In the first chapter of Daniel, we find Daniel and three of his friends forced to leave their homes in the Babylonian King’s 3-year indoctrination program for some of the choicest foreigners. They had to learn the Chaldean language, and they were given names that honored pagan gods. They made it a point, despite living in a land of foreigners, to stay true to their God.
One day, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and tested his magicians to see if they could interpret it. They failed, so they were to be put to death. Daniel and his comrades were not even summoned by the king but were given the same death sentence. Daniel was famous for prayer and prudence. Because of prayer, he had access to God’s power. Daniel dealt with men carefully and not in a rash manner, like the king. He made an appointment to see the king to ask for time to discover the dream and its interpretation. He asked his three companions to pray for Divine compassion in revealing the mystery of the dream. Here, we see the importance of intercessory prayer. Daniel and his three friends made it a habit of praying three times daily to God in heaven, showing to all their reliance upon God in prayer.
When God answered Daniel’s prayer, Daniel sang a spontaneous song, blessing the name of God. Blessings are God’s gifts to us. When we bless God with thanksgiving, we acknowledge the source of all of our blessings and give back to Him what is already His.
Two qualities of God are singled out in Daniel’s praise: His wisdom and His might. Men may think that times and seasons are fixed by the movements of the heavenly bodies or by the leaders of the most powerful countries, but times and seasons are in God’s hands and He changes them as He wills.
We can be inspired to honor God while living in a land of foreigners because Jesus, the true light, reveals what is hidden and because He is declared to be the wisdom and the power of God in 1 Corinthians 1:24.
A special thanks to those who encouraged me to study the Bible when reading was becoming stale.
Submitted by Bob Sidlinger