STAYING TRUE: Pray with Passion

As the cliche goes, “there are no atheists in foxholes”, it seems that EVERYONE, even those who don’t profess a “higher power”, pray to someone greater than themselves sometime!  It is common for most even non-Christians—to pray and ask God for help when a problem arises. And there is a simple reason. Our prayers really do make a difference.  God invites all people to seek a relationship with him.  To pray and talk with Him. But we should be mindful of whether we are seeking God or just seeking an answer for OUR purposes from Him? 

Daniel and his friends needed God’s help. They prayed, God answered, and Daniel kept the focus on God and not just on the answer He gave.  We look at Daniel 2:13-23, and 27- the first part of verse 28.

The event we see here occurred “in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign”. Some question how this event could have occurred during Nebuchadnezzar’s second year as king but after Daniel and the other young men had completed three years of training. The Babylonians did not count the months of the calendar year remaining at the king’s ascension as the first year of the new king’s reign. Rather, they only began to count the new king’s years of reign from the first full year he ruled. Thus from the death of Nebuchadnezzar’s father, King Nabopolassar, in September 605 BC to the end of the year that started in March/April 604 BC were not counted in the years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, but were counted in the three years of the other Hebrew young men’s training. So, the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign began March/April 603 BC which was the third year of training for the exiled Hebrews.

So, apparently the stress of leadership was getting to Nebuchadnezzar for by his second year he was already getting “testy.”  He had issued a decree that ALL the “wise men in the Kingdom” were to be executed.  Let’s read to see how this effected Daniel and his friends.

Daniel 2:13-16

13 The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.

14 Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

15 He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

16 So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.

Daniel 2:1 tells us “Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him.” “Dreams” is plural in the original text so this was a recurring problem. Further, he was “troubled” by these dreams, meaning he was “deeply disturbed” by them—so much so he could not sleep. He summoned “the magicians, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans” to him. Each of these groups practiced a different form of magic, channeling of spiritual communication, sorcery, astronomy, astrology and folk wisdom diviners. Each of these groups has a modern parallel so we could label this as all of his scientists, media people, influencers, astronomists, astrologists, and alternative healers, couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer for his problems.  That Nebuchadnezzar summoned the four groups together shows the desperateness of his situation. 

Can you imagine being SO exasperated that because of the inability of SOME professionals to help you you order the extermination ALL those professionals?!  And we thought Herod was severe!

All the categories mentioned in verse 2, plus others, such as Daniel and his friends who were not part of a guild, pagan priestly class, or order, were to be executed. Specifically Nebuchadnezzar had declared that these failed wise men would be “torn limb from limb” and that their houses would “be made a garbage dump”.  Talk about a Tyrant!

Arioch is called the captain of the king’s guard. The term guard means “to slay,” so we should understand that Arioch was the king’s chief executioner. He had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. Apparently, much like the other officers Daniel interacted with, Arioch responded well to Daniel’s demeanor and explained the situation to him. 

When informed of the king’s edict, Daniel did not respond in fear or anger, neither did he attempt to run away or argue with Arioch. Rather, Daniel responded to him with tact and discretion. To respond with tact is to respond with, literally, “taste” in the sense of “good taste.” “Discretion” involved a response that was appropriate, prudent, and full of wisdom—suitable to the situation and to the person and his position to whom Daniel was speaking.

Clearly Daniel, as one of the condemned, would not have been able to boldly enter the king’s presence without having been granted an introduction—which Arioch may have arranged. Daniel first asked the king to give him some time. Daniel promised he would give the king the interpretation of his dream. Also, note that when Daniel made this promise, the king’s dream was unknown to him. The length of time Daniel asked for is unspecified but must have been understood by the king to be reasonable. Thus the king granted Daniel’s request. Daniel promised the interpretation,  but to know the interpretation presupposed knowing the dream itself. Obviously, if the king was to be able to judge whether Daniel had interpreted the dream correctly, Nebuchadnezzar had not forgotten the content of his dream. 

So, under an existing penalty of being torn limb from limb, Daniel asked for time to 1) tell the king what his dream WAS (apparently without having been told) and 2) interpret the meaning of this dream, so that 3) MAYBE the king would overturn his sentence! 

THAT sounds like a GOOD reason to pray to God!  So lets see what Daniel did.

Daniel 2:17-19

17 Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter,

18 urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.

19 The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of the heavens

Yep,  Daniel and his friends turned in prayer to the only One who could answer– God.  Nebuchadnezzar granted Daniel’s request for more time and Daniel called a prayer meeting.  His friends are appropriately identified here in the context of prayer to their true God by their Hebrew names.  Daniel urged his associates to turn to God in prayer, and they united together in doing so. Daniel and his friends prayed to the one and only true God. It reminds us of the true God’s sovereignty and that the answer to their prayers would come from heaven. The Babylonians worshiped the gods of the sun, moon, and stars. But the God these four young men prayed to was over all the heavens—that is, over the sun, moon, and stars and all of the Babylonian astral gods.

The content of Daniel and his friends’ prayer was that they would not be destroyed with the rest of the Babylonian wise men. For that, they needed God’s mercy. Mercy refers to compassion and is used here in the plural to emphasize the intensity of the mercies for which the four prayed. The word rendered “mystery” occurs only in Daniel and in only four places in the Old Testament. It became a technical term for that which can only be understood by God’s revelation because it relates to God’s hidden purposes in history. 

