The Book of Daniel
It wasn’t too long after the Race started that God began to speak to me frequently through visions and words in my spirit. While it is beautiful, and wonderous, and breathtaking to have the Lord Almighty speak to my heart, it was also terrifying because I didn’t know what to do with it. As this became a new normal to live in, a norm that I did not understand (and still hardly understand), I knew I desperately needed to understand. This month in Ecuador, the visions have reduced a lot but I am confident that God will want to speak to me that way in the not-to-distant future.
As if in answer to my prayer, about a month ago, God made it very clear that I was to read through the entire book of Daniel. Now I am not the kind of person who particularly enjoys sticking to one thing for very long, especially with regards to reading straight through a book of the Bible without hopping around. But I was desperate for some insight on the prophetic, so I embraced the call and read through the whole book of Daniel in a couple days. After that, God had me to do it again, so I read through the whole book of Daniel, again.
And I am so glad that I did. God taught me so much that week about operating in the prophetic, but also about His character, His love for me, what faith looks like, how to love Scripture, and so much more. In this post, I am going to do my best to share these revelations on the book of Daniel and it is my prayer that it speaks to your heart like it spoke to mine. (Note: You should read the book of Daniel, it’s really cool!)
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Quick preface: I have always loved the Book of Daniel. As a kid, Daniel was my hero. He was wise, mature, and tactful as a kid and strong, resilient, and courageous as an adult. I just wanted to be like Daniel, and I still do, especially after reading through the Book of Daniel twice.
Okay, let’s get started.
Daniel’s character
When Daniel was a young man, a child as the KJV calls him, he was taken captive by the Babylonians and brought to Babylon to be educated for three years to prepare him to serve in the king’s palace. After these three years, Daniel came into the king’s service and made a great impression, certainly on no small account to the fact that he was blessed with the ability to interpret dreams. Daniel kept being promoted in the kingdom, both under Nebuchadnezzar and the three rulers after him: Belshazzar of Babylon, Darius of Media, and Cyrus of Persia.
From the very first chapter throughout his entire life, Daniel’s strong, godly character is evident. Daniel’s integrity of character, even when doing so clearly had negative repercussions, is inspiring to me. In chapter 1, verse 8 the child Daniel asked his captor to give him and his friends vegetables and water to eat and drink instead of the king’s fine food that he had been given because it went against his morals to eat that food. In chapter 2, verse 14 Daniel, who was still very young, handled a serious life or death situation with great tact and wisdom, saving his own life as well as those of his friends. And in chapter 6, verses 1-3, Daniel’s character was so above reproach that he continued in his high position in the government even when the kingdom was taken over by the Medians and Persians from the Babylonians.
Daniel faith and courage
Most people know of Daniel in the context of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and while Daniel’s faith in the face of death by lions was impressive, it didn’t begin there. His faith was evident throughout his entire life. During the first instance, in chapter 2, verses 16-19, Daniel had such faith that God would speak to him that he went directly to the king and told him that he could give him the interpretation of a dream that had stumped all the other wise me in Babylon. And only after which he went and prayed with his companions that the dream would be revealed to him. In chapter 5, verses 18-23, Daniel was called into the presence of the king to give the interpretation of a sign from God, and took the opportunity to speak to the king and rebuke him for his sin against the Lord. In chapter 6, verse 10 Daniel showed courage in the face of death by praying to God like he had always done, even when it was forbidden. And finally, in chapter 6, verses 22-23 Daniel had complete faith in God that he would be rescued from certain death by lions.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s faith
Reading through the book of Daniel gave me a new perspective on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:16-18. These three guys were leaders in the Babylonian government but refused to bow down and worship an idol at the king’s command, even in the face of death. Every other time I read this story, I thought, Wow, those guys had faith so strong that they knew God could save them, even from the burning fire. And while that is amazing, it is only half the story. In reality, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had such faith in God that they trusted that He would use their lives as a testimony to His glory, whether they lived or died. Either way, they knew that their obedience and determination to honor God would bring Him glory. They lived, and it showed the power of God, but had they died, it would have shown that this God must be different than other gods if these men are literally willing to die for Him.
