Prayer of Praise: Daniel's way
Updated: Aug 10, 2023
The Book of Daniel in the bible is an interesting story about a man called Daniel who was exiled from Israel along with his three friends Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego amongst other people. I find him particularly, fascinating because he is a unique character who taps into God's hidden secrets foreseeing the rising and falling of kingdoms many generations ahead of his time. He also pleaded with God and fasted for 21 days until one of the principalities, Prince of Persia who had resisted the messenger angel Gabriel, was disarmed by the warrior angel Michael in Daniel 9-10. In a future blog article, we will delve into the kind of prayer that Daniel prayed which precipitated into commotion in the spiritual realm and how we can emulate his example. Apart from that, Daniel is well known for moving the hand of God in such a way that the Almighty sent an angel to shut the mouths of lions when Daniel's life was at stake.
Whilst his great exploits in the prophetic and spiritual warfare are commendable, there is a lot to be learnt from Daniel's character. Daniel's prayer life matches his lifestyle. His humility and self-restraint is evident in the way that he requests for a special diet, refusing to defile himself with the choicest foods and wine from the king's table in Daniel 1. He displays tact and wisdom in the way that he later finds out the reason behind king Nebuchadnezzar's decree that could have led to the execution of all the wise men in the kingdom including himself and his three friends from Arioch the king's commander in Daniel 2. After learning about this fateful decree, he boldly approached the king, requesting for more time to enquire the mystery from God and provide the dream interpretation. The king had been agitated by the wise men's failure to provide an interpretation to his dream. Not only did they fail to provide the interpretation but they could not tell him king Nebuchadnezzar what the dream was.
To get the answer to this mystery from God, he asked his three friends to help him plead for mercy so that they could not be executed with the rest of the wise men in Babylon. The bible does not provide any details concerning the kind of prayer that Daniel and his friends prayed while pleading for mercy from God. However, we are told that Daniel praised God when he received the revelation from the Mighty One. As I read through Daniel's prayer of praise in Daniel 2, I reflected on it for a moment. How many times do we go back to God and praise him, in the manner that Daniel does it when we get answers to our problems? The biggest solution to mankind's problems that God has ever provided is the gospel of salvation. A message of hope and reconciliation. How many times have we praised God for this expression of love? Let us lift our hearts in praise to God, just as Daniel did in the Scriptures.
Read the Book of Daniel for scriptural understanding.
Prayer:
Praise be to the name of the Lord for ever and ever; wisdom and power belong to you. You are the God that changes seasons and times. You alone, has the power to dispose kings and to lift them. You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. You reveal the deep and hidden things. You know what lies in darkness and light dwells in you. I thank you and praise you Father of my Lord Jesus Christ. For giving me wisdom and power to learn hidden and mysterious things especially, the message of truth and the gospel of salvation. There are many people today across the world who are still in darkness concerning the gospel of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that this message can be made available to those, whom you have called. Praise be to you, King of the Heavens who gives life and takes life away. You have given us the gift of eternal life through your Son, Jesus Christ who conquered death and nailed our sins to the cross.
May your name be exalted and glorified in Jesus Mighty name.
Amen.
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