Daniel and his friends, under threat of death, prayed for an interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. And God answered! Did Daniel immediately run and tell the king so his death sentence would be lifted? No, first Daniel stops to praise God for the answer. Daniel 2:19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. 23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”[1]
God is worthy of praise. He is all powerful and all knowing. He is in control of human events: He deposes leaders and raises others up. God is the source of wisdom and knowledge and this is the reason that deep mysteries can be explained. These are consistent truths found throughout the Bible.
Psalm 145: 3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.[2]
Psalm 147:5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension![3]
Psalm 22:27 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. 28 For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations.[4]
Jeremiah 32: 17 “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! [5]
Proverbs 2: 6 For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.[6]
Daniel and others praised God for what He had done and what He will do. We need to do the same. To hear more about Daniel and his story, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/daniel-a-man-of-character/giving-credit-to-god
[1] Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
[2,3,4,5,6] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.