Secrets Revealed

Secrets Revealed

There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. . . . God wants you to understand what was in your heart. Daniel 2:28, 30

KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR WAS IN CRISIS over his dream, and the lives of Daniel and other court sages were on the line. The other sages feared the outcome, but Daniel did not. He knew God was greater than this situation and could reveal mysteries to his servants. So Daniel prayed for understanding and received it. He turned his prayers and faith toward the benefit of an ungodly kingdom.

We often seek God’s will on our own behalf, asking for direction and guidance for our personal lives. Though he is certainly willing to guide and direct us, he often has a much larger picture in mind. He wants us to pray for things bigger than ourselves, including solutions to society’s problems. Just as he cared about revealing his will to a pagan king in Babylon, he cares about revealing his will through his people to human governments, courts, schools, researchers, media, artists, entertainers, and more. When human need cries out for God’s response, he doesn’t withhold it to punish the nonbelieving world. He takes the opportunity to show his glory through his people. He accepts invitations into our crises.

The world needs Daniels who are bold enough to pray for solutions that would benefit “secular” society and then offer them freely as gifts from a loving God. That’s what Daniel did in Nebuchadnezzar’s court, and it brought glory to God and honor to Daniel, putting him in a position of greater influence. Through his example and others’ in Scripture, we are invited to seek God’s will and unveil his mysteries for people to see. We are to pray confidently and faithfully not only for our own lives and the work of Christian ministries around the world but for rulers, leaders, influencers, systems, and organizations. As agents of blessing with access to the revealer of mysteries, our prayers need to grow well beyond our immediate areas of need and influence. We are positioned in an unbelieving world to reveal, through prayer and faith, the goodness of our God.

To pray is to mount on eagle’s wings above the clouds and get into the clear heaven where God dwells.