Daniel’s Life of Prayer
Daniel
was a man of persistent praying. His life of prayer was nurtured from the time
he was captured as a young man, and was forged out of critical and dangerous
circumstances. When King Nebuchadnezzar was troubled by a dream, Daniel and his
friends prayed ardently together to the God of heaven for mercy to reveal the
mystery of the dream, so that they and the other wise men of Babylon would not
all perish. (Daniel 2:18) Eventually, God did reveal the mystery through
Daniel, who interpreted the significance of the king’s dream regarding the
large statue to him. Through his old age, Daniel did not alter his life of
prayer. His enemies noticed it as well, and tried to use a royal decree to trap
and ambush him. Yet Daniel continued to maintain his practice of kneeling in
the direction of Jerusalem and praying three times a day, and did not shirk his
commitment despite the king’s edict. (Daniel 6:10) In the end God sealed the
mouths of the lions and delivered him from the hands of his enemies. Daniel was
truly a man who shared a close relationship with God. That is why the Lord
allowed him to understand all manner of visions and prophesies from dreams, and
revealed to him myriad mysteries. Nebuchadnezzar too saw that he had the spirit
of “the holy gods” in him. (Daniel 4:8,18) Even the queen praised him for his
spiritual acumen - having the spirit of the holy gods inside, with insight,
intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. (Daniel 5:11) All these relate
greatly to Daniel’s life of prayer.
Daniel
was declared by God to be highly esteemed (Daniel 9:23), and the Lord even sent
the angel Gabriel in swift flight to him to instruct him and give him further
insight and understanding so that he could comprehend the prophesy of the
seventy sevens. These all pertain closely to his training in prayer. In the
first year of Darius’ reign as ruler of the Babylonian (Chaldean) kingdom,
Daniel learned from the scripture of Jeremiah’s prophesy that the desolation of
Jerusalem would last seventy years. He had an immediate perception. So he
fasted and put on sackcloth and ashes. Earnestly he prayed and petitioned the
Lord on behalf of himself, all the people of the land, their kings, princes and
fathers, both near and far. For their sin and rebellion against God he offered
a sincere prayer of repentance. Daniel begged the righteous Lord, in keeping
with His righteous acts, to hear his plea, and turn away His anger and His
wrath from the holy city of Jerusalem and the people, and to forgive and bestow
grace once again according to His great mercy. Daniel’s prayer of repentance
connected with the part of human offering that pleases the Lord, so God granted
him abundant blessings, giving him additional insight and wisdom to understand
even more spiritual mysteries.
From
Daniel, we can learn the following lessons concerning prayer: (1) Persistent
prayer is a component of holy life that pleases God. (2) The concerted prayers
of fellow believers can animate the work of God, and God is pleased to grant
petitions borne of faith. (3) The primary goal of Satan the enemy is to disrupt
our lives of prayer. (4) If we do not terminate our praying even under
difficult circumstances, the faithful Lord will surely protect and dispense His
grace. (5) A man who continually prays will always have light from the word of
God, so that others can tell that God is with him. (6) An earnest prayer of
repentance to God is often the starting point of the Lord’s work. (7) More
revelations, wisdom and intelligence stem from prayer and supplication to God.
Now
that we have heard the messages from these 3 days of spiritual nurturing, we
will hopefully understand the Lord’s mercy and our own inadequacies better.
This afternoon the church will have a self-examination prayer meeting. Let’s
all come before the Lord, pray for the grace of His forgiveness for sin, revere
and await Him, and put into practice the aforementioned lessons of prayer,
until God once again receives from among us the glory due.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
By:
Daniel To