5. The Collective Prayer Life of Daniel

The Collective Prayer Life of Daniel

"Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret: that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: and he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: he revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter." (Daniel 2:16-23) When king Nebuchadnezzar had a remarkable dream, he wanted it interpreted. He refused to give the astrologers, the soothsayers and the wise men any encouragement, ’No,’ he said, ’you tell me the dream and the interpretation too’. That was a very hard thing to do, and when there was no interpretation forthcoming or no telling forth of the dream, the king ordered the execution of all the wise men, and that included Daniel and his three companions. So they came together in fellowship in prayer. It was not now a private matter, this was a matter of fellowship. Daniel made the situation known to the three young men. The names of these men had been changed, they had been given Babylonish names by the Babylonians who connected them with heathen gods, but the Spirit of God recorded for us here their Jewish names that indicated their connection with the living God. These men got together and prayed about the matter, they had fellowship in prayer, and the dream was made known to Daniel. It is a wonderful note of praise and worship that Daniel then gave to this great God, because He was the God who could do things. Oh, that we might get this into our souls, that God can change things, God can bring about a better condition, God can give wisdom, understanding and power, provided that we acknowledge and obey Him, provided that we are prepared to say, ’Our lives are yours’, whether individually or collectively.

I remember passing by a church and a poster was displayed outside, and it struck me very much, it said, ’Do not let God be the spare wheel’. A spare wheel is only used in an emergency. This is not the kind of God we want, we want a God who is at the steering wheel, the One who takes control, the One who directs, to whom we are subject. So Daniel and his three companions prayed together and God gave the answer, revealing to Daniel the dream that the king had, and also the interpretation of it.

I want you to notice the kind of answer that Daniel gave to God for this revelation. "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his". This was virtually Daniel saying to God, ’This is a simple matter for you’. The dream was revealed and the interpretation given. What an instant answer this was to the prayer.

Then he went on to say, "He changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings". Kings may be powerful, mighty and strong, boasting in their strength, their armies and their wealth, but God can remove a king overnight and replace him with another as he did in Daniel 5:30-31. Oh, how small man is in the presence of God! What power He has! We see in the Bible and in history how boastful man is, setting himself up in all his arrogance and pride saying he will do this and that, but God changes it overnight. This is the kind of God that we believe in.

"He revealeth the deep and secret things". If we just apply this in connection with our own lives and in our companies, are we resigned to the fact that there can be no improvement? Are we resigned to the fact that in our individual lives there is no possibility of getting more power, or more spiritual progress? Do we acquiesce in the weakness and failure that is there or do we trust in the living God, because He can change things? He can change things for us individually, and he can change the conditions in localities. This is the kind of God that Daniel had. Are we prepared to pay the price in prayer, giving up more time to pray and when God reveals His will to us, are we ready to obey?