“Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise [men] of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why [is] the decree [so] hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise [men] of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” Daniel 2:14-19
When was the secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision?
After Daniel sought the prayers of his companions.
We can make guesses as to what prompted Daniel to ask his friends for prayer. Whatever they were (and I have some thoughts I’ll share) we can’t deny that the request was effective.
Daniel asked… they interceded… Daniel received what they requested. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
What we don’t see here is Daniel praying himself. We might assume that he did… but the Word does not reveal that.
It simply says that he asked them… they asked God… and God answered.
First… why do I think Daniel asked his friends… what made him do it?
I believe the Spirit led him to for two reasons:
To demonstrate humility: He did not think that there was something special about him or his prayers, and that God would only answer him.
To include his friends in the blessing: We see later that Daniel and his three friends were promoted because of the interpretation.
So what do we learn? When God puts a challenge in front of you look for others in the body that you would want to bless or see blessed and get them involved in prayer… at the very least. And then when the blessing and answer to prayer comes… pass it through to them.
We also learn that this whole scenario is a foreshadowing of our relationship with Christ.
The Father, Son, and Spirit are One. Christ intercedes for us. Just as when Daniel besought his friends to pray, we seek the intercession of our Lord.
And when we receive the answer… we must make sure to promote or exalt the Lord!
I know that I am in need of prayer for my situation. Maybe you are for yours. If we intercede for each other, the blessings will be multiplied.
Ask for intercession… be an intercessor.
SDG
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