The story of four people, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of Jewish origin, taken to captivity in Babylon in the 6th century BC, when the king Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city of Jerusalem, is often referred to as an experience of prayer.
The king renamed them as Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They were chosen to be in the King's court and instructed to learn the literature and language of Chaldeans. Their overseer was given responsibility for their upkeep and instructed to train them, 'in intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding, and discerning knowledge and who had the ability for serving in the King's court..' (Daniel:1.4). They were to dine at the Kings table, but they instead chose to live on vegetables and water.
The first two paintings I gathered from the internet, depict the scene of the four men refusing the food offered to them from the King's table.
The third painting is that of the four men in the habit of praying to God of their faith, in the Jewish tradition.
The fourth painting is how the King was pleased to find the four men exceptionally able and wise at the end of ten days, after having been on diet of their choice. They were chosen to be in the King's court to be in the personal service of the king. They were found to 'have knowledge and intelligence every branch of literature, and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams' (Dan1:17)
The king had a forgotten dream and according to it, the Chaldeans were to kill the 'wise men of Babylon', including these four men the king appointed to be in the King's personal service. Daniel and the three friends sought God to find 'compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon' (Dan 2:19).
Daniel having revealed the mystery of the dream to the King, was promoted to be the ruler 'over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon' (Dan2:48). Daniel recommended his three friends to be appointed as administrators of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the Kings Court (v 49).
As Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refused to worship the golden image the King made, were put into a fiery furnace, which is what is seen in the fifth painting. They were protected and the king seemed to have noticed a fourth person in the furnace, all of them 'loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without any harm' when he came to look for them. Nebuchadnezzar responded to this sight by saying, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach..., who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the King's command' (Dan 3:28). That was how the King was turned to have faith in the God of Daniel and his three friends.
Daniel while serving the King Darius was in the habit of praying to God three times in a day, while being in charge of 120 satraps and overseeing the province of Babylon. The satraps took exception to Daniel praying to God and not to the King, according to the decree the King passed on persuasion of the satraps (Dan 6: 8-9).
For his refusal to pray to anyone except to the living God that he was used to, Daniel was put into a den of lions (v16) as seen in the last painting. The king feeling awful through the night fasted and spent a sleepless night. When the King arose at daybreak and came to the lions den, Daniel was found unharmed. It was following this King Darius made decree, 'that all in the dominion of my kingdom mean are to feared tremble before the God of Daniel.. ' (v26,27).
I felt moved to read the chapters quoted above from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament of the Bible as I wanted to get a glimpse of how prayer is formative in human conduct and behaviour.
The four men in this historical story, were used to praying. What came out of their habit of prayer was integrity and ability that exceeded all that was known at that time. In fact these men had become a reason for jealousy because of which others plotted to harm them.
The four men found their faith in God renewed during the trials they endured. Their habit of prayer formed their character and conduct.
The prayer of the heart is a habit that is transformational !
I remember listening to a personal experience of a senior doctor. He was all set to go overseas for his higher studies, when a doctor from a mission hospital approached him to come and work in that hospital, as a physician was needed in that hospital. It was the year 1970 probably. This doctor turned this into prayer. Having been an outstanding scholarly physician, many of his colleagues wished him to go overseas for advanced training. Following a season of waiting and prayer, the interest to go overseas decreased and faded away from his mind. He joined the mission hospital and served his professional life time of service except for a short break when he accompanied his wife to be in a medical college for her post graduate training. This doctor couple influenced scores of health care professionals in the hospital and elsewhere, because of the way they lived and served to make a difference in the lives of others. I felt moved when I heard, how prayer made his life take a different path and looking back he felt grateful for the guidance he received to work in a mission hospital.
The habit of prayer of the heart is beyond the traditional rituals of religion. Jesus of Nazareth introduced an approach to prayer: 'But you, when you pray, go into inner room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father, who in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you'! (Matt 6:7)
The prayer of the heart is a secret experience of communion with God. It is not an external ritual. All forms of corporate prayer habits cannot substitute for this experience of the prayer of heart, when being in communion with God takes place in secret and in silence.
The prayer of Daniel and his friends were personal habits of seeking to be in God's presence habitually. Their life, its mission, ethos, ethics and conduct were formed by prayer of the heart. The ritual of corporate prayer is a public expression of our solidarity with the faith community. But prayer of the heart leads us on in the formative journey.
The prayer of the heart transcends to influence our inner formative experience in our pilgrim journey! Our decisions and choices get formed through this habit of prayer. It is God we shall find in silence in the interior of our life, who then becomes the light in our lives. When that happens our optic changes !
I remember hearing late professor Dr Elsie Philip, a former president of the Christian Medical Association of India share her experience of two neighbours who had an unresolved conflict between themselves. Following migrating to the north of Kerala they both acquired long stretch of land which they cultivated and lived in a friendly way. One of them. Jacob used to encroach on the property of John, which turned them to be less than friendly. Jacob suffered a stroke and was no more able to cultivate his land. Seeing his predicament and the needs of the family, John offered to cultivate the land. It took about three years for Jacob to be well enough to resume to work in the field. When John was asked by others who knew that Jacob harmed him, he decided to cultivate the land for Jacob, John said: 'While reading the story of Good Samaritan during the family prayer time, we as a family felt that God was calling us to be a Good Samaritan to Jacob'. John who stayed away from any contact with Jacob for two years stepped in to support the family. Professor Elsie Philip who knew both families said: 'I saw how prayer was transformational to bring together hostile neighbours'!
Daniel and his friends turned to God to receive strength to endure suffering. Their prayer made them endure the firey furnace and den of lions. Seeing four of them unharmed, two kings turned to trust in God and exhorted their subjects to turn to God.
A physician while tarrying in prayer received a new direction to his life, which made him live fulfilled blessing many.
A neighbour went out of his way to be helpful in spite of the harm he suffered from his neighbour.
I find prayer becoming the means for inner transformation in the above instances.
In the book, Seeds of Hope edited by Robert Durback, Rev Dr Henri Nouwen, professor of psychology and philosophy at the Harvard University, who later resigned his position to live in the Daybreak community in Toronto, was quoted : 'A careful look at the lives of people for whom prayer was indeed "the only thing needed" (Luke10:42) shows that three "rules" are always observed: a contemplative reading of the Word of God, a silent listening to the Voice of God and a trusting obedience to a spiritual guide. Without the Bible, without silent timed without someone to direct us, finding our own way to God is very hard and practically impossible' (p69).
Prayer makes us God conscious and other centred.
M.C.Mathew (all paintings from the Internet)
Voice of God abs a trusting obedience to a sp
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