Prayer Or Panic

Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.” (Daniel 2:17–18, NASB95)

Prayer and faith are the keys that unlock the mysteries of God. Nebuchadnezzar had received a vision from God after considering the future of his kingdom and even kingdoms to come. He consulted his wise men and astrologers in order to find out what the dream meant but refused to reveal the dream. Why? He did not trust their ability to interpret the dream accurately, so the king required these counselors to divulge the dream first and then interpret it. If successful, they would live and be rewarded, and if unsuccessful, they and all the wise men in the realm would be executed. They confessed that they were unable, and the king’s demand was unreasonable, only the “gods” know the future. So the king commanded all wise men to be executed.

Daniel became aware of the wise men’s execution and the imminent danger for him and his three companions, so Daniel called for a prayer meeting. Daniel didn’t revolt or argue with Arioch, the executioner, but instead asked for time and to seek out answers from God. This demonstrated a high level of faith in the one true God to reveal this hidden mystery. Faith over fear is the key to standing in the valley of the shadow of death. It is the prayer of faith that will lead you through difficult times to God’s solution. Consider the words of Jeremiah:

“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord,” (Jeremiah 29:11–14a, NASB95)

Daniel knew that God was sovereign over all, greater than all the Babylonian gods. Daniel knew that God had given the dream, and only God could reveal the dream. Therefore Daniel and his friends went straight to the one true sovereign God for answers. It was the prayer in faith that led to the unlocking of the mystery of the future. May we learn to pray like Daniel.


Leave a Reply

^