Reigning In The Marketplace

Day 225

Reading: Daniel 1:1 - Daniel 4:37

As I celebrated my birthday I was excited because I was not only closing Ezekiel but would be beginning the Book of Daniel. My heart is expectant that God is going to deposit truths and grace to be Daniels in our respective spheres of influence. For too long the children of God have taken a back seat as they bear no influence in places of authority. God is changing that. He is raising an army that will be influential not just affluent and this is all for His Kingdom. 

Daniel and his 3 colleagues were captives who were taken from their homes and taken to live in Babylon. They were eunuchs serving the most brutal dictator that ever lived. Historians tell us that Nebuchadnezzar was a man who was famous for his brutality. If he ordered a person executed it was a painful process. The execution would see the person tied to two horses which would pull the person apart as the horses were facing different directions. Painful, yes indeed. Whatever Nebuchadnezzar asked for he got. He was feared and this fear made sure no one messed about around him.

The King asked for wise men to be trained brought from the nations that they had conquered. That was how Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were chosen. Daniel was given another name, however, unlike the other three Daniel in Hebrew means Judge of God, or who delivers God's judgement. Daniel was to deliver God's judgement and this role he guarded.

The first thing we learn from Daniel is that he understood his responsibility towards safeguarding his identity. He understood that he had a responsibility to uphold the lifestyle God expected of His children as prescribed by the law. With this in mind, he and his colleagues refused to take the dainties laid by the king. Their training was going to take 3 years. He asked that they eat vegetables for 10 days and if they are tested then by the caretaker a decision would be made. Daniel and his friends glowed because they purposed to be pure. A walk of purity ensures that one does not defile their identity thus muffling their purpose. Daniel and his colleagues ate the vegetables for the 10 days and when they were tested by the king they were superior and wiser than everyone else.

Secondly, Daniel was a man of prayer. When the king demanded that he be told his dream and its interpretation Daniel requests for time to seek God for an answer. He then gathers his friends and they all pray. Sometimes it's important to have people pray with you. The power of corporate prayer is one factor many children of God today don't employ. The enemy is working hard to make sure that people are isolated and kept apart to ensure this power is not utilised by the children of God. Daniel and his friends sought God's mercies that he may reveal the secret they were after. His prayer was not one of sonship but mercy. 

Thirdly, Daniel was not fearful of talking about His God. Many believers today are believers in the House of God but in the office, they aren't known as believers in God. Daniel declared to Nebuchadnezzar that God is the keeper of secrets and is superior to every other idol. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to the king's image they testified of God and when they came out of the furnace they had not suffered any effects and  Nebuchadnezzar worships God. Boldness to stand up for God is a requirement for believers to stand out in the marketplace for God and see His power.

Fourthly, Daniel used his spiritual gifts in the marketplace. Daniel like Joseph was able to interpret dreams. We don't see them interpreting in the House of God but in the marketplace. Child of God, God desires that the supernatural power of God is displayed in the marketplace. Be bold, walk in faith and manifest His power. 

Memory Verse: Daniel 3:20-21

Decree:

Daniel 1:8

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (italics mine)