What if the Church would pray as Daniel prayed?
What if all Christians everywhere in the world pray at the same time three times per day similar to Daniel?
What will be the result? Will we see more signs and wonders manifesting in the Church similar to the early Church in Acts 2?
Will there be unity in the Church?
Let us explore the entire book of Daniel to see the result of a dedicated prayer life.
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” (Daniel 6:10 NKJV)
Note in the above verse that it was the custom of Daniel to pray three times every day since he was a youth. He did not begin this prayer ritual when he was faced with trouble.
Therefore, let us back tract to see the result of such a strict prayer practice in Daniel’s life.
The result of praying three times per day every day.
The result of Daniel’s strict prayer life is that he received a spirit of excellence from God from a young age.
The following are the effects of having an excellent spirit
- Wisdom, knowledge and understanding
Daniel was good looking, healthy and gifted with wisdom, knowledge and quick understanding and so he was selected to be trained to serve in the king’s palace to learn the language and literature of the Chaldeans (Daniel 1:3-4).
In dedication to his God, Daniel wisely chose not to partake of the king’s meat, but committed himself to a vegan diet. He also encouraged his friends to do the same.
Consequently, “(And) at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.” (Daniel 1:15 NKJV).
God gave Daniel and his friends even more knowledge and skills in all literature and wisdom, but (because Daniel prayed three times per day) Daniel was gifted with understanding in all visions and dreams (Daniel 1:17).
Daniel and his friends were more superior in wisdom and understanding than all the other young men and were even ten times better than the king’s magicians and astrologers.
This means that Daniel and his friends could read and interpret the stars in heaven and they could also predict the future and perform miracles by the power of God and not by the powers of darkness.
- Interpretation of dreams
Daniel was the only person within the kingdom who could interpret dreams accurately. Thus, he was the only person who could interpret the king’s dream about the huge statue (Daniel 2).
Daniel not only interpreted the king’s dream accurately, but he revealed to the king the dream he had. The king’s magicians, astrologers and sorcerers could not do this and they were sentenced to mass slaughter.
The king’s captain also sought Daniel and his friends to kill them, but Daniel begged him to give them some time to intercede to the living God.
So they prayed and prayed and prayed three times that day because that was their custom, until God revealed to the Daniel the secret in a night vision and he blessed the living God.
Chapter three, tells us about Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who refused to bow to the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar erected.
As a result they were thrown into the fiery furnace.
However, the Son of God joined them inside the fire and their lives were spared.
““Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25 NKJV)
The fire had no power over their bodies. Neither the hair on their heads were singed nor were their garments affected, nor was the smell of fire on them. Hallelujah!
King Nebuchadnezzar had a second dream, which Daniel also interpreted (Daniel 4).
The king dreamt that he saw a huge tree in the midst of the earth that flourish greatly, reaching the heaven where the entire earth could see it.
The tree fed and sheltered the entire inhabitants of earth including the birds and animals.
However, a watcher from heaven commanded that the tree be chopped down and its fruits scattered.
But the stomp was allowed to remain in the field where it was wet with dew and grazed on the grass.
The dream, interpreted by Daniel, pertained to the king who was stripped from his glorious kingdom and “They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” (Daniel 4:25 NKJV)
Daniel encouraged the king to repent so that he would not receive this punishment but his prideful heart refused to do so.
One morning as the king praised himself and his kingdom, a voice from heaven commanded the fulfillment of the dream and he was driven into the field to eat grass like oxen.
“His body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws” (Daniel 4:33 NKJV).
At the end of seven years, the king regained his senses and he was restored to his kingdom.
- Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall
In Daniel chapter 5, Belshazzar was now reigning after his father Nebuchadnezzar’s death.
But he was prideful and thought that he and his lords were worthy to drink from the sacred vessels from the temple of God that his father had stolen from Jerusalem.
Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and wrote a message on the wall that none of them could read.
The king was terrified and sent for his magicians, sorcerers and wise men, but they could not read the message. One of his wives told him about Daniel and he immediately sent for him.
The king offered Daniel many gifts if he read the message, but Daniel refused the kings rewards and read the message.
“And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5: 25-28 NKJV)
- MENE mᵊnē’ (H4484) means a weight or measurement; usually 50 shekels but maybe 60 shekels
- TEKEL tᵊqal (H8625) means (P’al) tekel – a unit of weight, shekel (The root word – weigh out – a price).
- UPHARSIN pᵊras (H6537) means (P’al) to break in two, divide
The writing warned the king that his kingdom was numbered and God finished it.
The king was weighed in a balance and found wanting, and his kingdom would be divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
That same night, the mighty Babylonian kingdom was invaded and the king slain and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.
- Deliverance from the plots of the enemy
Chapter six tells us that because of Daniel’s excellent spirit he was promoted above all the other governors and satraps within the new kingdom.
Thus, the other governors and king’s men were extremely jealous and plotted to set a trap for him.
The only fault that they could find with Daniel was that he prayed three times per day to the living God.
What if the only fault that the enemy find within the Church (the body of Christ) is that we pray three times per day?
So they tricked the king in signing a decree that for thirty days no one could pray to any other god but the king or they would be cast into the lions’ den.
When Daniel heard about the signed decree he went into his room and made sure the windows were opened towards the temple in Jerusalem so that everyone could see, and he prayed three times per day as was his custom.
The enemies assembled and caught Daniel praying and they reported him to the king.
The king could not get out of his signed and sealed words and so he regretfully ordered that they threw Daniel into the lions’ den.
But God!
The Lord shut the mouth of the lions and they could not touch Daniel.
“Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:21-22 NKJV)
This was the power of prayer!
So far, we see that Daniel was faithful to God in every aspect of his life especially his prayer life. Hence he was gifted with wisdom, knowledge, understanding and interpretation of dreams and visions. He was also delivered from the plots of the enemy.
Next week we will look at even more signs and wonders in Daniel life as a result of his dedicated prayer life.
Join us next week because you cannot afford to miss part two.
Becoming the Oil and Wine 
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