GATHERING FOR PRAYER
"Daniel went to
his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Alzariah, his companions" Dan. 2:17
In this chapter we have the account of
the first activity of Daniel in fulfillment of his divinely appointed work. All
that he did in the three world-kingdoms with which he was associated was of
secondary importance. He was chosen of God to live among those kingdoms in
order to see them in their relation to the Kingdom of God, and to interpret
that relation to those to whom he spoke, and to men for all time through the
writing of this book. The method of God was that of causing kings to dream
dreams, see visions, be arrested by supernatural manifestations, all of which
Daniel was to interpret. Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dreams a colossal image, and
was troubled. None of his magicians or astrologers could reconstruct the
dream, much less interpret it. Daniel was enabled to do both not as he said by
his own wisdom but by the revelation given to him by God. One can imagine the
occasion, and the most natural sense of its difficulty in the mind of Daniel.
He was utterly unable to do in his own wisdom any more than the king's
magicians could do. Yet quite evidently he was conscious of a Divine calling
and relationship. Very beautiful is the account of his first action. He called
together the little group of his friends, like-minded with himself in loyalty
to the God of their fathers, and he sought their cooperation in prayer. That
prayer was heard, and answered: the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision
of the night. If the first secret of life be that of a purpose of heart, there
is no force equal to keeping life not only safe, but serviceable, like that of
prayer, and prayer gains in power when it is reinforced by fellowship with
those mastered by the same purpose. Let every man called to Divine service
cultivate a comradeship with loyal souls, not so much for discussion, as for
prayer. “Where two or three are gathered
in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20) Matthew saw that in the OT.
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