As we learned yesterday, Daniel bargained with King Nebuchadnezzar for a stay of execution. This would give him time to attempt to interpret the dream the king would not tell. At this point, Daniel knows that only God can save them. Daniel now depends are something that would have been learned back in Judah in his Jewish training. Nothing in the Babylonian training would have prepared him for this. Daniel didn’t just pray by himself but involved his friends as prayer partners.
The Apostle Paul would do much the same thing centuries later: 2 Corinthians 1: 8 Brothers and sisters, you need to know about the severe trials we experienced while we were in western Turkey. All of the hardships we passed through crushed us beyond our ability to endure, and we were so completely overwhelmed that we were about to give up entirely. 9 It felt like we had a death sentence written upon our hearts, and we still feel it to this day. It has taught us to lose all faith in ourselves and to place all of our trust in the God who raises the dead. 10 He has rescued us from terrifying encounters with death. And now we fasten our hopes on him to continue to deliver us from death yet again, 11 as you labor together with us through prayer. Because there are so many interceding for us, our deliverance will cause even more people to give thanks to God. What a gracious gift of mercy surrounds us because of your prayers![1]
What a great example Daniel and Paul give to us for our situation today. First, God knows what is going on and is in control even though the situation looks dire. Second, God is a God of rescue and will continue to rescue. Third, we can labor together in prayer for a breakthrough which will bring glory to God. In many ways, only God can deliver us from this pandemic. It is He who can give strength and wisdom to those in the medical field. It is God who can supply justice for those trying to use the pandemic to take advantage of others. This situation helps us remember that it is God who ultimately is our provider. There is no distance in prayer so let’s join together to repent and pray that this situation will end.
To hear more about the story of Daniel, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/daniel-a-man-of-character/giving-credit-to-god
[1] The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017 by BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC.thePassionTranslation.com