Victory Through Prayer And Faithfulness

In the first six chapters of Daniel we see how God was taking His servants through a long time of preparation which lasted about 43 years; though He was using them in mighty ways right from chapter one, He was all the time really preparing them for a greater ministry. Then from chapter seven onwards we see how God began to reveal through Daniel events, which were to take place in the future. The plans for the coming centuries were made known right to the coming of Christ, His death, burial and resurrection, and return to earth.

In chapter two we see how Daniel was enabled to give only the interpretation of the dream, which had been revealed to Nebuchadnezzar. But in chapters four and five we see him receiving increased ability, till in chapter seven and onwards we see God revealing to him directly things, which were to take place.

It is the same in our own lives. The early days of our Bible reading, studying book about the Bible, and listening to many good sermons, are really training us for the deeper mysteries which we shall find hidden in God’s word when He has fully trained us. After years of study, we shall be saying to ourselves during our devotion, “I never knew of that verse before! That fragment seems quite new to me!” The Lord was also training Daniel in the life of prayer.

Here in Daniel 6, we read how King Darius ruled over a kingdom so vast that it needed one hundred and twenty princes. Over these were three presidents, but Daniel was preference above them all. Daniel did not seek for preference as so many seek honors in politics today. He did not try to use the influence of friends and relatives; neither did he use flatteries and bribes. Yet one day he received orders that he had been appointed the chief Governor over all the other Governors. The reason given for this outstanding promotion is that ‘an excellent spirit was found in him.

We may be the same as Daniel in this respect. If through prayer we do our duty faithfully, those over us will eventually see the same thing in us, and will have to acknowledge, ‘that man, or that woman, has an excellent spirit. That person deserves to be given promotion!’ we do not need to use bribes or flattery, or other worldly means.

But we believers do not use our spiritual right in prayer. We often pray for many things connected with our natural life, but we fail to pray through for divine unction, the spiritual anointing which we need every day if we are to live successfully for God. We rely too much on our human knowledge and qualifications, and neglect to seek the wisdom of God for our daily lives, which we have the right to do as believers. Then too, we may be failing to be really faithful in our work as Christians. For these reasons God cannot honor us, as He did Daniel.

At one time when in America, I had a long period of unemployment. Letters and cables sent to mf father brought no reply. After I had searched much for a job a man said to me, “Can you cook Indian food? It is so hard to find a good cook here. There is to be an Indian Medical Conference and many doctors will be here for seven days. If you can cook Indian meals for them I will pay you.”

I said, “I can cook for a few, but have never attempted doing it for such a large number.” “Well,” replied he, “you try, and if you cannot manage we will remove you.” I prayed a whole night and the next day I started the cooking. I continued praying all the time I was cooking, and the Lord showed me what quantities of various ingredients I was to use each time.

After the meal a lady came to the kitchen and saw me in my long white coat and white cap (that is how cooks dress in America). “Mr. cook,” she said, “I have been to India, and eaten in many hotels there, but I have never tasted food like this! Who taught you?”

“My Lord taught me,” I replied. My job as a cook continued for ten months, and every day I provided a new taste. They call me a good cook; never realizing that I was cooking only through the wisdom God gave me in answer to prayer.

My point is that God gives wisdom for the daily task. Whether it be for cooks, engineers, teachers or people of many other profession, it is the same divine principle; by learning to pray for everything by faith, we can have the same experience, as did Daniel and his three friends.

But Daniel was hated by those men over whom he was promoted. They because jealous. “Why should he be over us?” they sneered, and began to scheme against him. We too shall find that others will become jealous of us if, through prayers and faithfulness, we obtain success or promotion.

Though King Darius was a good king, like most other rulers he was too fond of flattery, and this gave Daniel’s enemies their opportunity. But how were they to find some fault with which to accuse Daniel? Though they placed spies all around him, and searched into very action and association, they at last had to declare, “We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God” (v.4). They had seen the faithfulness of his prayer life. He was a very busy man with many important matters to attend to, but he never cut short his time of prayer. When the time for prayer came, he left all the files on the table, and never missed his time of communion with God, three times every day.

If you want to be an over comer you must be faithful in all your duties at home and outside. Do not work to please men, but God. Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ is watching you all the time. Some people wonder why they cannot pray; they want to pray but cannot do so for more than ten or fifteen minutes. They fail because they do not give enough time to worship and thanksgiving. They only make request for things, and so soon become dried up.

Then Daniel’s enemies came before the King and said: “We have never seen such a wonderful king as you; so we want people to pray to you only and not to any other God for thirty days. Please sign this decree to that effect.”

