“Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble,” said an old song by Mac Davis, “when you’re perfect in every way.” Humility is a character trait for which not many pray. Who wants to be humble? But the Bible tells us God gives His favor to those who live in humility (Proverbs 3:34).

I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer…with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Daniel 9:3

When Daniel wanted to hear from the Lord, today’s passage says he put on ashes and a sackcloth and fasted. In biblical times, when people wanted to show repentance, they dressed in rough, unsightly clothes, threw ashes on themselves and withheld from eating. It was a way to say, “God. I am nothing without you. Please hear my prayer!”

When you are desperate for the Lord, you don’t sit in a lounge chair, put your feet up, drink a latte and say, “Hear me, O God!” If you want mountain-moving prayers, you get on your face before the Lord. Lower yourself and admit your helplessness to the Creator of the Universe. Then pray with humble confidence for your national leaders and all Americans to be humble before the One True King and awe in His holy presence.

Recommended Reading: II Kings 22:8-20