In a way, this reminds of the story of the missionary Nate Saint. Saint was a missionary to the Huaorani people in Eastern Ecuador in the mid-1900’s along with Jim Elliot and several others. In 1956, Elliot, Saint, and the others were killed by the very people they came to reach. Saint’s death left a wife and three children, but rather than turning to bitterness, Saint’s oldest son, Steve choose to follow Christ and even reached out to the same people who had killed his father. Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, and the others were willing to serve God to their deaths, if it came to that, because they knew that God would be faithful to bring to glory to His name either way, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel pursued hearing from God
When God speaks, it’s amazing. But when you pursue hearing from God and He speaks, it adds a new level of intimacy. I see it as more of a partnership between you and God, rather than a one-way conversation. God gave Daniel some tremendous visions, but there were also several incidences where Daniel sought God and He answered him.
In chapter 7, verse 16 Daniel was given a vision from God, but what he saw troubled him and so he asked what it meant and was given the interpretation. And again, in chapter 8, verse 15, Daniel did not understand a vision he was given and was given the interpretation after he sought the meaning. In chapter 9, verses 20-23, Daniel was praying, confessing the sins of his people in captivity, and pouring out his heart and God sent the angel Gabriel to Daniel to tell him what was to come to pass for Israel. In chapter 10, verse 2 Daniel humbled himself and went into mourning for three weeks, after which in chapter 10, verse 12, an angel was sent to Daniel to give him a vision and tell him that God had heard his prayers.
I find these verses so sweet and encouraging because God wants us to seek him and ask him questions. In the New Testament we are told to come boldly before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), and Daniel’s close relationship with God is a perfect example of this. I also find this an amazing picture showing that the God we serve is the same God in both the Old and New Testaments (Hebrews 13:8). He was pleased when Daniel came boldly to him, and He is pleased when we ask Him for revelation, which fulfils the words spoken in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Daniel was physically affected after hearing from God
When God started to speaking to me, I didn’t know what was going on. Sometimes after God spoke to me, especially through a vision, my head would feel like it was spinning or I would feel exhausted, but in a spiritual sense. It was weird. At other times when God was speaking and I was resisting him or not doing something he wanted me to, I would feel physically sick like my gut was turning into knots, and I knew deep down that it was for sure spiritual.
I love the book of Daniel because he is so real. Other prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah have these amazing revelations from God, but they don’t say much else. In Daniel however, it gives more context. It gives the little details such as how Daniel felt when God spoke to him, which I think is a big reason why God led me to read through the whole book. Five different times in the book of Daniel it explains how Daniel was physically affected after hearing from God, and not pleasantly. In chapter 4, verse 19 Daniel was literally in shock for an hour after he heard King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about going insane. In chapter 7, verse 15 Daniel was troubled and anxious over a prophetic dream from God. In chapter 7, verse 28 Daniel was so troubled by a dream from God that the color in his face was physically changed. In chapter 8, verse 27 Daniel fainted after seeing a vision from God and afterwards was sick for a few days. In chapter 10, verse 8 Daniel had literally no strength in him after seeing an angel.
While this is a lot to take in, it was so encouraging to me to find in Scripture literal examples of what prophecy is like. God didn’t leave us in the dark, instead he gave us examples in Scripture. Isn’t he so faithful?!
Daniel is called greatly loved
In 1 Samuel 13:14, God refers to King David as “a man after his own heart” and in the book of Daniel, God tells Daniel three times through an angel that he is “greatly beloved” of the Lord. These instances can be found in Daniel chapter 9, verses 22-23; chapter 10, verse 11; and chapter 10, verse 19. I love God’s heart here. God communed with Daniel because He loved him. Not for what Daniel could do for God, but because God loved him. This shows me that He wants to commune with us in the same level of intimacy that He communed with Daniel because we too are greatly beloved of the Lord.
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It is my prayer that God will speak to your heart through the Book of Daniel like He spoke to mine. I really encourage you to take the time and read through the whole book and ask God, “What do you want to teach me through this?” And if you want, feel free to use this blog post as a study guide to get you started on doing a Bible study on the Book of Daniel. Peace and Blessings y’all!
