Behind the Scenes of Daniel’s Prayer in Daniel 10:1-14

I’m a movie buff or in elitist terms, a cinephile.  In many ways, I speak and think using images and sounds.  The movie language is my language.  When someone asks me to name my favorite movies, I trip over the answers all the time.  There are too many, and I wind up making a list by genre.  What I find even more fascinating about movies is the behind the scenes footage.  I love seeing how they did it.  One gains a deeper appreciation and understanding for the movie and for those who brought it to life.  It is like being given new eyes and ears.  The passage below could be described as “behind the scenes footage” regarding prayer.  Here it is:

“12. Then he said to me, ‘Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.  13. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,  14. and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days.  For the vision is for days yet to come'” (Daniel 10:12-14, ESV).

Before diving into this fascinating text, let me supply the background to it.  In the second and third verses of Daniel chapter ten, the writer records that the prophet had been fasting and mourning for three weeks (Dan. 10:2-3, ESV).  This sort of thing should come as no surprise to anyone who reads the book of Daniel.  The very first chapter records the young, Hebrew prophet leading his three friends into a time of prayer and fasting at the beginning of their captivity (Dan. 1:8, 12-16, ESV).  When King Nebuchadnezzar orders his soldiers to kill all the wise men of the land for their failure at interpreting his dream, it is Daniel who buys some time through prayer and fasting with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan. 2:12-19, ESV).

There are two other instances recorded in the book of Daniel about the prophet fasting and praying for God to speak.  One occurs in the sixth chapter and the other in ninth.  The former pertains to Daniel learning about a decree that punishes those who refuse to pray to Darius by casting the offender into the lion’s den (Dan. 6:6-10, ESV).  In the ninth chapter, the prophet’s life is not under any threat as he desires to know the outcome of his nation and people within God’s purposes and plans (Dan. 9:1-3, ESV).  All of these circumstances reveal a man committed to the Lord by submitting himself to a lifestyle of fasting and prayer.  Each time the God of heaven and earth either delivers Daniel from his situation, or grants him divine revelation into the matter at hand.

After reading account after account of God answering Daniel’s prayers, it comes as no surprise to see the same thing take place in Daniel 10:12-14. In fact, I would argue that this is precisely what the reader should expect at this point.  The difference this time around has to do with this particular account portraying demonic opposition toward the angelic messenger (Dan. 10:13, ESV).  What amazes me is that God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer had been given as soon as he began to pray; however, the answer had been delayed twenty-one days (or three weeks) because the prince of Persia fought against the messenger (Dan. 10:12-13, ESV).  This is a vivid depiction of God’s kingdom in direct conflict with Satan’s, who dispatched the prince of Persia after eavesdropping into Daniel’s prayer to the Lord.

What are we to make of this passage?  It is behind the scenes footage (or intel) regarding some prayers and their answers.  In the church, it is often taught that God responds in three ways to the prayers of his people: yes, no, or wait.  Waiting tends to stretch or test the faith of the one praying.  What this passage in Daniel chapter ten seems to teach is that a delayed response is not always God saying “Wait.”  In Daniel’s case, the Lord’s reply was actually an unmistakable yes. The delay had to do with the enemy’s opposition to the answer.  Of course, this raises plenty of questions, but I will not address them for the sake of time and space.  If there is one takeaway about this passage, then let it be persistence. Daniel prayed for three weeks, which was the same amount of time as the enemy’s resistance toward the angelic messenger.

Did Daniel know about this conflict?  The text does not say, but I think not.  Daniel kept fasting and praying right up until the moment the angelic being appeared to him (Dan. 10:4-5, ESV).  The prophet’s persistence in prayer brings to mind Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow in the gospel of Luke, the eighteenth chapter.  I do not have the time and space to unpack this wonderful parable.  I encourage my readers and followers to read that passage side by side with this one in the tenth chapter of Daniel.  Here is the point.  The spiritual principle of persisting or persevering in prayer is found in both testaments.  Prayer is spiritual warfare.  It positions God’s people to see and hear in the midst of a violent conflict.  This reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew’s gospel: “…the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12b, ESV).  Prayer is the believer’s battle cry while on earth.  It is a cry heard by his God in his heavenly temple (Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4, ESV).

