I recently finished studying the book of Daniel during my personal quiet time and was struck by several different things, the biggest of these being that Daniel was a giant in his prayer life.
We are all familiar with the story of Daniel being thrown into the den of lions because he refused to stop his regular practice of prayer to Yahweh, but his dynamic prayer life didn’t stop there. Time and time again, Daniel consistently responded to bizarre dreams and visions with prayer. We first see this in Daniel’s response to Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream in chapter 2 where Daniel and his three friends seek the Lord in prayer concerning the mystery of the dream (vs. 18). They not only sought the Lord out, but the Lord answered! And Daniel responded with personal praise to God (vs. 20-23), as well as public praise to God before the king and his court (vs. 28).
This continues on with example after example throughout the book of Daniel, and shortly after he receives an incredibly disturbing vision in chapter 8 that makes him “sick for some days” because he “was appalled by the vision and did not understand it” (vs. 27), we get one of the most magnificent examples of prayer in chapter 9 where Daniel “turned his face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (vs. 3). Daniel had questions. Daniel did not understand. But Daniel turned to the One who did understand! In the midst of living in a land that was not his home, under wicked rulers, in a time when he was uncertain of why things were happening the way they were, Daniel responded in two ways: he turned to the Lord in prayer (9:3) and he arose and went about his business (8:27). He kept on keeping on with the tasks that God had given him, and trusted in the Lord instead of leaning on his own understanding.
Man I love the book of Daniel! The longer I am in ministry and the more I study and understand the word of God, the more I am convinced that prayer is the foundation for the Lord to do incredible things in my life and in my ministry. The problem is that I am often quick to acknowledge this truth in my head, but slow to acknowledge it in my heart and in my actions. We live in a land that is not our final home, among rulers who do not have hearts for the things of God, in a time when we’re uncertain of why things are happening the way they are. We might have questions. We might not understand. Will we respond by turning to the Lord in prayer? Will we arise and go about the business that God has called us to?
There is much we can learn from this giant of the faith. There was a church who was searching for a new pastor and they asked the congregation what qualities they should look for in potential candidates, and an older lady stood up and said she wanted a pastor who was tall. The head of the search committee asked “Why do you want the new pastor to be tall?” She responded “I want him to be so tall that when he’s on his knees he reaches to the heavens.” It may be a cheesy story, but may we all be as tall as the giant Daniel was when we are on our knees before God!
In Christ Alone,
Caleb Hecox