Daniel 9:17
Now therefore, O our God, hearken to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplications, and for thy own sake, O Lord, cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, which is desolate.
It is a common human assumption that we have to goad God into loving us and that we must defend ourselves, because it a sure bet nobody else will. Humanly speaking, that’s often true. It’s a dog-eat-dog world. But it’s a God-loves-dogs Heaven. And, in fact, our love for ourselves is only a pale reflection of God’s love for us. That is why Daniel and the prophets are so wise to appeal to God, not on the basis of their own earnestness or faith or love or whatnot, but rather “for Thy own sake, O Lord.” The glory of God, says St. Irenaeus, is a human being fully alive. There is nobody and nothing in the universe that want our good and glory more than God himself.
