Healing Through Surrender: Why It’s Better to Bow Than to Reign

“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.”

That’s the famous line from Milton’s Paradise Lost, a line that captures Satan’s delusional pride after being cast out of heaven. It’s bold. It’s defiant. It’s unforgettable. And it’s utterly tragic.

Because in Milton’s poetic retelling, Satan briefly entertains the idea of repentance. He wonders - maybe - he could appeal to divine mercy and be restored. But he rejects the thought entirely. because his pride refuses to bow. He would rather rule in ruin than serve in joy. Of course, this isn’t Scripture - it’s literary imagination. But it powerfully illustrates something true: how pride keeps us from mercy, and how hellish it is to choose self-rule over humble surrender.

And make no mistake about it - when we think like that, we are echoing that same hellish mindset: “It is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven.” We approach God not as beggars in need of mercy, but as people who think we’ve earned His attention. As if we have a right to rule with Him, instead of bowing before Him as servants.

But as Daniel’s prayer shows us, nothing could be further from the truth. We have no right in ourselves to expect God's healing hand. We come, if we come at all, by mercy.

So if we want to receive healing through prayer, we must approach Him rightly - by grasping:

To receive healing through prayer, we must grasp:

1. The foundation of prayer
2. The posture of prayer
3. The focus of prayer

1. The foundation of prayer

In verse 15, Daniel writes:

¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

Daniel 9:15 ESV

Notice what Daniel doesn’t say here: he doesn’t say: “God we’ve learned our lesson.” or “We’ve suffered long enough.” Instead, he says: “You’re the redeemer” “and we’re the ones who have sinned and rebelled wickedly.”

Then in verse 16.

¹⁶ “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.

Daniel 9:16 ESV

Are you picking up on the COMPLETE lack of entitlement here in Daniel’s prayer? There’s no appeal to personal merit… no attempt to negotiate based on how long they’ve suffered… no language that even hints at “we deserve better.” Instead, Daniel is pleading for God’s mercy on the basis of God’s righteousness. “According to all your RIGHTEOUS ACTS, let your anger and wrath turn away from us!”

The basis of Daniel’s petition for God’s mercy is GOD’S righteousness, not Israel’s. not the sorrow they feel for their sin not even Daniel’s own godly track record. He’s standing on the character of God.

Daniel is saying: “God, this mess we’re in - we did this.” “Our fathers did this.” “We deserve this.” There is no shifting of blame, no attempt to minimize, and no hope outside of God Himself.

And yet how often are our prayers the exact opposite of this? We may not say it out loud, but deep down, we often approach God thinking: “God, I’ve been faithful.” “I’ve served You.” “I’ve suffered unjustly.” “I’ve done everything right - why haven’t You shown up?”

We approach God not as broken beggars in need of mercy, but as people who assume we’ve earned His attention - as if we’re owed a response. But this is so spiritually deadly, because it’s core - it’s just hellish pride dressed up in spiritual language. What it really is, is a heart that says: “It’s better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.”

So how do we know if we’re praying with hellish thinking or heavenly thinking? Because the truth is - it’s not just about the words we say out loud. It’s about the heart behind those words. Which means that two people can pray for the same thing - healing, deliverance, provision - and yet one prays like a servant, and the other prays like a self-enthroned king. Someone who believes they have a right to rule in heaven with God as their servant, instead of bowing before God with the posture of a servant.

To receive healing through prayer, we must grasp:

2. The posture of prayer

¹⁶ “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy…

Daniel 9:16-17 ESV

Daniel doesn’t approach God demanding results. He doesn’t try to leverage his obedience or point to his suffering to get what he wants. Instead, he approaches God as a servant: humbly, dependently, reverently. That’s the posture of heavenly thinking.

And one of the clearest ways we can tell whether we are praying with that same posture is by how we respond to unanswered prayers.

When the answer doesn’t come the way you hoped, do you say: “God, I trust You - Your ways are higher,” or do you quietly think: “After all I’ve done for You… seriously?”

