Wonderful Prayer Meeting

For some reason or other Daniel and his. three friends were not present with the other wise men when Nebuchadnezzar gave orders that they should be killed. But the King's command soon caught up with them. There was a loud knock on their door. On opening it they saw Arioch, " the chief of the executioners," with a strong body guard of soldiers. "What's the matter?" asked Daniel innocently, not knowing anything of what had happened that morning at court. "Why is the decree so hasty from the king?" Arioch then told what had taken place. He was sorry, but orders were orders. Daniel and his friends would have to go with him. Repectfully Daniel asked if he might see the king first and beg for a little time. Arioch agreed. Why, it's hard to tell. But there was something so gentle, so gracious, and so modest about this young man that everybody loved him---even the chief executioner. So Daniel went to see the king, promising him that if only he could have a little time he would tell him all he wanted to know. Angry though he had been with the Chaldeans, the astrologers, the magicians, and the sorcerers, the king's heart softened at sight of this noble youth. He did not want Daniel to be killed, and so agreed to give him the time he asked. Much depended on what Daniel did with the next few hours. Not only was his own life at stake, but the life of his three friends and of all the wise of Babylon. What did he do? He ran to his house and told Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what the king has said. Then he suggested that they all fall in their knees and ask the great God of heaven, who knows everything, just what it was the king dreamed, and what was its meaning. What a prayer meeting that was! How those four dear boys pleaded with God to help them, and soon, before the king's deadline should pass! I can almost hear them crying out, "Dear God, please, dear God, tell us the king's dream! Tell us what it means. Do not fail us! Help us, and help us now." "Then was the secret revealed unti Daniel in a night vision." That very night, rigth after that wonderful prayer meeting, Daniel saw the very same thing that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream the night before. And as the marvelous picture pass before his eyes its meaning suddenly became plain to him. At once he understood why Nebuchadnezzar had been so troubled. God had been trying to tell him something of great importance about the future of his kingdom! In the morning Daniel could hardly wait to tell the king what God had shown him. But first he told his friends, and together they thanked God for his goodness in answering their prayers so wonderfully and so soon. “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever," said Daniel. “For wisdom and might are his: and he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: he revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unti us the king's matter." Now Daniel hurried to Arioch, the chief executioner, with the good news, “Destroy not the wise men of Babylon," he urged: “bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation." The look on Daniel's face, and the gleam in his eyes, told Arioch that the young man meant what he said. “I'll take you," he said. “And hurry; there's not much time." So Arioch “brought in Daniel before the king in haste." Trying to take a little glory to himself, the chief executioner said, “I have found a man of the captives of judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation." But the king took no notice of Arioch. His eyes were fixed on the splendid youth who stood before him, upon whose face glowed a light never seen in Babylon before. Surely this was the same young man who but yesterday had come to him and asked for time! Here he was back again already! What had he to say now? Daniel great moment had come. Looking earnestly at Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar asked him, “ Can you tell me my dream and what it means?" “No," said Daniel, humbly. “ There is no man wise enough to do such a thing; but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and He has made known to Your Majesty what will happen in the latter days." “But my dream!" said the king. “What did I dream?" “In your dream," said Daniel, “you were thinking about things to come to pass hereafter." “That's right; I was!" said the king. “I was wondering what will happen to my kingdom after I am dead." Leaning forward, he gazed intently at the remarkable young man before him. Somehow he felt sure he was about to discover what he had been seeking so long. Calmly, respectfully, Daniel went on. “You saw a great image," he said. “This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you, and the form thereof was terrible." The king almost leaped from his throne. This was it–the very thing he had been trying so hard to recall! A huge metallic man. It had stood by his bed and glared down at him. He would never forget it as long as he lived. “This image's head," continued Daniel, “was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay." “Exactly!" cried the king. “That is just what I saw." “Yes," said Daniel, “and you watched it till a stone, cut out without hands, smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them." “That's right!" said the king. “The whole thing suddenly disappeared, as though the wind had blown it away." “Yes; and the stone took its place," said Daniel. “Indeed it became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." “It did! It did!" cried the king, overcome with amazement. This was too marvelous! How could this youth know so much? Everything he had said was right and perfect. Every little detail was correct. He had not made a single mistake. Surely the God whom he served must be a wonderful God if He could recall a man's dream like this. But what did it all means? How did it reveal the future? What had it to do with the latter days? Nebuchadnezzar could hardly wait to learn the meaning of this strange and terrible thing he had seen in the night. Why was the image made of several different metals? Why did it have a head of gold but feet of iron and clay? Why was it broken to pieces? Why did it vanish so suddenly, blown away by the wind? What was the magic stone that smashed gold, silver, brass, and iron to piecesas though they were nothing but pottery—then suddenly grew and grew into a great mountain that filled the whole earth? What mighty mysteries were here! Could the young man solve them? Breathlessly the king waited for Daniel to speak again. In the same calm, serious voice Daniel went on to tell Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the starnge metallic image he had seen in his dream. “You are this head of gold," said the young man, and a smile of satisfaction flickered on the king's face. He was flattered that the glory of his empire should be mentioned first. But Babylon, strong and proud though it was at the moment, would not last forever. Said Daniel, “After you shall arise another kingdom, not so great as yours." This was the meaning of the breast and the arms of silver." Then a third world empire would arise, pictured by the “belly and thighs of brass." This in turn would be overthrown by a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, like two legs of the image. As the feel and toes were made “part of iron and part of ckay" so the fourth kingdom would be divided into several kingdoms, some weak, some strong, and they would remain divided until God of heaven, the King of Kings, should come to set up His everlasting kingdom. “Whereas you saw the feet and toes." said Daniel, “part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. They shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be distroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." “As Daniel talked on, Nebuchadnezzar forgot that he was sitting on the throne room of Babylon. It seemed to him that he was standing at an open window, looking down the ages upon the great events of history to be. And he was. In fact, both king and prophet, lord and slave, were looking through the window of the future. Before them stretched the wondrous panaroma of all the years to come. Close by them they saw the golden temples of Babylon. Beyond, stretching far into the distance, were silver minarets of Medo-Persia, the brazen tower of Grecia, and the iron domes of Rome. On, on down the ages they peered, till they saw mighty Roman Empire divided into the nations of modern Europe. They saw these nations fighting each other in great and terrible wars, as strong leaders tried in vain to unite them into one great whole again. Then, “in the days of these kings"—that is, in our day—they saw something tremendous happen. Suddenly their eyes were drawn from the earth to heaven, and there in sky they beheld a great fiery glow as the King of kings descended in mighty power to bring all earthly empires to an end. Wonderful vision! How their hearts must have thrilled at the sight! When it was over, the mighty king of Babylon “fell upon his face" before his Hebrew slave whom God had so wonderfully used to reveal the future to him. “Of a truth," he cried, “your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing that thou couldest reveal this secret." “Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon."