Neville Goddard on Daniel 9:3-19 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Daniel 9 in context

Scripture Focus

3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7O LORD, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10Neither 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.

11Yea, 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.

12And he hath confirmed his words, 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.

13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16O LORD, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, 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.

17Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19O 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.

Daniel 9:3-19

Biblical Context

Daniel sets his face to the Lord in prayer, confessing sin, rebellion, and failure to keep the commandments, and seeking mercy and restoration for Jerusalem and Israel. The prayer centers on turning from iniquity and aligning with God's truth and merciful intent.

Neville's Inner Vision

In this moment, the outer scene of Daniel’s penitential prayer is only the symbol of an inner discipline. The 'face set toward the Lord' is the mind turned toward the I AM, the unchanging fact of your awareness. The confession 'we have sinned' is the moment you own the beliefs and habits that have separated you from your true state; the 'laws' and 'prophets' become your inner guidelines, and the exile of Jerusalem becomes the sense of separation you feel in any moment of limitation. When Daniel pleads for mercy and forgiveness, he is actually requesting a revision of your consciousness—an acknowledgment that you are eternally loved and kept by the covenant within. The line that God is righteous in all His works affirms that your inner law works toward truth, not punishment; the appeal to shine upon the sanctuary is your inner light awakening the place you inhabit as I AM. The whole petition is a practice: align with divine mercy, own your state, and let the inner city be rebuilt by your consistent faith in your true identity.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Sit quietly, close your eyes, and declare, 'I AM the I AM; I govern this moment.' Then revise a recent mistake by saying, 'I forgive myself; I restore my state,' and feel the inner city shining as your sanctuary.