Day 255 - Ezekiel 46 - Daniel 3

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 255 - Ezekiel 46 - Daniel 3 (Prayer Changes Things!)
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"So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.  
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.  Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven."  (Daniel 2:16-19)

Babylon is the reigning world power and Nebuchadnezzar is king of the known world.  Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians and the temple is plunderred.  The best of the best of the young men of Judah were brought to Babylon to be raised to serve in the king's palace.  Among those were Daniel and his three companions renamed as  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 

One day, the king had a disturbing dream and he issued a command to all his magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to not only interpret his dream but for them to tell his exactly what he dreamt about.  Naturally, noone could do what the king demanded and the king ordered that all the wise men of his kingdom be killed.  

Since Daniel and his friends were included in the group of wise men, they too were summoned to be executed.  Daniel pleaded with the king for some time that he might give the king his request and it was granted to him.  Daniel then called an urgent prayer meeting with his friends to petition God and God heard their prayers and, as we read in our text above, "the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven (Dan 2:19)."

Daniel told the king his dream and its interpretation which pertained to the future world events up to the coming of the kingdom of the Messiah.  Daniel saved the lives of the wise men and was promoted as the king's second in command and Daniel's friends as his assistants.  Daniel's story, as well as history itself, would have been very different had Daniel decided not to call that small prayer meeting with his friends. This highlights the extreme importance of prayer in changing things, both small and great.

Have you been trying to write your own life story on your own apart from God?  You can certainly continue to do what you have been doing or you could, like Daniel, approach the throne of almighty God perhaps with a few God-fearing friends, and ask His help and intervention in whatever circumstance or need you may be facing right now.  One thing is for sure: prayer changes things.