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

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Daniel 9:3

Commentary on Daniel 9:1-3

(Read Daniel 9:1-3)

Daniel learned from the books of the prophets, especially from Jeremiah, that the desolation of Jerusalem would continue seventy years, which were drawing to a close. God's promises are to encourage our prayers, not to make them needless; and when we see the performance of them approaching, we should more earnestly plead them with God.