The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 8:1-27 (day six) 

And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. Daniel 8:27

The little horn became the face and hand of evil against God’s presence among his people. This ruler would defile the temple in Jerusalem, the symbol of God’s presence, His covenant, and His mercy

The wickedness of humanity is not ambivalent to God. Every kingdom of earth will by its very nature find its way to the same place, trampling the truth of God and his people. This is precisely why Jesus said, “they are in the world but not of the world.” It’s why the Apostle Peter calls us aliens, citizens of a better Kingdom.

If the little horn tells us anything it’s this, we are not of this world!

So like Daniel, be restless, be sickened, grieve wickedness’ curse, then get up and be about God’s business.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 8:1-27 (day five) 

“The vision of the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But keep the vision secret, For it pertains to many days in the future. ”

One of the truths we are gleaning from our study of Daniel is the sovereignty of God.  Daniel certainly has a faith that is built around trusting God’s judgements, His control, His provision, and His protection.  So much so, that we have heard Daniel say, even if He chooses not to save me, it will be ok because His sovereign plans are just and right (my paraphrase).

Trusting the many facets of God’s sovereignty are not easy for human hearts. We like control. We like to be right. We press back on authority.

There’s another facet of God’s sovereignty we must also trust. His timing.  Daniel is told not to tell- to wait. Jesus does the same thing over and over  in the gospels. Why?  Because there is an eternal timing that we often ignore or miss. God’s sovereignty has an eternal perspective. We must learn to trust His timing just as much as His sovereign justice and mercy. Not easy, but a perspective that helps the human heart rest and find strength in God’s power and wisdom.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 8:1-27 (day four)

These visions deal with some very heavy events.  The impact of what is to come will affect the whole world.  Empires and nations…kings and armies…death and destruction…no portion of the earth will escape their repercussions.

One thing that stands out in these narratives is the trust that God placed in Daniel to receive these visions of the future.  Daniel had a long and intimate relationship with God.  His regular, consecrated prayer relationship with the Lord punctuated the glory he ascribed to God and his willingness to serve God, even in very trying circumstances.  Consistency and longevity in our walk with Christ will result in a deeper relationship and a greater usefulness to the kingdom of God.  When we are faithful to the little assignments God gives us, we find He will give us greater responsibility.  God will not give us a new and greater task though until we have obeyed the last thing He told us.  What is God telling you to do? …and have you obeyed?

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 8:1-27 (day three)

“Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days.”

Human beings have been designed by God to live within a framework of a sequential progression of events we call time. We can see the present, and we have experienced what is past, so we have some familiarity with both of those parts of reality. But reality isn’t merely a collection of stimuli and responses. It’s also full of meaning. Just because something is happening now or has already happened doesn’t guarantee we know what it means. Prophecy is God’s way of leading human beings to apprehend meaning by operating briefly outside their natural habitat of time. That experience interrupts a person’s perception of the flow of time, and it is disorienting, troublesome, and frightening. Revelation of the future isn’t for the faint of heart. God’s help will keep it from overwhelming us.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 8:1-27 (day two)

Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it. v. 27

What is clear in this passage is that Daniel is unsettled by the vision he has experienced. That may be an understatement as scripture records him being sick for days, but then something happens: he gets up and goes to work. Isn’t that a profound word for us right now? Here is the prophet of the Lord who has been shaken to the core; who, by his own admission, is unsure of the meaning, and his response is to get back to work to which he has been called, trained, and appointed.

We may not know this side of heaven what all of these things happening around us today mean. We may also be very heavy-hearted as we look at the state of the world. In this we are in good company. There will come a time, however, when we are to get back to the doing of our lives. To answer the call that every believer has heard. To obey. To live.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 7:1-28 (day seven)

“One like a Son of Man was coming […] And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom,” Daniel 7:13-14. 

“The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.” Mark 9:31

You can hear the disciples’ thoughts as Jesus says these words. This isn’t how Daniel said it was going to go! He was supposed to come on clouds and restore Israel back into prevalence. You can see the frustration of the Pharisees. This can’t be the “Son of Man” who is given dominion over the Earth.

He is not what was expected, but He is what was needed. Even today, Jesus doesn’t always work in the way we expect Him to work, but He always works in the way that is needed. It is easy to get caught into our own wants and desires, but if we truly learn from Daniel we will begin to think and pray differently. No longer will we ask for God to change our circumstances, rather we will ask God to use our circumstances to show His glory.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 7:1-28 (day six)

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. -Jesus, John 15:15

The one like a son of man (Jesus), called them friends.

Maybe there is more to Daniel than God’s sovereignty over human history, something even deeper. Could it be that these visions are a call into a divine friendship with the King of Kings?

There is nothing superficial or insincere going on here. Being known is the basis of friendship. Trust, love, hope, and even eternal life (John 17:3) are its fruit.

God has not withheld from you what He is doing; He has made himself known to you. Oh, son and daughter of the King, rejoice because you are also called friend.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 7:1-28 (day five) 

“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it.”

Daniel is in the midst of uncertainty and disruption. He’s still in captivity. He’s still immersed in a pagan culture. There’s a new king with different priorities. His influence and credibility seemingly diminished. Might call this a time of crisis for Daniel. Yet, God demonstrates a facet of His faithfulness. He speaks to Daniel. Don’t miss this…  in the midst of uncertainty and disruption, God is speaking to Daniel. In our current climate of uncertainty and disruption, what might God be saying to you?  Will you ask Him to speak to you? Will you carve out time to listen?  Will you carve out time to process?

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity.

And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises.
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.

Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built,
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 7:1-28 (day four)

Books have been written and lives have been spent, trying to explain every detail of Daniel’s vision.  Taking a step back to gain a wider perspective, we can make a summary of observations.  Earthly kingdoms will come and go…each new dominion is more evil than the last.  Evil is not static and is never content with the status quo…it continually seeks more violent and repulsive means of rejecting God’s sovereignty.

In Daniel’s vision, we see that God (Ancient of Days) is still on His throne…always has been.  His dominion…His sovereignty is never challenged.  By His permission, other kingdoms exist.  Ultimately, it is the kingdom of His Son that will be established for all eternity.  All other kingdoms are temporary.

God has opened up the divine playbook.  Those who follow Him will not be devoured…those who invest their lives in the eternal will receive a crown of glory.  Is your life invested in Christ? Is your eye on the eternal?