Now maybe we don’t outright think or say that, but still, it doesn’t mean our heart’s aren’t believing that. See, sometimes, we might NOT be so brazen as to attack God directly for not answering our prayers, but instead, we attack the next best thing… people who are made in the image of God.

In ancient kingdoms, whenever the people got fed up with their king, they wouldn’t always resort to storming the palace - especially if he was a powerful king. Instead, they’d lash out against him more indirectly, by going out into the public square and defacing his statue. They’d destroy the image that represented him. Which was a way of saying: “We hate the one in charge - but this is how we’ll show it.” And sadly, that’s exactly what we do.

When you feel like God has let you down… you don’t march into heaven and demand an audience with the Almighty. That’s too bold. Too direct. So you do what rebels always do - You strike His image. You snap at your spouse. Withdraw from your friend. Resent the people God’s placed in your life.

And all the while… you’re not just reacting to them. You’re accusing Him. Because in your heart, you're saying: “If You won’t rule the way I want - then I’ll take the crown myself.”

And nowhere does that posture show up more clearly than in the way we respond to unanswered prayers.

Maybe you’ve been praying for years for your marriage to improve, but it hasn’t happened. And instead of trusting God’s sovereign timing, you begin to unload on your spouse, as if their change is what’s holding your prayer hostage.

Sometimes it’s not outright anger and overt hostility, but quiet withdrawal, coldness, emotional distancing, and it can happen in any relationship: whether it’s a spouse, friend, family member, co-worker, or even your church family, You really can do this with any unanswered prayer.

But underneath all of that - whether you realize it or not - is a belief in the Lucifarian lie: “I don’t deserve this.”

It’s the same posture Satan took. The same pride that refuses to bow, and demands that heaven bend to you.

But all of this is just a way of doubting God’s sovereignty and righteousness. Because it’s us saying: “No God - Your answer to my prayer wasn’t right.” And because heaven wouldn’t rule in our favor, we embrace sinful and hellish means to try and establish our rule here and now.

And if anyone had a right to do this, it would have been Daniel! Was Daniel guilty of the sins that led to God’s judgment and exile upon His people? No! Daniel was a very righteous man, and yet, there he was, suffering the same judgment as the unrighteous,

But notice what he doesn’t do: He doesn’t lash out. He doesn’t blame others. He doesn’t say, “God, this isn’t fair! Why should people like me have to go through this?” He doesn’t pick apart the image of God in his fellow Israelites, Instead, he trusts in God’s righteousness believing that God was acting rightly in all of it, including their suffering, which was all a part of God’s means of bringing Israel to repentance.

Do you know why Daniel could respond this way? Because he understood the 1st and 2nd greatest commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength - and to love your neighbor as yourself.” But those truths didn’t begin with Jesus. They were written long before the New Testament, and even before Daniel’s day.

⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

And for the second great commandment.

¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:18 ESV

Daniel understood that Israel’s sin - even though he wasn’t personally guilty of it, threatened two things: God’s Glory and God’s people. And that was enough for him. He didn’t stand apart in self-righteousness. He didn’t say, “This isn’t my fault.” Instead, he aligned himself with the purposes of God - whatever the cost, whatever the process, whatever the pain.

He surrendered himself to whatever His all-knowing, sovereign God deemed necessary to treat the root of the disease, not just the symptoms.

Because Daniel knew: An unrepentant Israel back in the land of blessing was no blessing at all. It would just be a repeat of the past - a return to rebellion, which would again threaten God’s glory and God’s people.

So how about you? Are you willing to submit to God in the same way, for the sake of His glory and the eternal good of others?

Or will you fight against Him, by resisting the very circumstances and the very people He’s sovereignly placed in your life to humble you, shape you, and even use you to shape others? Because sometimes, the very things we want God to remove are the exact things He’s using to bring us back to Him. Which means that: Maybe the unanswered prayer, the prolonged trial, the person who’s hard to love - maybe they’re not obstacles to your faith, Maybe they’re the very instruments God is using to heal your hard heart.

But you won’t see it if you’re praying with clenched fists. You won’t see it if your focus is just on escaping discomfort, instead of depending on and trusting God in all things.

