Daniel’s Life in Babylon: Prevailing Prayer

Have you ever tried to view a panoramic painting? Its sheer size and scope overshadow the details that comprise the picture. The same is true for the panorama of Daniel’s life. When he was first taken captive, false prophets claimed the Babylonian captivity would be short. But, as the years wore on, the apostate Hebrews lost sight of God even more than they had before. The Israelite nation seemed to be all but annihilated. That was certainly their captor’s goal.

In the midst of that, Daniel prayed. As a teenager, he may have had limited experience with the power of prayer; but he knew something about the power of God. In every desperate situation he faced, Daniel leaned into God through prayer.

Because those two things were all that Daniel had.

They were more than enough. Daniel’s complete faith and utter dependence on God moved mountains for him—and his nation.

Is a life like Daniel’s beyond your grasp? Do you think your life isn’t exceptional or your prayers aren’t effective? Those mind games can lead you to wrongly conclude that you’ll never be as important or useful to God as Daniel was—or worse, that God doesn’t even notice you.

I beg to differ. Here’s why.

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Two hundred years before Daniel’s birth, God asked Isaiah, “Whom shall I send [to spread the word about Me]?” (Isaiah 6:8) Ezekiel, a contemporary of Daniel’s, recorded God asking the same thing (Ezekiel 22:30). God doesn’t care if you’re young, poor at public speaking, or ___ [fill in the blank]. He uses your availability to do the extraordinary.

Prayer is more than an “on demand” task.

It’s not wrong to pray for daily needs, and “arrow prayers” are well suited to certain situations. But prayer is how we experience God. That takes time. God yearns to be close to us. He wants to reveal His truth to us. We need His discernment and wisdom to respond rightly to today’s crazy world. God hears us however and whenever we call out to him, but experiencing God like Daniel did speaks to being intentional and deliberate in prayer.

God wants you to pray boldly.

Daniel didn’t petition God to change his lot in life. Instead, he prayed for God’s people. For decades. “O my God, lean down and listen to me … See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.” (Daniel 9:18).

Is today any different for us? We can’t afford not to pray. Our nation needs to repent and return to Him. More is at stake than we realize.

Pray persistently to prevail.

“Prevail” means to prove more powerful than opposing forces; be victorious. Wesley Duewel states, “Prevailing prayer … pushes through all difficulties and obstacles, drives back all the opposing forces of Satan, and secures the will of God. Prevailing prayer … not only takes the initiative but continues on the offensive for God until spiritual victory is won.”

Do we pray like that? We need to.

Maybe it’s a step beyond where you have ever been in prayer.

It doesn’t happen overnight. Daniel was about twenty when he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream … sixty-five when he decoded God’s handwriting during Belshazzar’s banquet … and eighty-ish when he checked into the lions’ den. In Daniel 9, he’s about eight-one, still persisting in prayer. He prevails as God answers with deep truths about future events that underscore His sovereignty.

A New Testament parallel

Similarly, Paul told the Laodiceans how he “struggled” (or “wrestled”) in prayer for them (Colossians 2:1-5). That Greek word properly denotes an athletic contest. It’s the root for our English word “agony.” Why did Paul exert such effort? So the believers would be encouraged in heart, united in love, and would “fully understand the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (vs 2). Then they could prevail over every pagan practice and wacko -ism of the day.

Our goal is the same today. Prevailing prayer moves mountains and changes nations.

Conclusion

It’s not easy to honor God through our actions, especially when life presents opportunities not to. Daniel had that in spades. Four pagan kings entrusted Daniel with prestigious appointments. But before and throughout those times, he pleaded for his nation on his own—with singular resolve. Daniel’s life shows that most difficulties are opportunities to expand our faith—and prevail in prayer.

Stay the course, my friends! Resolve to go deeper with God this year.

This is the last installment of a series on Daniel.
Read the first one here.
Read the second one here.
Read the third one here.
Read the fourth one here.

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BONUS:
Did you know that, in 1926, Harry Houdini stormed Congress for four days to decry and discredit the government’s widespread use of the occult? He disproved mediums, fortune-tellers, seances, and more, which the bulk of congressional leaders, all the way to the president, were engaged in at the time. How could we have strayed so far from our nation’s founding principles? Where would we be today if he hadn’t stemmed that tide? Read about it here.