Daniel 7-8 records two frightening dreams that Daniel received from God. Both visions contain vivid imagery and reveal future events. Daniel 7 speaks of five kingdoms that would rule the entire world: Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and the kingdom of the antichrist. Daniel 8 explains that in the future the Jews would suffer greatly when an evil ruler named Antiochus IV Epiphanes attacked the people in 170-164 B.C. and destroyed many of them.
Because these dreams contained discouraging news about the future, Daniel became worried: As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself (7:28). In fact, Daniel was so troubled that he became ill: Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king's business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it (8:27). Has something ever worried you so much that you felt like Daniel?
When Daniel was troubled, he did not begin to feel sorry for himself, but put all of his trust in the Lord. Daniel 9:1-5 records what he did next:
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans-- 2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.”
In this passage Daniel did five specific things:
1) He understood who God is
God is not an old man with a long white beard who looks George Burns (nevermind, you’re too young to get that reference). He is the all-powerful Creator of the universe who is in complete control of everything. He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, and Jesus arose from the dead on the third day. His resurrection demonstrates the Lord’s power, as well as His worthiness to be worshiped:
8Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:8-11)
2) He read God’s Word
If a prophet whom God used to write the Book of Daniel saw the need to read the Scripture (in his case, the Book of Jeremiah), we should read the Bible as well. The Bible is God’s Word, and it is perfect in every way. The Bible has the answer to any question that we could ever ask, or any problem that we could ever face. Paul emphasized the importance of knowing God’s Word: Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Jesus explained that the Bible is like spiritual food for us. Just as physical food gives us health and strength, God’s Word nourishes our souls: But [Jesus] answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” (Matthew 4:4).
3) He prayed
Prayer does not need to be filled with “thees” and “thous,” but simply is a believer sharing his or her heart with the Lord. God likes to hear from His children, so we should pray regularly. Biblically, there are several reasons to pray: adoration of God, confession of sin, thanksgiving for the good things that God has done, and prayer requests that we have. Without prayer, we will have little spiritual strength. Someone once said that “seven days without prayer makes one weak.”
4) He fasted
“Fasting” means to do without food for a certain amount of time. In fact, the word “breakfast” means “to break a fast” because you haven’t eaten all night (unless you raided the kitchen at 2:00 a.m. looking for that last piece of pie). Fasting is not some magical way to becoming more holy, but a way to seek God. It is a way to tell Him that He is more important than anything else in your life, and that you are seeking His face or that you are sorrowful for a sin that you have committed.
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning” (Joel 2:12).
5) He repented
Not only was Daniel broken over his own sin, but he mourned for the way that his people had rejected the Lord. As believers, we are not perfect. When we sin, we must confess our sin and quit sinning! In order to do this, we must get as far away from temptation as possible. Remember that when Joseph was faced with temptation, he ran away as quickly as possible (Genesis 39:12).
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
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