Daniel was in prayer in verses 1 through 19 of chapter 9. He recorded by THE SPIRIT in verse 2:
In the first year of his reign (Darius) I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the Word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
He was referencing Jeremiah 25:
11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.
And in Jeremiah 29:10 For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good Word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.
What does this tell us about Daniel? He was studying his Bible and he would take It literally and Daniel assumes it to be precise! What did Daniel do in response?
He prayed earnestly and repented:
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who Love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.
Isn’t The Lord’s Prayer our mandate in bringing for The Kingdom to earth? “Thy Kingdom Come, The Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
Prayer is FATHER’S way of enlisting us in what HE is doing!
His prayer was interrupted by the angel Gabriel in verses 20 through 23.
20 While I was absorbed in prayer, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel and presenting my request before Yahweh, my God, on behalf of Jerusalem, His Holy hill—
2] Gabriel, whom I had seen in a vision previously, came flying down from Heaven. He touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice.
Our prayers are heard by FATHER and HE will provide us understanding of HIS Word. If necessary, HE will dispatch an angel to provide us with explicit understanding and revelation.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly Beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
Daniel was greatly Beloved of the Old Testament and was given the prophecy in a vision of the end times in the Old Testament.
John is the Beloved Disciple of the New Testament and was given a vision of the end times in the New Testament. It is all about Love!
We too are precious treasures to Our Heavenly Father! We are also to understand the revelation of this vision. Jesus referenced this vision in His briefing with the four disciples concerning the end times. Jesus affirmed that Daniel was a prophet thus he wrote the Book of Daniel.
It is written by THE SPIRIT in Daniel chapter 9:
The Scope:
24 “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your Holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
The 69 weeks:
25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
The interval:
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
The 70th week:
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.“
The interval tells us that the seventy week are not contiguous, there is a definite time separation between the 69 weeks and the 70th week. FATHER is precise and we should pray with repentant hearts as the 70th week grows closer. It is not business as usual!