Sometimes You Need To Speak To The Very Person, Place Or Thing That Is Attempting To Attack Your Life, That It Won’t Go Down Like That, Not Today, And Not For Me!

It’s easy to think of struggles as nuisances that get in the way of our paths, but what if they are the path. God has invested too much in you to let His plans for your life be destroyed.  I’m so glad how I feel about God at any given moment doesn’t change God a bit. Prayer is not getting God in heaven to do your will here on earth; prayer is getting you ready on earth to do the will of God in heaven. Prayer is not seeking to get your way, but submitting your will to God’s way. In spite of what you face as a struggle, it’s important that you learn how to put your praise in place so your problem doesn’t knock you out of position.

But before we get to Daniel, let's face it; we all have some days when we feel like we're stuck in the basement, right? The view isn't very inspiring and neither is the situation we're in. We’re low in funds, low in joy, low in peace, low in confidence, low in health, low in marriage, low in single-hood, and low in dealing with the battles of raising children, low in dealing with coworkers and even low while sitting in the pew next to our brothers and sisters in Christ! There are simply some moments in life when we’ve crashed in the basement, instead of breaking through the ceiling! Can we be real about it?

Well, the good news is that there is no basement so deep or so gloomy that you have to stay there, because there’s an elevator just waiting to take you up!

In essence, it's the spiritual elevator many of God's leaders in the Bible knew about - like Daniel, for example. He's a top advisor to the most powerful man in the world, King Nebuchadnezzar. All of the king's pagan advisors have been unable to meet his demand, and they tell him they don't know what his disturbing dream meant. Of course, he'd also asked them to tell him what the dream was. But nobody could do that either. So he sentences them to death - a sentence that applies even to Daniel! So Daniel is literally staring at being executed for no reason at all! Talk about a dark basement!

However, he doesn’t become weary, he doesn’t panic, he doesn’t freak-out, and he doesn’t start crying. So what does he do? Well, as any wise man would, he recruits his spiritual brothers! 

Daniel 2:16-17, “So Daniel went in to see the king. “Give me a little time,” he said, “and I will tell you the dream and what it means.” Then he went home and told Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions” (TLB).

First things first, he lets the king know; oh it won’t end like this, at least not for me! Sometimes you need to speak to the very person, place or thing that is attempting to snuff out or attack your life, that it won’t go down like that, not today, and not for me! I know what I’m facing is tough, but I refuse to just lie down and die! Just give me a little time, I’m about to put a strategy in place that can’t fail! This is designed to take me down, but I’m coming up and out!

Listen: Don’t you dare just accept situations or attacks for their face value. Hit it head on! Don’t cower, don’t run, don’t give up, don’t get depressed…strategize! That’s what Daniel did!

This means we really need to be careful when going into spiritual battle (even battles we face in the natural) in making sure that we call for the right troops. We need to make sure that when we call in reinforcements, we call the right people! Know that everybody who says they’re praying for you, are not! Not everyone asking about your situation cares that you get out of it, some just want to make sure you’re still in it! That’s why discernment and wisdom are necessities, not options!

Listen: You only need to take those IN, who can help bring you OUT!

But how do you know you’ve selected the right people? Let’s continue reading:

“They asked the God of heaven to show them His mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not die with the others. And that night in a vision God told Daniel what the king had dreamed.” (Vss. 18-19)

Daniel didn’t just call any group of men; he called the ones he knew would immediately intercede! Are those the first people you call? If it’s not, you need to change your strategy if you plan to win! Notice, they don’t hold a long conversation with Daniel, they don’t offer him options or their opinions. They don’t find some other brothers to talk about the mess involving Daniel and the king. No, they go straight into intercession, talking to no one but God! They don’t ask Daniel how he feels about it; they don’t question him at all. He called for them; they came to him, and then went to God! If you don’t have reinforcements like this, find them, today!

Something else to note, the 3 men asked God to show “THEM” His mercy by telling “THEM” the secret. But the answer to what they asked goes like this: “…And that night in a vision GOD TOLD DANIEL what the king had dreamed…” They asked for God to show “THEM” but God told “DANIEL”. Note: You need intercessors that can intercede without jealousy or competition! After all, they could have responded, “God WE came to you in intercession so you would reveal it to US”… but they were just fine with Daniel receiving the answer…ALONE.

People of God, surround yourself with people who will not be so busy competing with you that they can’t help you win. It didn’t matter if it was revealed to Daniel alone, as long as the revelation came! And when it did, listen to Daniel’s response:

“…Then Daniel praised the God of heaven…”

See, the problem with us is that we let fear supersede our faith! But even in the midst of having his life at risk, Daniel stops to praise God first! He has a problem, God provides the solution, but before Daniel applies the solution, he praises God first! If that’s not how you’ve handled it in the past, handle it like that in the present and future!

Truth is, we have to reach a place of trust, reliance, dependence, and faith in God where our circumstances don’t alter our praise! We need our situations, trials and struggles to see that we walk by faith, even when that walk takes us through the valleys of the shadows of death!

We Need To Allow Our Praise To Be The Evidence That We Trust God’s Outcome, Before We Even Come Out. Daniel Is Our Example Of Celebrating God For Victory Before The Battle Is Even Over! Daniel 2:19, “…and then Daniel praised the God of heaven…” (TLB)

Daniel steps into the spiritual elevator that takes him from the basement of his circumstances to the penthouse of his awesome God! That elevator is called "Praise!" Now, you would think that finally receiving a solution to his problem would make him run to the king, but he had to praise his King first! And so do you!

Blessings

J.P. Olson