Pastor Mark Driscoll
Daniel 2:17-23 – Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
The most powerful and feared man on the earth, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, was shaken to his core by a dream from God that foretold doom and demise in his future. Frantic to know exactly what this revelation from God meant, the king demanded that his spiritual advisors and political cabinet tell him both the dream and its interpretation. Because the dream came from God, only a person with the Spirit of God could know and interpret it.
Living in Babylon as kidnapped slaves were Daniel and a few of his godly friends. Facing a death sentence, they prayed rather than panicked. The lesson is simple but significant: when you are feeling the pressure to panic, you must stop to pray. Crisis has a way of intensifying our prayer life as we become aware of our helplessness and need for God to intervene before we are ruined. In these critical moments, we cannot lean on our experience, education, intelligence, or even our theological system. We always desperately need God, and sometimes we see this more clearly because we feel this more urgently.
Prayer is a big theme in the life of Daniel. In chapter 2, he calls a prayer meeting with his friends one night seeking revelation from God. In chapter 6, we learn that he regularly prayed three times a day. And in chapter 9, we witness a lengthy prayer that was quickly answered by a visit from the angel Gabriel, who later also brought a message to Jesus’ mother Mary.
The point of the story is that God shows up to give revelation in the context of prayer and praise. When believers come together in God’s presence for the purpose of prayer and praise, they are inviting the unseen realm of God to bring the supernatural into the natural. In God’s presence, there is in the unseen realm of angels, sons of God, and other divine beings along with departed saints from earth, constant prayer and praise. When we on earth do the same, the realms are connected in a mysterious way, which explains why revelation came to Daniel and his friends as they were having church at home through prayer and praise.
What has God revealed to you in times of prayer and praise?
In addition to this introduction to and overview of Daniel, you can find the corresponding sermons, daily devotions, men’s ministry resources, and hundreds of additional sermons and Bible teaching resources for free at markdriscoll.org or on the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.
To visit the Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, you can plan your visit at thetrinitychurch.com.
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