That Daniel learned both what Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was and its interpretation was a case of supernatural revelation. The expression, while passive, means God revealed it to Daniel. This knowledge was not something Daniel could have acquired on his own by his own wisdom; it had to come from God by way of special revelation.  God’s answer to their prayers came to Daniel in a vision at night. God had gifted Daniel to understand visions and dreams, and it was in such a vision that God revealed to Daniel Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its meaning. 

After receiving and understanding the revelation did Daniel say “got it and go on about his business.”  NO!  He praised God. The Aramaic word combines the two ideas of “to kneel” and “to bless.” In the Bible, this word is always used of praising God and not of praising people.  More than just a “thank you for not letting me die,” lets look at what Daniel’s praise was.

Daniel 2:20-23,27-28a

20 and declared: May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him.

21 He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

22 He reveals the deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness,  and light dwells with him.

23 I offer thanks and praise to you, God of my ancestors, because you have given me wisdom and power. And now you have let me know what we asked of you, for you have let us know the king’s mystery. 

..................

27 Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about.

28a But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days.

Daniel addressed God in verse 23 using an intimate expression, “God of my ancestors.” This is the same God who revealed Himself to Daniel’s forebearers, Israel’s patriarchs, as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God had revealed Himself to the nation of Israel by His name Yahweh in Exodus 6:3. It is God’s personal name. Think of it this way, only someone who is VERY close to a ruling authority gets to make use of their first name rather than their ruling name,  e.g., Charles, rather than King Charles, or YHWH rather than Most High God.  Daniel tells us that “may the name of God be praised forever and ever”. Because of who the Most High God is, He should be praised or blessed constantly. To praise God is to express one’s recognition of who God is and one’s gratitude to Him. It is to acknowledge His greatness and to honor Him for who He is. By adding “forever and ever”—or throughout time and eternity—Daniel’s prayer reflects that God should be praised no matter what His answer to our prayers turns out to be.

Daniel gives us reasons:

• He is the God of all wisdom and power. “Wisdom” refers to the fact God knows all things and nothing is hidden from Him; “power” includes the ability and authority to govern the world and all that is in it. God’s power enables Him to do what He in His wisdom decides should be done. “Knowledge” is the ability to know what is to be known.

• Receiving the knowledge God gives is what makes one have understanding, or godly insight and discernment. One does not achieve these things on one’s own. They are gifts of God. Daniel’s prayer emphasizes the Giver.

• Verses 21-22 give examples of God’s wisdom and power. “Seasons” affirms that all of the course of human history—the times and epochs—is in God’s hands. Whatever happens in the different periods of human history, God is ultimately in control. His power is not limited to heaven; He controls what happens on earth also. “Times” may refer to longer periods, and “seasons” to shorter periods—or there may not be a distinction between the two terms and they should be taken together as one expression.

• As the Most High God, YHWH is greater than any king or emperor.  Rulers are not beyond the sovereign providence of God. God can and does either bring them into power or remove them from power. Their tenure depends on Him—as did Nebuchadnezzar’s.

• God reveals Deep and hidden things. Specifically as used here, these terms refer to the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. More broadly, the expression refers to those things that are beyond human ability on its own to access. However, such things are not beyond God’s knowledge or ability to reveal. “Deep” shows that the truths God knows and can reveal to humans are profound and vast. “Hidden things” refers to the “secrets” or “mysteries” that God had not yet revealed but that would happen in the future. This means that even if we do not know God’s purposes for various events or times in human history—if they are still hidden from us—we should nevertheless know God’s purposes are deep, they are the very foundation of the cosmos.

• He knows what is in the darkness.  This refers to that which is still unknown to us but is fully known to God because nothing can hide from Him.

• Light dwells with him. God is light, and He dwells or lives in light. Nothing can be hidden from Him as all stands revealed before Him. Therefore, what to us is hidden, God knows because He knows and has planned all things.

Daniel offered thanks and praise stressing the fullness of Daniel’s gratitude to God for answering Daniel’s prayer. He also acknowledges the support of his friends before closing his praise where he began, thanking God for giving him the wisdom and power he needed and that could only come from God.

Daniel then tells the king that all the various groups of the Babylonian wise men, here listed again, emphasizing that none of them could reveal and interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. He even introduce a different term—diviner; one who professes, supernatural perception to discern the mysteries of the heavens. We could paraphrase Daniel’s statement is “Look King, no man on Earth could, or can, tell you what YOU are thinking.  Not one of your “smart professionals” could do it, and not one of of any talented amateurs could either.  Daniel then explains where the answer comes from.  “But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries”, and that this God had a message for Nebuchadnezzar, allowing him a glimpse of what will happen in the last days.

Here the phrase obviously includes distant future events leading up to the end of time, because Nebuchadnezzar’s dream involved the successive kingdoms of this world, stretching from around 600 BC to the culmination in the coming of God’s kingdom. A long time—but not an interminable time—would elapse before all that God revealed to Nebuchadnezzar would be fulfilled. We should be grateful and joyful, that we may associate with this Most High God as simply as desiring to do so.

Daniel made a difference because he chose to pray. He saved not only his life, and not only the lives of his friends, but the lives of all, or at least many, of the “smart men of the kingdom” who had been sentenced to execution by a tyrannical king.

Prayers really do make a difference, and they STILL do.