Daniel 9:2 - 4, 20 also says:
In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolation's of Jerusalem.

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments.

...Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God,

In the following verses, I would like you to pay more attention to the events that took place because therein lie the secrets of ending all forms of captivity.
For any captivity to come to an end; be it colonial, business, marriage or otherwise, certain factors must be greatly favored, and these were the factors that the Lord gave to Daniel as a key to end their servitude in Babylon.

‘Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding’
Daniel 9:21-22



WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT BREAK CAPTIVITY?

(1) Prayer - Daniel said, "While I was praying..." Prayer remains an effective means of tapping into the mysteries of God, it tells God that the people are ready for the manifestation of his plans; it tells God that they are ready to be guided out of captivity.
(2) Skill - When the angel of God came to give Daniel the answer to his petition, the angel came with an answer that looked seemingly irrelevant to the problem on ground but in it lie the secret to all kind of liberty. The angel said to Daniel,
"I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding”.
Skill is the ability to do something exceptionally well. Why God hasn't handed Africa wholly to the hand of Africans is simply lack of skill. Until we prove we are competent enough to pilot our destinies, our complete emancipation is not in view. Just as a father cannot hand a car key to his under-age son, when he knows that the boy cannot drive; so also God cannot surrender the throne, economy, and destiny of a nation to an unskilled people.

Ecclesiastes 10:15 says:
The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city

The Bible clearly points out that what makes a people, management, family and generation foolish is lack of "know how" - skill and as they remain in that state, weariness will be the order of the day in all their pursuits in life, irrespective of their location, race, colour and natural endowment. This explains why Nigeria hasn't experienced true independence as a nation, we still import clothes, sugar, jewelry, and foreigners run our oil fields because we lack skill.

I want to challenge the youths in the world, especially in Africa: the reason you have not taken your place in politics, business, and ministry is because you lack skill. Why foreigners run your oil fields and other mineral fields is because you lack skill, so stop all your threats of riots strike and war and settled down for skill (mental acumen, shrewdness or reasoning power) acquisition, it will pave a way for you to the top.

"If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success” (- Ecc 10:10 - NIV).

Even in the days of mosses, God gave him some unparalleled supernatural skill, he could start and stop plaque supernaturally and at will; the Egyptians couldn't beat that, so they lost their wealth to the Israelites. Skill is all you need to emerge.
(3) Understanding: The angel said, "I am now come forth to give thee.... understanding". Understanding is the correct assimilation of facts that lead to correct application of knowledge to produce strange acts. It then implies that two dominant factors are in play here, firstly UNDERSTADING and then KNOWLEDGE. Understanding like I said is the correct assimilation of fact, it then means that your perspective from which you assimilate matters most. Your perspective determines the kinds of details you assimilate. In Daniel’s case his perspective was rooted in God, seeing that it was an angel from God who came to shed light on certain details to grant him understanding, which in other words is called INSPIRATION OR WISDOM. The book of Job gives us a very distinct picture:
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
Job 32:8-8 – KJV

In our contemporary world it is very obvious that the answer to certain problems facing mankind has to be supernatural. The natural minds of this world can attest to that.
After understanding is established, then can man tap into his resources (knowledge) for right applications, then and only then can strange acts be wrought, which is pleasing to mankind.

UNDERSTANDING + KNOWLEDGE = LIBERTY

Until a people are set to go for knowledge, their liberty is far fetched. Knowledge empowers your mind to be creative; it empowers your mind to bring forth strange invention, to unveil mysteries, to put an end to troubles facing humanity. Daniel rose to the throne of Babylon via knowledge; knowledge surrenders the throne of any land, business, calling and family to you. Strong nations such as America are always hunting for knowledge and that has today made them number one world power. Knowledge makes you the “predator” and not the prey. The more you improve your level of knowledge is the further you walk away from captivity and deeper into God’s ultimate liberty for you. Never wait until problem bigger than your level of knowledge come upon you, because when it does you may not be able to handle it and then gives room for outsiders to come to help you, and at his point you stand the risk of loosing your position. This has been the secret of America as a nation, they know the in and out of virtually all the nations of the earth, they did not come to this stage by witchcraft, No! They arrived at this stage because they have a policy of wanting to help other nations tackle their problems and by so doing they derived two major benefit: firstly, they are expanding their knowledge base, secondly they are taking delivery of that nations’ secrets and so they know as much as the nation knows of itself, in terms the nations of military intelligence, economic strategies and political flaws or weaknesses. Anytime there is a war between them and the other nations they already know what to do and where to hit to win. Knowledge gives you an edge over your competitors

Just as we have seasons in the natural, there are also spiritual seasons, which could be referred to as prophetic seasons. Prophetic season is a period of time ordained by God to perform certain events proclaimed through his prophets. Prophetic seasons share the same characteristics with the natural seasons, they depend on mankind to be made manifest. Thousands of years ago, the Lord said made prophetic statement concerning the destiny of the Israelites that a season would come after they have spent 400 years in captivity; they shall be set free from their captors, leaving the land - Egypt with great wealth. But when the season came, no man was found to enforce it, there was no one to stand in the gap and work it out, even though all the elements of life were ready to fight for the course of that prophetic proclamation. And so the Israelites spent an additional 30 years in captivity until God found a man in Moses. Moses caught an understanding of God’s plan, his eyes were opened to see that the season had come for their release from captivity, this culminated to his longing for change and he started taking practical steps.
In our contemporary times we have seen many similar situations. For instance, when the time was ripe for the liberation of South¬-Africa and India from the oppressions of their colonial masters, until God found a willing vessel in Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi their liberty was not in view, irrespective of the fact that their season of release had come. God never does a thing without the agency of a man, most a times he often begin by putting concern in our hearts, then that concern will metamorphous from just a concern to compassion then finally a vision.
In Exodus 2:11 - 13 the Bible records that what sparked off the liberation movement of the Israelites was compassion Mosses had for his people. He came out one day to see his people and behold what he saw was their burden, he could not stand the sight, he knew by intuition that his people ought to be free, he saw them as a nation not as slaves; he saw them as a great company of kings commanding extra ordinary wealth and then finally he resolved within himself that not only should they be free but any more second spent in Egypt will be deemed as an insult to their God and their person.
Daniel in his days was not an exception to this attendant condition. The Lord made a prophetic declaration through his servant Jeremiah, that a season of release shall come after his people had spent 70 years in Babylon (Jer. 25:11 - 13 and Jer. 29:10 - 14). But this prophetic declaration could not come to pass until God found an agent in a man called Daniel. Seventy years had passed, it was the season for their release but God needed a man to carry it out on earth. Jeremiah 29:10-15 says:

For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you t o return tot his place.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.