TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 4TH NOVEMBER 2024)
“So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” Daniel 2:16-19 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 309TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
God has been faithful! This is the day He has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it. We give Him the glory for keeping us alive and for making sure we are serving our generation according to His will.
The best way to live an earthly life, is to live it serving your generation according to God’s will. Not just according to His will, also by His will.
People who do not make that their purpose for living, will be depressed most of their days on earth. They will not just be depressed, they will suffer other things. God’s grace, mercies, and blessings, are first for those who are serving their generation according to His will.
King David in the Bible, was one man who did that, and we are still talking about Him today. Another man was Daniel. Today we will be looking at something about Daniel. It was first published on this platform in 2016. It was about His prophetic tomb.
At the beginning of this month, the LORD made it our month of God’s mercy. We will be looking at the mystery of the Prophetic tomb of Daniel today, and glean some truths on God’s mercy from it. God will minister to you as strong as He did then. Amen
A CHURCH GENERATION THAT WILL NOT SEEK THE MERCIES OF GOD (either out of pride or ignorance) WILL NEVER ESCAPE THE SWORD OF MEN AND DEVILS.
Men in good standing with God, will always be on their knees, seeking mercies from Him to grant them things in the Spirit. But those who are not in good standing with Him have the character of approaching Him with a dangerous “it is my right” mentality, like the hypocrite in Luke 18.
With these opening remarks, I welcome you to another day the LORD has made. You will be blessed by this word. It will teach you more truths about you and God’s mercies.
It’s important sometimes that we visit the prophetic tombs of our fathers (not natural tombs) and hear what they said in their time that will be very helpful in our times. In our devotional today, I sense the LORD taking us to the “prophetic tomb” of Daniel.
Now follow me as I follow the LORD!
By the way, a prophetic tomb is not a natural tomb. Visiting natural tombs is not really good because it keeps a man’s heart attached to the dead, and opens up his life to the spirit of grave to strike. So, we are not talking about visiting a natural tomb. We are talking about a prophetic tomb, and it’s important that we unearth with it means so that we will not be misunderstood.
A PROPHETIC TOMB IS NOT A NATURAL TOMB!
A very simple definition of a tomb calls it “the last resting place.” A prophetic tomb is therefore, the last spiritual resting place of a Bible man or woman who had an active walk and talk with GOD, especially when faced with life threatening situations.
For Paul the apostle, his prophetic tomb was a prayer that brought sufficient grace upon him to prevail against the messenger of Satan that was sent to him. He rested there at that very time and it became as example for us all. The Bible says,
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
“Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV
SUFFICIENT GRACE CAN BECOME YOUR PROPHETIC TOMB
Grace is getting what we do not deserve, it is the power and pardon of God that enables us to move on in life, especially after a time of sin or a time of an attack from Satan. Grace is also the measure of the Spirit that rests on us in proportion to what we might be going through, to grant us victory.
Paul had that sufficiently, and it enabled him to deal with the messenger of Satan during the attack. That was his prophetic tomb that day.
If you look at this scripture on the surface, you will think that God was the one that sent the messenger of Satan to Paul, and like many have preached, to put any pride in him under check, or keep him humble. But like I said in one of our meetings, God does not commit revelation to proud people so that they will not blow up because of what they know! So, Paul was already humble, humble enough to bear the revelatory truths he was spreading.
In fact, you see that in 2 Corinthians 12 and other of his letters to the Churches.
So, when we say God sent that devil to keep him humble, we miss it. God will not give you abundance of revelation to spread about with one hand, and then with the other, sabotage your effort by sending a messenger of Satan to buffet you. That is not the GOD of the great commission!
The enemy was actually responsible and God saved Paul when he sought Him in prayer.
God saved him by making “sufficient grace” Paul’s prophetic tomb or final resting place in that battle with the messenger of Satan; and the result was amazing – multiplied strength was released into his life and ministry to keep him on his feet. That alone holds a deep lesson.
Friend, if we make God’s sufficient grace our prophetic tomb, the attacks of the enemy will always leave us better and not bitter. Hallelujah!
IT IS IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS SEEK GOD FOR GRACE WHEN GOING THROUGH SOMETHING UNBEARABLE IN LIFE.
Yes, it is important that we seek GOD for grace to come out better and victorious, and not bitter and defeated. That was what Paul did, and Daniel did that also.
Our devotional text holds another revelation – it is the revelation of the prophetic tomb of Daniel – one of our Fathers. The Bible says the king has a dream and woke up without remembering it. Then he called his wise men, sorcerers, magician and etc. to help him out.
But they could not!
Then he became fierce and issued an order that if they cannot tell him the dream and its interpretation, he will consider it an exposure of a hidden conspiracy that had been there for long. To him, that will mean they have been telling him lies all along by the interpretations they have been giving to his previous dreams.
“If they had been giving him true interpretations to previous dreams,” he thought, “then they should vindicate themselves by telling him the dream he just had, and its interpretation.” He concluded.
But the Bible says still they could not, and then he issued a command in response that they should all be executed. That was how the life of Daniel, who was working then as one of the wise men of Babylon due to his prophetic powers from Heaven, came under threat.
The Bible made it clear that the execution began.
I believe it began with those the king called to the palace to remind him his dream and give the interpretation. Then, the executioners went out looking for other wise men to kill! They were finding them and killing them.
Finally, they found Daniel and his friends also! But the Bible says Daniel answered the Chief executioner with Wisdom and requested that he see the King. The request was granted.
Our devotional text says,
“So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So, Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”
If you look at this scripture, you will discover that the final resting place of Daniel (or his prophetic tomb) at a time when his life and that of others came under the threat of the sword of man, was “a desire to seek Mercy of the LORD to help them.”
Mercy is sought when you are about suffering what you deserve, and grace when you are about missing what you do not deserve but need it in life. Daniel and his friends sought mercy of the LORD because they were about being killed; they were about getting what they deserved.
It ended up saving their lives and the lives of others. What the king was looking for was revealed to him in a night vision. Hallelujah!
MAKE GOD’S MERCY YOU PROPHETIC TOMB, EVERY DAY THROUGH THE PRAYER KNEE.
A people who will rest on God’s mercy daily, or in and out of season, will never be blown away by the perils of life. Daniel sought mercies of the LORD and God saved his life and that of others from the sword of the king.
I don’t know what sword is pursuing you but one thing I know is this; if you will make God’s mercy your prophetic tomb or final resting place, He will save you from it.
A prayer life that is born out of deep repentance is one way you make God’s mercy your prophetic tomb. Daniel prayed seeking God’s mercy and found it. If you will pray seeking His mercy, you will find it.
When you find it, you will begin to experience a successful and progressive life.
You will begin to see yourself prosper in the presence of your enemies. You will be seeing yourself rising above the limitations of life, conquering even battles you created through sin, rebellion or ignorance. You will be receiving the grace not to repeat the folly.
That is the message of our devotional today!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY;
“God, you are my God; early will I seek you; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
So I have looked for you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory. Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless you while I live; I will lift up my hands in your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches. Because you have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalms 63:1-8 NKJV