The King was much flattered. “I am such a good king,” he thought; “these people love me so much, they want to pray to me,” and without really thinking the matter out, he signed the decree. He had no intention of doing any evil against Daniel, but he loved flattery, and these cunning crafty counselors had blinded him. It is the same in our own time. Many rulers blinded by flattery, sign documents and frame rules that are not for their country’s good.

Daniel might have said, “I should not pray openly now,” and might have commanded the servants to close all the doors and windows. Instead, without fear or complaint, he opened wide his windows, and kneeling down gave thanks to God as he had done before. (v.10). What a faith!

After forty-three years of divine training, Daniel was now facing his final test. The decree was signed; to pray to anyone but King Darius for the next thirty days meant being cast into a den of lions. Here we find the whole kingdom against Daniel. He stood as one man alone without a single person to help him. He did not seek help from man, but trusted in God only.

As before, he still prayed three times a day before his opened windows, and gave thanks to God. Here is the simple way of overcoming. Learn to praise and thank God. Do not allow any fears or doubts to come into your mind, even though you know the enemy is working against you.

Many of us find prayer very difficult in the beginning. That was my problem. After my conversion, I could read the bible for a whole day without tiring, and usually read many chapters at a stretch. But I could not pray for more than ten minutes. I would go down on my knees and then go to sleep. I wanted to pray but could not pray long enough. It was really a struggle and a battle to get through sometimes.

But now I find that though I spend many hours in prayer, still it is not enough. When I finish my quite time I feel sad I cannot spend one or two hours longer. That will be your experience too, when you learn how to pray as God trained Daniel to pray. Daniel learned how to pray, and that was the only fault they could find with him. Daniel gave thanks to God. There was no murmuring or complaining. Thanking, praising and worshipping God is the secret.

When the prince brought their charge against Daniel, the king suddenly realized how he had been fooled and deceived. He had signed the decree without thinking. That is how many officials get into trouble. They don’t look into the papers sufficiently before they sign them. We should never sign any paper before we have properly read and understood it. Though Darius was a good king he was foolish. Sometimes we can be both good and foolish, and that is why human goodness is often no real goodness at all. If we trust God, He will give us true wisdom, and thus save us from evil schemes.

The king found he was helpless. He longed to deliver Daniel from the lion’s den, but every effort failed. Though he tried all day, he found he could not succeed because when he had signed that paper, it became “ a law of the Medes and Persians which altereth not”. Now he wanted to change what he had signed but the princes said, “ No. No.

You cannot alter the laws of the Medes and Persians;” then the King realized that he could not alter the law, and those crooked, cunning men had deceived him. He was now bound by his own word, and was forced to issue the command himself that Daniel was to be cast into the den of Lions. (Ch. 6:16).

But the King said to him, “ Daniel, THE God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee”. Even though the king had no experience of God himself, he knew one thing. Daniel was a man of God, who faithfully served God and God, must deliver him.

The king spent the whole night fasting and very early in the morning he came to the den of lions to see what had happened. He called out with a sorrowful voice, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” (Vs. 20). His voice was sorrowful because he had no experience of God. “Who knows?’ he thought, ‘the lions may have eaten Daniel up.’ It is only when we have the living God with us that we have real faith. Otherwise our hearts are filled with doubts and fears.

Daniel replied; “ O King, my God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lion’s mouths, that they have not hurt me” (Vs. 23,23). Then the king was very glad that his friend Daniel was safe, but he ordered the wicked deceivers who had tried to fool him to be cast into the den of lions instead of Daniel.

God often allows our enemies to prosper for a while, and they themselves think they are prospering. But they do not realize that they are going to be punished. Daniel had suffered because of his testimony, but God delivered him because of his faithfulness. It is only when we are found faithful like Daniel that we shall find God delivering us. We must be faithful in our duty, true in our testimony, honoring God day and night, using our knees three times daily without fear or shame, constantly praising God and thanking Him for all things; then we shall find He will send His angels to work on our behalf, and the enemy’s schemes and plans against us will be confounded.

Though all this God was preparing Daniel for a higher ministry, and this was the method of his training. Now God was able to give him those wonderful revelations that were not possible before. Perhaps God is putting us through a time of preparation, and we must be prepared for it. We may be taken through extreme sorrow, trials and sufferings and disappointment. Through these we shall receive a strong and divine faith, divine wisdom, and God’s excellent spirit; then we shall be given the revelation of heavenly mysteries which at the moment are hidden from us.

In the beginning, our worldly minds are so confused and puzzled, that we cannot see spiritual things clearly. But when we have gone through our period of divine training, God will make all things clear to us and work on our behalf.

May the Lord help us to be true overcomers. May he take all murmurings and complaining out of our hearts and give us true strong faith.