Daniel: An Example of Faith

Daniel’s life changed forever during the reign of King Jehoiakim, whose wickedness paved the way for Jerusalem’s eventual destruction by the Babylonian Empire in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 23:36-37; 24:1-4, ESV).  Before this disastrous event took place, Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar hauled off Jehoiakim and his best men as exiles around 605 B.C. (2 Chronicles 36:5-8; Daniel 1:1-4, ESV).  This began Judah’s seventy-year exile, which had been prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 25:8-11, ESV).  Daniel and his three friends were among the first wave of exiles to Babylon (Dan. 1:7-8, ESV).  It did not take long for Daniel to lead his three friends with faith and boldness to their God in the presence of their captors (Dan. 1:12-14, ESV).

Before moving forward, let me quote the passage for us:

“But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.  Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.  And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs…” (Dan. 1:8-9, ESV).  

These words describe Daniel as a man of gumption and faith.  The latter is the reason for the former.  One could argue from a practical standpoint that Daniel risked his life and his friends’ lives due to his faith in action.  After all, they are captives of the reigning, world empire, Babylon, which destroyed their city and temple.  Daniel and his friends belong to a conquered people, who have no standing in this foreign land of a foreign king.  Where and with whom did these four men have grounds for such faith and boldness?  The answer is the Lord God Almighty, who dwells in his heavenly temple.  Daniel leads his friends through prayer and fasting in order to demonstrate their faith and dependence upon the God they serve.  He grants them favor before their captors, which empowers them to outshine the best and brightest within King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom (Dan. 1:17-20).

When I chew on this portion of scripture, it causes me to stop.  Daniel and his friends live through the destruction of their home and the temple as exiles in a foreign land.  Their existence is one of captivity not freedom.  Instead of living in defeat, these men immerse themselves in prayer and fasting in order to show their allegiance to God rather than their captors (Dan. 1:8, 12-13, & 15, ESV).  It seems to me that praying and fasting are more than mere spiritual disciplines for them, but a lifestyle that they embrace.  Someone might argue that Daniel’s life as a prophet demanded such a commitment.  This presupposes that he operated on a different level than the rest of us.  It is true that Daniel served as a prophet and an interpreter of dreams; however, I must emphasize the fact that Daniel is a human being.  This means that inherited Adam’s sin nature by birth.  Daniel is in the same boat as every man, woman, and child who has ever lived on this earth except Christ.  Here is what I mean.

Over in the book of Romans, the apostle Paul unveils some key teaching about the nature of fallen humanity.  Because Adam rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, his choice and action corrupted his nature and all of his descendants (Romans 5:12, 19, ESV).  This means that the natural tendency of human beings is to rebel against God and his word rather than obey.  Daniel’s life and the lives of his three friends demonstrate God’s transforming work of grace in their hearts and souls in order for them to live contrary to their sin nature.  Their display of praying and fasting confirms that they are new men living according to their new nature (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10, ESV).  If this is not true about Daniel and his friends, then someone needs to explain the meaning behind the author of Hebrews alluding to their deliverance in the lions’ den and the fiery furnace (Hebrews 11:33-34; cf Daniel 3:25; 6:22, ESV).

Here is the point.  The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is the famous hall of faith passage.  It lists Old Testament (OT) believers, who serve as examples of believing faith, in order to encourage believers in the New Testament.  Another way to say this is Daniel and his friends are not examples of believing faith, then why list include them or anyone else from the OT?  The Old and New Testaments are different eras in redemptive history; however, the believers from both put their faith and trust in the same God.  Daniel and his friends looked forward to Christ while NT believers look back.  If my faith is in Christ like Daniel and his friends, then I can expect similar results.  This is one of the key takeaways from Hebrews eleven.  My circumstances are totally different from these OT saints; however, my God is their God, and he stopped the mouths of the lions and walked in the furnace with his servants (Dan. 3:24-25; 6:21-23, ESV).