David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Daniel 7-9, Psalm 97.

Daniel 9:16-19

“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

My Granddad Dodson was a Baptist preacher. I remember watching Gunsmoke with him at their farmhouse outside Marble Hill, Missouri. I recall his bristly whiskers when we greeted him on our visits. I believe we attended his church once, though I don’t remember much about it. But one of the special memories I have is hearing him pray. He would end his prayers, “…for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

I never really understood that phrase as a way to end a prayer. Give me a simple, “…in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Or, “…through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Or the more formal, “…through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” But I have not often used, “…for Jesus’ sake,” or “…for the sake of your name.”

But as I read today’s passages from Daniel, I noticed the near-exact phrase, “for your own sake,” as Daniel calls on God and seeks his forgiveness.

The phrase comes in the context of Daniel’s sincere and urgent confession of sin. He acknowledges that, in spite of God’s many blessings and all the ways God has saved his people in the past, they have rebelled against him. And Daniel acknowledges that God does not owe him an answer because of the quality of his prayer: “We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”

God’s answer to our prayers is always based on his great mercy, love, and grace. It’s not even the fervency of our prayers that makes them effective. And this is the key to this interesting idea of praying and seeking God’s answer for his name’s sake. In other words, we want God to answer our prayers to keep his good reputation alive and strong before the watching world.

Moses made a similar appeal when God threatened to destroy the Israelites in the wilderness. Moses asked, in effect, what the Egyptians would think of the LORD if he rescued his people from Pharaoh only to destroy them in the wilderness. Why give his enemies reason to say that he brought them out only to kill them?

There is something of that same appeal in Daniel’s prayer: You’ve done all these good things for us in the past. Why would you want to be known as a God who takes us only so far? That’s an overstatement of Daniel’s approach. But it’s not far off.

I understand praying in Jesus’ name to mean that we come before the Father through Jesus and on the basis of who he is and what he has done for us. That’s why it puts me off when I hear a Christian pray, “I ask this in your name. Amen.” I’m not sure what that means. I want to name the One who saved me, honoring him in that way and seeking to be heard favorably for his sake.

And there it is.

For the sake of Jesus, please hear our prayers, “for we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”

That was true for Daniel. It is certainly true for us as well.

So we rightly pray, “Hear us, LORD God, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.