Daniel 2:20-23 
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his. 
He changes times and seasons; 
he deposes kings and raises up others. 
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. 
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: 
You have given me wisdom and power, 
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.” (NIV)

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Daniel and his friends had a problem. King Nebuchadnezzar had ordered that they be killed. They weren’t the only ones being killed. Everyone in an advisory capacity, and that was a whole lot of people, was marked for execution. King had a dream, and to keep from being manipulated, he required that his advisors tell him what the dream was and its interpretation. 

This was an extra burden because they had to figure out what the dream was first. And Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t telling them what the dream was. It was a tough situation. It was the kind of situation that only God can get you out of. 

To that end, Daniel ”Explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon,” (verses 17, 18). 

God gave Daniel a vision, and before he rushed off to tell the king about his dream and its interpretation, he did what you and I need to do when God hears and answers our prayers. He responded with thanksgiving. You see his prayer above. 

Daniel praised God for who he is. He described his nature and character. He declared those things that only God can do. He thanked God, who had been doing this kind of thing since the beginning of time and was now doing it again. The next-to-last line of the prayer is powerful. Daniel says, “You have made known to me what we asked of you.” 

Daniel and his friends prayed, and God said Yes. Daniel shared the credit. He says, “You have made known to ME what WE asked of you.” Jesus famously said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

You and I are never alone. We are never abandoned by God to work things out on our own. There is power in praying with others who know how to pray. 

At times I pray the very best prayer I know how to pray, and I, having prayed so often in so many different contexts, I myself can impress you with my prayers if I try real hard. Impressing you is not the issue. Impressing God is not the issue. He doesn’t need me to use flowery language. He doesn’t need me to shout. He doesn’t need me to tell him what to do. He asks us to come to him and trust him. 

I often pray the very best prayer I know how, and when I’m praying with others, they fill in details I forget, or they emphasize points I did not. This helps us cover all the bases. That’s what Daniel and his friends did for one another. All of their lives were on the line. Only one of them could go before the king with the news he needed to hear. 

Daniel spoke to the commander of the king’s guard with wisdom and tact, verse 14 tells us. Verse 16 tells us that Daniel went in to the king and asked for time so that he might interpret the dream. 

Wisdom and tact and prayer with friends changed the course of history that night. 

In a day when people seem more interested in shouting their complaints and bullying their ways through slights that really, truly aren’t that important, we could learn a lesson or two from Daniel and his friends. They behaved with wisdom and tact. They prayed together. God honored their belief and behavior. 

The best possible outcomes for you and me today probably reside in the same space Daniel and his friends discovered them. Choose wisdom and tact in everything you think, do, and say. When you don’t know what to think, do, or say, pray. And don’t pray alone. Ask other praying friends to pray with you. 

This could be a history-changing day if we live this way.

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I will live with wisdom intact and pray with friends who know how to pray.

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Our Father, please bless us with wisdom and tact. Please bless us with praying friends. Please use us in whatever ways you see fit to change history through our beliefs and our behavior that honors you and serves others. Amen.