Daniel’s prayer wasn’t just about returning to the land it was about returning to the Lord. And that’s the heart of a servant. That’s the posture of heavenly thinking that leads to healing in prayer.

But don’t confuse humility with passivity. Daniel didn’t sit back in silence. He didn’t say, “Well, God is sovereign, so I guess there’s nothing to ask for.” He didn’t treat prayer like a formality or a ritual. He pleaded with God. He asked for restoration. He begged for mercy. He spoke with urgency, passion, and persistence. He prayed boldly - but never proudly. He asked big - but bowed low.

And that’s the difference. He wasn’t demanding results from God like a customer filing a complaint. He was pouring out his heart like a servant who trusts the heart of his King. Because boldness in prayer isn’t pride, when it flows from a place of surrender. In fact, the opposite is true!

When we pray boldly from a posture of surrender, we’re not putting confidence in ourselves - we’re placing all our confidence - all our “pride” - in God. In who He is, in what He’s done, and in what He has promised to do.

That’s exactly why Daniel brings up the Exodus in verse 15. He’s not appealing to Israel’s track record - he’s anchoring his prayer in God’s track record. He’s saying, in effect: “You’re the God who saves.” You’re the God who delivers.” “You’re the God who brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and You haven’t changed.” And so now - “On the basis of Your righteousness… hear, see, and act, O great and merciful God!”

So Daniel prays boldly - but not like someone trying to rule from below. He doesn’t demand. He doesn’t negotiate. He pleads - like a servant who trusts his good and wise King. That’s the posture of someone who would rather serve in heaven than try to reign from a place of hellish pride.

Daniel is able to pray that way because: his foundation is set, his posture is humble, and his focus is clear: Because it’s a focus NOT on personal comfort - but on God’s glory.

To receive healing through prayer, we must grasp:

3. The focus of prayer

17 … O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. ¹⁸ O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Daniel 9:17-19 ESV

In 1988, at the Seoul Olympics, a Canadian sprinter named Ben Johnson crossed the finish line in the 100-meter dash faster than anyone ever had. He didn’t just win gold - he set a world record.

But three days later, it was gone. as He had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Canada was devastated. Johnson later said, “I feel like I’ve let my country down.” And he said this, because he had let his country down. Because when you wear the name of a nation, your fall reflects on more than just you. It reflects upon the nation itself.

This is the grief Daniel is feeling at the end of his prayer: Not just sorrow over Israel’s sin & suffering, but sorrow over how God’s name - His glory - is being dragged through the dirt before the watching nations of the world!

And if you notice, all throughout Daniel’s prayer, its driving motive is doxological. That just means: It’s focused on God’s glory. Not Daniel’s comfort. Not Israel’s relief. But the honor of God’s name.

See, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were ground zero for God’s anger against Israel’s sin. and even though God was the one responsible for Israel’s punishment, what did the rest of the world think? They thought Babylon was responsible for it. They thought the Babylonian gods Marduk and Nebo had defeated Yahweh. Because from the outside looking in, it looked like Israel’s God was weaker than their gods.

The temple was destroyed. The people were scattered. The vessels of the Lord had been hauled off and stored in the pagan treasuries of Babylon. So to the watching nations of the world, it wasn’t just Israel who looked weak. It was Yahweh. And that’s what caused Daniel such grief! Because He knew Yahweh God was the one true and living God who is worthy of all glory and praise!

That’s why Daniel pleads, “O Lord, hear; O Lord forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Do not delay, for Your sake, O my God, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”

Back in verse 16, Daniel says God’s people have become a byword: which means, an object of mockery, a symbol of defeat and humiliation. But Daniel’s concern is NOT THEIR humiliation, but GOD’S humiliation! Because beginning with Abraham, God had connected His holy name to the Jewish people.

Don’t you see now that Daniel isn’t simply pleading for mercy, He’s pleading for GLORY! For God’s reputation to be restored. Because when God's people are disgraced, God's name is dragged through the mud.

This is why, when you love the glory of God, you’ll pray differently. Not just for escape, but for God’s name to be exalted.

