Daniel: A Man of Prayer and ActionSample

Do you ever have trouble sleeping? Well, you're in prestigious company. As we look into Daniel 2, we see that King Nebuchadnezzar dealt with some pretty severe insomnia. King Nebuchadnezzar was upset and stressed. He had a dream that he wanted to be interpreted. In that culture, dreams were considered messages from the gods with a little “g.” (I always like to delineate when people in the Bible attribute revelation to a god with a little “g” rather than to the actual most High God with a big “G.”)

Interestingly, Nebuchadnezzar wanted his wise men to tell him what he dreamed. Commentators have different theories for this unusual request: Perhaps the king woke up uneasy and was unsure why. Or maybe his dream made no sense to him, and he was embarrassed to say it out loud. Or possibly, he was just testing his astrologers, enchanters, and magicians. Regardless of the reasoning behind the request, Neb was adding an extra layer of challenge by expecting the men to both explain and interpret the dream.

This reminds me of when my kids were little, and they didn’t quite have the words to say what they saw in their dream. This is a “Jacqui interpretation,” but considering the dream sequences that Neb experiences in the following verses, he may simply not have had the words to convey what he saw because these dreams were prophetic and could only be interpreted by a man of God.

So wise men came in and responded to the king’s request in Aramaic. This is worth noting because the book of Daniel does switch between Hebrew and Aramaic, which was not a commonly-used language of the time. In fact, it was the language of the day and region when Jesus lived. However, no matter what language these Babylonian men used, they were unable to interpret the dreams because they were not men of God. Their failure infuriated Neb so much that he decreed that all of the astrologers and enchanters would be put to death.

The king’s commander of the guard, Arioch, was sent out to fulfill this murderous decree. When Daniel heard about the plan, he approached Arioch with “wisdom and tact” (Daniel 2:14). Then he asked the king to pause his plan and give Daniel a chance to interpret the dream. Once God revealed the dream’s meaning to Daniel, he burst out in praise of King of Kings: “Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are his . . . He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him” (Daniel 2: 20-23).

Daniel shows us that God is the one who knows our truest hearts and understands our deepest dreams. God is the One we should turn to when we are confused or troubled. God knew what was going to happen to King Nebuchadnezzar, and He knows what will happen to you! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so we know that God is still on the throne, and He is still determining world events.

So whatever you are dreaming about today or whatever you are concerned about for tomorrow, bring it before the heavenly King. He can handle it. He can handle what you are dealing with. And He’s ready to do that right now.