him in Leviticus 25 that the land's going to get the Sabbaths. So in 26, he's letting them know this is what's going to happen when you don't. And they're in this point now where they didn't listen to what he said.

They're going with other guys. They're doing everything that they want to do. So now they're in this time of desolation.

But all it took was one man to be able to come to God, understand the word, and say, we're wrong. So as we get in verse 15, it says, and now, O Lord our God, that has brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, has gotten thee renown, as at this day we have sinned and we have done wickedly. He's already saying, you're a God that's already brought us out before, but we need you to do the same thing again.

But all these verses is just confession. God, we've done wrong. God, you have righteousness.

God, you have the mercies. But in verse 16 is the first time he actually asked for something. He says, O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee.

He's not even really just asking. He's begging him. Let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city, Jerusalem, thy holy mountain, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplications, cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thy ear in here. Open thine eyes and behold our desolations in the city, which is called by thy name.

For we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive.

O Lord, hearken and do. Defer not for thine own sake. O my God, for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

And I love that part because he started off saying how he understood what the books already said. He understands this God that he's talking to, and it's a God that would do things for his name's sake. But he's saying this city is called by thy name, saying for thy city and thy people are called by that name who, my mind goes first Samuel 12, where they're in a similar situation where they did wickedness toward God.

But we'll start in verse 20. It says, And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not, ye have done all this wickedness, yet turn aside not from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart, and turn ye not aside. For then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.

For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because they have pleased the Lord to make you his people. There's something different when you have his name upon you. When they're in this city, when Daniel's crying out, he understands that God is not for us.

He says in verse 18, For we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness. He knows they don't have any righteousness. He said, Righteousness belongs to God.

We already did wrong, but God, for your name's sake. Psalm 25 verse 11, David saying, For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. The same thing that Daniel was saying, God, forgive us for what we've done for your name's sake.

Do it for who you are. What you said, these are the people that he called by his name. He has that name upon him.

I'm so thankful because I've done so many things, but God put his name upon me. And Daniel's understanding the same thing that this city that has done so much wrong has his name and he'll do it for his name's sake. And he gets an answer.

You see verse 21 says, Yea, whilst I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in a vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening ablation. And he informed me and talked to me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications, the commandment came forth.

At the beginning of when Daniel started speaking, when he just started, when he chose to turn, God already sent an answer. The commandment was already given for him to get the understanding when he made the decision to do right. And that reminds me of the song.

Even when I don't see it, he's working. Even when I can't feel it, he's working. How God is already in motion at the beginning of Daniel's prayer.

I love verse 19, like you said, where he says, O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive, O Lord, hearken and do, defer not. That word hearken, it kind of reminded me of hearing, but it means to let your ears prick up, pay attention, be attentive to. He's like, God, don't just hear me.

I want your attention. It is such a begging of God. And yet in it, you see the mercy of God to have somebody who can intercede.

And looking at this prayer, how do you think it applies to us today? Great question. I think verse four, where he says he made his confession. First thing that came to my mind reading that was repentance.

This entire thing is God, we're wrong. God, you said this and we didn't do it, but I'm coming to you now. He spent 12 verses out of about 16, 17 of the prayers saying, God, we're wrong.

Everything was, we don't deserve this. To you belong mercies, to you belong righteousness, but to us, it's nothing. He never said they deserved anything good, but the entire time he's just saying, we did wrong, we did wrong, we did wrong, but for your namesake, because of who you are, because of what you've already done.

God, please forgive us. He's calling out to the only one who has the power to do it. Only one that could really set them free, which in verse 15, like I said before, somebody had already brought them out, said with a mighty hand, they know who he was.

He'd already done it before. If they just got right. So you're saying today, so all we need to do is just repent.

I think Acts 2 38, Peter, the one with the keys to the kingdom of heaven, repent and be baptized. Every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins, he shall receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The first thing is repent.

Hebrews 6 and 1, when we start going off the principles of the doctrine of Christ, the first thing is not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works. That's what he wants from us. When he came on earth, when Jesus was here, preach repentance.

His baptism that John did, who said was greater than any prophet was repentance. That's what it's all about. Yeah.

And I agree with you wholeheartedly. Actually, that's what I would have that the whole book points towards Jesus. And ultimately his whole reason, his whole mission was to save people from their sins.

And if we can take from Daniel and from subsequent books that we have to turn, we have to repent and we have to cry out to God. I believe we'll find him when we pray, when we set our hearts to pray as Daniel did, because prayer reaches every single situation. Be blessed.

God is listening for your voice. It's too quiet in this world for the troubles we have. You have to raise your voice and God wants to hear from you.

It's too quiet. A book about prayer is designed to answer your prayer questions and build your faith. Visit PressToPray.com.