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Daniel joined himself to God’s desire through God’s Word—Dan. 9:1-4; Deut. 17:18-20; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Eph. 6:17-18; Psa. 119:11, 24:
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Daniel was not only a person who read God’s Word regularly but also a person who was joined to God’s Word:
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When Daniel read from the book of Jeremiah that God had ordained seventy years of captivity for the Israelites and that after seventy years God would turn back to bless them, he immediately fasted and prayed; as soon as he touched God’s desire through the Word, he joined himself to that desire—Dan. 9:2-3.
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After Daniel read the book of Leviticus, he could no longer eat the unclean food (Dan. 1:8-21); after he read the book of Jeremiah, he could not help but fast and pray for the restoration of God’s people (29:10-14).
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We must read God’s Word in a spirit and atmosphere of prayer and touch God’s desire from His Word; then we must immediately join ourselves to that desire; the Bible should affect our living, and we should be joined to the Bible—cf. Psa. 119:11, 15-16, 133, 140; 2 Cor.6:14-18.
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Daniel was a man of prayer with an excellent spirit, a man living under God’s rule in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, the ruling of the heavens—Dan. 2:17-19, 28; 6:10; 9:1-4, 17; 5:12, 14; 6:3; 5:22-23; 4:25-26, 32:
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The center of Daniel 6 is man’s prayer for the carrying out of God’s economy; man’s prayers are like the rails that pave the way for God’s move to go on; there is no other way to bring God’s economy into fullness and into fulfillment except by prayer; this is the inner secret of this chapter.
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The highest expression of a man who cooperates with God is in prayer; God carries out His economy on the earth through His faithful channels of prayer—Matt. 26:41; Acts 6:4; Eph. 6:17-18; Col. 4:2.
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Prayer is the lifeline in the Lord’s recovery; the more Satan tries to frustrate our prayer, the more we should pray—Dan. 6:10, cf. vv. 4-9:
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Daniel was a person living before God; he depended on prayer to do what man could not do, and he depended on prayer to understand what man could not understand—2:17-19; 9:1-4; 10:1-3, 11-13.
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Daniel’s prayer was totally for God and not for himself; through prayer he afforded God the highest cooperation—9:2b; Jer. 25:11; Dan. 9:17; 1 Kings 8:48.
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Because Daniel was a man of prayer, he was acknowledged by God, qualified to be used by God, and capable of speaking forth the mystery of God—cf. Acts 6:4.
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Daniel’s prayer reached the highest peak; he asked God to do something for Himself; he prayed, “Now hear, O our God, the prayer of Your servant and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that has been desolated, for the Lord’s sake”—Dan. 9:17.
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Only a person like Daniel, who prayed to God single-heartedly with an age-turning prayer, can be used by Him to turn the age.
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Daniel was a self-sacrificing person with the spirit of martyrdom—6:10-11:
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Daniel’s companions had a true spirit of martyrdom; they stood for the Lord as the unique God and against idol worship at the cost of their lives, being thrown at the command of Nebuchadnezzar into a blazing furnace—3:19-23.
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Daniel prayed at the risk of his life; the intention of the chief ministers and satraps was to destroy Daniel, but the intention of Satan, who was behind them, was to cut off the channel of prayer that God was using for the carrying out of His economy—6:4-24.
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Everyone whom God uses to turn the age is afraid of only one thing, that is, of offending God and losing His presence—3:17-18; 2 Cor. 5:9-10; cf. Psa. 51:11; Josh. 7:4.
Morning Nourishment
Dan. 9:2-3 In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by means of the Scriptures the number of the years, which came as the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. So I set my face toward the Lord God to seek Him in prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.[The second characteristic of] Daniel was [that he was] not only a person who read God’s Word regularly but a person who was joined to God’s Word…. When he read from the book of Jeremiah that God had ordained seventy years of captivity for the Israelites and that after seventy years God would turn back to bless them, he immediately fasted and prayed….As soon as he touched God’s desire through the Word, he joined himself to that desire.
This was the way that he read the Bible…. After he read the book of Leviticus, he could no longer eat the unclean food. After he read the book of Jeremiah, he could not help but fast and pray for the restoration of God’s people. Whichever point he read, he joined himself to that point….Whenever we find out God's desire, we must immediately join ourselves to that desire. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 3, “Men Who Turn the Age,” pp. 521-522)
Today's Reading
Many young brothers and sisters read the Bible regularly. However, I am afraid that when you read the Bible, the Bible remains the Bible, and you are still you. For instance, the Bible clearly says that a believer and an unbeliever should not be yoked together. This word is very clear. Nevertheless, after you read it, perhaps you still make friends with unbelievers…. The Bible cannot affect your living, and you cannot be joined to the Bible…. [If] you still befriend unbelievers and even consider marrying unbelievers, this means that your living is totally separate from the Bible. Such a person cannot turn the age; neither can he be an anti-testimony in a degrading age.Daniel had a third characteristic. He was a man who was always praying. His prayers were not at all common. His prayers were prayers that turned the age. Every time he encountered some crucial matter, he prayed before God…. He believed in prayer because he believed in God and not in himself. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 3, "Men Who Turn the Age," pp. 522-523)
God’s move is like a train which must have rails for its move. Man’s prayers are like the rails which pave the way for God’s move to go on. There is no other way to bring God's economy into fullness and into fulfillment except by prayer. Today, prayer is the lifeline in the Lord’s recovery. The more Satan tries to frustrate our prayer, the more we should pray. (Life-study of Daniel, pp. 45, 47)
[In Daniel 2] Daniel…was acknowledged by God, qualified to be used by God, and capable of speaking forth the mystery of God….In [Daniel and his three friends’] single-hearted prayer, God revealed to Daniel the [king’s] dream….This shows that Daniel was a person living before God; he depended on prayer to do what man could not do, and he depended on prayer to understand what man could not understand….The only reason he could see King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and could know its meaning was that he was a person living in prayer. Through prayer he afforded God the highest cooperation.
Daniel’s prayer reached the highest peak. He asked God to do something for Himself. He prayed, “Cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that has been desolated, for the Lord's sake" (Dan. 9:17). I hope that we would circle the words for the Lord’s sake. We can see that his prayer was totally for God and not for himself….This was a very special prayer; it was also the highest prayer. Our prayers are ninety-nine and nine tenths percent for ourselves. Very few of them are for God. Only a person like Daniel, who prayed to God single- heartedly, can be used by Him to turn the age. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 3, "Men Who Turn the Age,” pp. 524, 526)
Further Reading: Life-study of Daniel, msgs. 2-8