Tag Archives: praying together

WE NEED EACH OTHER…Daniel 2

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Let’s think about Daniel and his three friends.  Their lives are in jeopardy.  The king has issued his ultimatum.  Tell me my dream or all the Wise Men are dead!  What to do?  You know…pray.  Not a solo flier or long-stem red rose, Daniel turns to his friends to join him in prayer to the Lord.

That night, one that should have been filled with dread, God causes a deep sleep to fall on Daniel.  God reveals to him both the King’s dream and its meaning.  Daniel goes to the King with what has been revealed to him from the true God of heaven.

Daniel says, ‘This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king'(v. 36).  We?  Did they all have the dream?  Not only Daniel?  No.  He is giving credit to God for the prayers he and his friends said together.  We need each other…in prayer.  To pray for.  To be prayed for.

A number of years ago my wife and I flew to Florida to see my mother who was in assisted living in her retirement home.  She was doing better than we imagined.  When we flew back home, it nagged at me that I still had this uneasy feeling that my sharing Jesus with my mother had never been well received.  Needed to share more with her.  She never showed any interest in the Lord, at least with me.  Two weeks later, we got on yet another plane, back to Florida.

Really opened our hearts with her.  Shared Jesus and His plan of salvation.  Her reaction?  No comments were made.   I received that steely-eyed look I’ve seen before.  As if saying, without words, ‘how dare you’.  My final words to my mother were ‘I love you’.  She had some tears but only said ‘goodbye’ to us.  A few days later I got a call from my sister that our mother had had a massive heart attack and was gone.

Did what we share about the Lord sink in?  Don’t know.  No evidence I could point to.  No success stories like those I’ve heard by others over the years.  Nothing.  I began to be plagued with nightmares.  Horrifying dreams.  What had happened to my mother?

We were at a Christian conference center in Oregon, which we loved to attend.  At their prayer time, I mentioned about my mother, those dreams and fears.  Most didn’t know me.  But they all knew the Lord.   Surrounding me, they prayed to Him.  Prayed together for me.  From that day forward, no more nightmares!  They were lifted from my shoulders by ‘friends’ praying together to our Lord.  Like Daniel and his friends.  We can help each other…through prayer.  Who needs our prayers?  Who do we need to pray for us?

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for lifting burdens.  We trust you above all else.  Amen.

 

A CONCERT OF PRAYER…Daniel Chapter 2

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Daniel and his three friends have had their names changed from godly ones to those of false gods.  All four of them had been given Hebrew names with God Himself woven into their very fabric.  Daniel means ‘God is my Judge’.  Mishael– ‘who is like God?’  Hananiah– ‘Yahweh shows grace’.   Azariah– ‘Yahweh helps’.  Now, new names have been shoved down their throats.  A bitter pill not willingly swallowed.

In Daniel chapter 2 we read that the King had a terrible night’s sleep.  What sleep?  Tossed and turned.  Kept waking because of the most disturbing dreams.  So realistic.  So shocking.  Calling for his Wise Men, he threatens them with death if they can’t tell him of his dreams and their meaning.  Death to all!  The gallows await.  When Daniel hears of this, as he and his friends are also Wise Men, he asks the King for a bit more time.  Probably skeptical, yet the King relents for Daniel.

What does Daniel do now?  Take out a double-indemnity life insurance policy?  Flee the country?  Start a revolution?  No.  You’ve read the story.  In verse 17 he returns to his house.  He goes home where he can talk privately with his three friends.  The names used here in verse 17?  Not those pagan names.  Not those for sure.  But rather the names honoring their One True God, Yahweh.

Daniel calls them to a concert of prayer.  Praying together harmoniously.  Begging the Lord for His mercy.  His help and protection.  Not for them alone,  but for all the Wise Men.  First things first– pray.  Who better to go to?  Ever catch yourself saying ‘well, I’ve tried everything else, might as well pray.  Can’t hurt.’  Be honest now.  I’m in that boat, sorry to say.  ‘When all else fails, pray’.

Not Daniel.  Not his three friends.  Not us as well?  Not any longer?  Go to God first and foremost.  Tell Him all that’s on your heart and mind.  Be in concert of prayer with your family and friends.  Pray for others.  Life them up to the Lord.  Have them pray for you.  A harmony of prayer.  A glorious concert with the Lord as our audience.  Amen?

Prayer:  Lord, we gladly come to you in prayer for others and ourselves.  Our country and this world.  Thank you for the ministry of intercession given to each one of us.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

A CONCERT OF PRAYER WITH FRIENDS Read Daniel Chapter 2

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Daniel and his 3 friends have had their names changed from godly names to that of pagan, ungodly ones.  All 4 of them were given lovely Hebrew names with God Himself woven into the very fabric of them.  Daniel means ‘God is my Judge’, el being the Hebrew for God;  Mishael means ‘who is like God?’; Hananiah means ‘Yahweh shows grace’, Yah being the shortened version of God’s most Holy Name of Yahweh; and Azariah means ‘Yahweh helps’.  A bitter pill that they did not swallow.  When you read Daniel chapter 2 you discover that King Nebuchadnezzar has had a rough night, a terrifying dream that was like a Hitchcock movie, a kaleidoscope of disaster that shook him to his very core.  And his wise men were just of no help to him.  No comfort at all.  So, he threatens them with death if they can’t tell him both his dream and what it  means.  Well, they realize the end is near,  the gallows await,  the jig is up.   But when Daniel, also one of the wise men along with his 3 friends,  hears about all this, he begs for a bit of time.  I’m sure the king was rather skeptical and personally relished the sweat on Daniel’s brow, but he granted a short reprieve anyway.  So, what does Daniel do now?  Take out a double-indemnity life insurance policy?  Try to flee the country?  Start a revolution?  No, of course not.  You’ve read the story.  In verse 17 Daniel returns to his house, he goes home where he can talk privately with his 3 friends.  The Bible calls them his friends. And the names used here in verse 17 when they talk together in private in Daniel’s home  are not those horribly forced pagan names, but rather the godly Hebrew names with the Lord solidly in the very fabric of their lives and beings and,yes,  their own names.  And Daniel calls them to be in concert  of prayer. To pray together.   Begging the Lord for His mercy…to spare not just their own lives but that of the other wise men as well.  First thing they do, this  Daniel and his friends…live up to their names, go to God, spend time in prayer and relationship and talking with their Lord.  God, embedded  in their very names, is in their very hearts and souls.  Who better to go to?  Sometimes you and I say in effect, ‘well, I’ve tried everything else, might as well pray about it.’  Be honest now.  I’ve thought that…and probably will again, knowing myself.  When all else fails, pray!  Not Daniel…nor  those 3 friends.  First and foremost,they go to God.  So should we.  Tell Him all about it.   Be in concert with Him.  Sing harmony to the Lord.  Sing your part and sing it with others.  Friends together in prayer…making beautiful music to the ears of our God in heaven.  Is there something you need to pray with others about?  And they with you?  “Daniel returned to his house…to his friends…He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this…”  Pretty good concert, huh?