Do you see now why the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 begins with:

9 … “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Matthew 6:9 ESV

Church, if God’s glory is not our primary concern, then we’re not praying like servants of heaven. We’re praying like rebels from hell. Because any prayer that seeks our comfort above God’s glory, is a Luciferian prayer - spoken from a heart that wants to rule, not bow. A heart that wants God to serve us, instead of us serving Him. which cannot and will not work! Because He is the God of Glory, who will not share His glory with those who try to crown themselves as king.

In the Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis brilliantly said: There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'" Do you know what the name Christian means? It means “Little Christs.” which means we too bear God’s name before a watching world.

And in the New Testament it tells us that we Christians are THE BODY OF CHRIST here on earth. Which means that when the world wants to know what Jesus is like - they look at us. They hear His name on our lips - but do they see Him in our lives? Do they see His humility? His compassion? His holiness? His sacrificial love?

Or do they see us consumed - not with a passion for God’s glory, but with frustration over our circumstances and a desperate pursuit of personal comfort?

Daniel wasn’t like that. He didn’t just want relief. He wanted restoration. Not of his situation - but of God’s reputation. because Daniel’s heart was consumed with a passion to “Hallow God’s name.”

That’s why Jesus taught us to pray first with: “Hallowed be Your name.” And though we say it, do we live like we mean it? or are we, like Israel, profaning His holy name by the very lives we live? We profane His name when our ungodly marriages deny the gospel: even though Ephesians 5 says marriage is meant to picture Christ’s love for the Church. We profane His name when we treat Christ’s bride like a consumer product: serving only when we feel like it, showing up only to be served rather than to serve. We profane His name when our tongues unleash venom, when bitterness goes unchecked, when forgiveness is withheld, and when our words about others bear no resemblance to the mercy God has shown us.

And when we live that way: when we wear His name, but don’t reflect His glory. we’re shouting the same lie that ruined Eden and resounds in hell: “Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven.”

Now, maybe you’re wondering, “but why should I live for God’s glory and not my own?” After all, signing up for suffering for the sake of God’s glory doesn’t sound all that enticing... Well, to that question, I have two answers.

First, God’s glory is not just the right thing to live for, it’s the best, most beautiful, and most glorious thing to live for. It’s the only thing that can satisfy your soul. Don’t you see, God’s glory isn’t a threat to your joy, it is your joy! We were made for it! We created to see it, savior it, and reflect it for all eternity just like the sun at the beach warming your skin, lighting your world, and filling everything with glorious color!

So you can try to live your life without God’s glory at the center, but it’s like going to the beach with no sun, Sure, it might still be the beach, but it’s cold, dark, and wet. Take away the sun, and you lose what makes the beach beautiful. and similarly, take away God’s glory, and your life loses what makes it worth living.

In the Weight of Glory, Lewis wrote: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, p. 1-3.

Now, I said I had two reasons why you should live for God’s glory and not your own. And here’s the second: Because the God whose glory we live for is the same God who gave up His glory… for us. Though He ruled in heaven for all eternity, He set aside the privileges of that glory to humbly serve us, to suffer for us, by dying a hellish death on a Roman cross.

Which as we know doesn’t diminish His glory, it magnifies it! And church, God has the promised the same pattern for us! if we will set aside our glorious mudpies, and live for His glory, He promises to lift us up. He promises to even share His glory with us. Not the counterfeit glory the world offers - fame, power, comfort, or applause, but the real thing: to reign with Christ, to shine like the stars, and to inherit a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

That’s why Paul writes in Romans 8:17, “If we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified with Him.”

So don’t fall for the serpent’s old lie: “Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven.”

Because the truth of the gospel is this: If you will lay down your life in surrender to Christ, you will be raised with Him in glory. That’s the call of Daniel 9. That’s the call of Christ. And that’s the hope of every soul who dares to pray like this:

¹ Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

Psalm 115:1 ESV

“Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death - death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end - submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

By God’s grace, may we lose our lives for His glory, and in doing so, find the glory we were created for.

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.