Title: Man of Prayer (Daniel 10:1-3)
Contents
Lecture 100 A person of prayer (Daniel 10:1-3)
10:1-3
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, what he had done appeared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, and it was true, concerning a great war. And he did not eat good bread until the three weeks were full, he did not put meat or wine in his mouth, nor anointed him with oil.
Daniel saw all four visions. We have already looked at three of them. The first vision was seen in the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon as recorded in chapter 7. The second vision was seen in the third year of King Belshazzar, as found in chapter 8. The third vision was given in the first year of King Darius of the Medes, as mentioned in chapter 9. The fourth vision is recorded in chapters 10 through 12. Chapter 10 is the introduction to the above, Chapter 11 is the main body, and Chapter 12 is the conclusion.
Let's continue to speak. "The thing happened to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar." Daniel is referring to his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, here. He is reminiscing about something about seventy years ago. When Daniel was taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the eunuch changed Daniel's name to Belteshazzar. Daniel is revealing that he too was one of the captives. However, I wanted to say that God has been gracious to him and his people, and now some of his people have returned to their homeland.
"Something happened to Daniel." It is said that a revelation from God was given to Daniel. Although Daniel was 90 years old, he was always awake spiritually. Although his body was old, his spirit remained clear as he meditated on the Word and prayed. So, despite his old age, he received the vision God had given him. Even the elderly among us may not be able to do hard work physically, but I hope that they will always be awake in spirit, like Daniel. Also, I hope that whenever you pray like Daniel, you will receive an answer to your prayers from God.
"Is that true?" Because there is a vision and revelation from God, it must be true. What is the above? "It's about a great war." It is about the fierce war that will be fought between peoples in the future and between good and evil spirits who are manipulating behind them. "Daniel knew the matter, and he understood the vision." Daniel was a man who received wisdom and understanding from God while he was praying. So, even though Daniel was of old age, and yet to come, Daniel could clearly know and could have realized the vision he had seen.
“Then I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks.” Although Daniel could not return to his homeland, he could have heard the news from his homeland. The news from there was terrifying. As we can see in Nehemiah 1, Nehemiah wept in shock when he heard the truth about his country from a man who had returned from Judah. All the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, and the gates were also burned with fire. Those who returned to their homeland tried to rebuild the city of Jerusalem with all their might, but they were terribly hindered by those who opposed it. It was the third year of Cyrus, so Daniel must have heard sad news from his homeland. What did Daniel do then?
"Three weeks of mourning." He began three weeks of prayer with a sad heart. Daniel was a man of prayer. He did not try to consult with people when he faced difficulties and difficulties. He relied on God. I hope that you, too, should first kneel before God like Daniel did. Please pray to God.
This is verse 3. "He does not eat good bread until three weeks are full, nor put meat or wine in his mouth." Daniel prayed while abstaining from food for three weeks. He didn't eat anything at all. It would have been difficult for his aged body to support his body if he hadn't eaten at all. Perhaps Daniel ate only vegetarian food and water instead of the delicacies and wine King Nebuchadnezzar had given him when he was taken captive to Babylon decades earlier, so this time he also ate only a minimalistic diet. He also did not anoint his body. Oil served as a cream or perfume to be applied after washing the body. Daniel did not eat or anoint his body in order to express his sorrow.
Let's go ahead and look at verse 12.
“And he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words, from the first day you set out to understand and humble yourself before your God.”
God heard Daniel's prayers from the first day he decided to pray and gave them answers. The angel came to Daniel with God's answer now.
God still listens to our prayers and answers our prayers without delay. What difficulties do you have? Don't try to get too busy trying to figure it out on your own. God must help you. Like Daniel, first pray to God with an earnest heart. God, who sent an angel to Daniel, will also send a helping hand for us. I pray in the name of Jesus that you will all become people of prayer like Daniel this morning, all your problems will be resolved, and you will have a blessed day living a prosperous life in the Lord.