Donovan Neufeldt

Daniel: Final Assignment (Topic 1)

The book of Daniel reveals how the heart is prepared for and
sustained in the midst of persecution, trials, and the rule of
wicked regimes while evil rulers take their stand together to rage
against the leadership of Jesus. This begins with setting our faces
like flint to make righteousness, prayer, and fasting into non-
negotiable priorities. If one cannot stand in righteousness and
steadfast loving obedience when there is no pressure, how can
one expect to stand firm when the pressure comes and all props
are removed? On the flip side, if we purpose our hearts today and
stay faithful in the mundane, then, when the pressure of suffering
and persecution comes, it will refine us, make us white, and
through grace it will propel us into obedience, purity, and power
like never before.

When Daniel was brought into the Babylon, there was a

testing not through opposition, but through temptation. Religious
pluralism and moral relativism was the culture of the day, and the
temptation was for God’s people to give themselves over to
comfort, and many did. Daniel and his three friends however
purposed in their heart that they would not compromise nor defile
themselves with the Babylonian lifestyle. We later find out that
these four are the only ones who do not bow the knee to the
golden image of the king. If we are going to stand steady in the
coming Babylonian Harlot regime permeated with religious
pluralism and moral relativism, and continue with steadfast
allegiance to Jesus, we must walk the road Daniel walked. It is
foolishness to give ourselves to comfort and the spirit of the age
as the Harlot arises in the earth... those who do so are vulnerable
to a strong delusion which will cause many to apostatize and
worship the image of the Beast. Let us take our stand, as we
equip ourselves with the knowledge of God and study a few of the
ways that Daniel prepared himself for the day of trial.

This paper identifies some of these critical preparations that

Daniel took rooted in a Sermon of the Mount lifestyle: A focused
life, holiness, a lifestyle of prayer, consistent fasting (obedience
with physical appetites), community, pursuit of understanding,
confidence in the leadership of God, and courage.

Prayer was a non-negotiable part of Daniel’s life since early

childhood (Daniel 6:10). It is stunning that he would not even
concede to break practice, even for thirty days. Daniel made no
concessions with darkness however small they seemed. I find it
difficult, however, to sustain a steady prayer life while there is no
pressure. It is fully legal and I esteem prayer highly, yet just the
barrenness of my own soul and boredom cause me to draw back.
The boldness of Daniel is provoking, he prayed with His windows
open in plain sight in disobedience to the command of Darius, and
then even Darius exemplifies the value of prayer by doing so with
fasting for Daniel’s deliverance from the lions.
 Daniel 2:12-19 also reveals that when wicked legislation is
put in place and there is no natural way of escape, corporate
prayer is the key which releases divine revelation, understanding,
and supernatural deliverance which will be needed more than
ever at the end of the age.

As Daniel prays and contends for Revelation of God’s plan

for the bringing forth of redemptive history (Dan 7-12), we are
also given insight into the governmental role of prayer over world
affairs. In the end times, the Church is mandated to walk in
power, binding and loosing God’s purposes on the earth through
prayer; once again, if we do not enter into any measure of this
before the hour of crisis it is presumptuous to believe that we will
be entering in to the fullness of governmental authoritative prayer
then.

As R.A. Torrey said, “prayer is the key that releases

supernatural grace and power on the heart”. A heart that is
burning and alive in prayer will be full of grace and power in the
time of greatest need. This grace includes supernatural insight
and understanding of the end times. To be forewarned is to be
forearmed: if we set our heart to praying for understanding, our
hearts will be prepared to go through great trials and
persecutions. We can operate out of the place of urgency without
torment, and sobriety without disillusionment. Prayer is a critical
part of the solid foundation of Christian living which the wise build
upon as set forth by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
 This emphasis on the importance of prayer in the book of
Daniel is reinforced through the teachings of Jesus and the
apostles about the end of the age. Jesus’ most frequent
exhortation when speaking of the end times was “watch and
pray” (Mt. 26:41; Mk. 13:33; 14:38; Lk. 21:36). This shown to be
the definition of wisdom at the end of the age and the very thing
that will prepare the bride of Christ to walk in equally yoked
partnership with Jesus and wholehearted love.

Dynamically knit to prayer is fasting. In fact, fasting can

multiply the effectiveness of prayer in our lives in a dynamic way.
The convergence of these two spiritual disciplines is what makes
up the first part of the fourfold strengthening of the saints as set
forth in Daniel 10. This can only be initiated by us, through
cooperation with the grace of God. These two are the escort to
bring us into the voluntary weakness by which we can receive
divine strength. The wisdom of fasting one sees in the life of
Daniel can once again be seen extolled by Jesus in the Sermon on
the Mount as a critical part of the Christian life.

The fact that the way Daniel confronted the Babylonian

culture on the battleground of food is stunning, almost perplexing
to me. Daniel could have chosen not to go to class to learn about
Babylonian demon gods, but instead He values obedience in the
area of food of primary importance. Overeating and indulgence in
seemingly permissible pleasures seems natural in western
culture, even in the Church there is little regard for the danger of
gluttony (what some Catholics called one of the “seven deadly
sins”). I know through experience that fasting seems weak (and it
is), yet the soul is forced to realign itself with God’s purpose for
one’s life, rather than dulled by entertainment and the giving of
ourselves over to comfort. One of my greatest spiritual enemies is
my own barrenness before God related to giving in to the
powerful lure of comfort and recreation. It is in the midst of the
rigors of a fasted lifestyle that these temptations loose there
power and one is propelled into pursuit of righteousness and the
knowledge of God. I know that God is calling me forth to give
myself to a lifestyle like Daniels; a lifestyle of restraint, of fasting,
of prayer, of a burning heart, and of total separation from the
spirit of the age.

This separation from worthless things leads into the pursuit

of holiness in the secret place exhibited by Daniel. Once again,
this is fixated in the Sermon on the Mount, we are told to resist
that which defiles (including lust, anger, false commitments,
independence, pride, and retaliation), and we are also told to
pursue a deep life in God when and where no one is looking.
When we pursue holiness before God and not before men, we are
protected from religious pride and self-righteousness. God must
be our reward, not the esteem and honour of men; if we pursue
holiness to be noticed by men, that recognition will be the only
reward that we will ever receive for it.
 Just as Daniel remained in community it is essential for
Christians to not neglect the gathering of the saints, nor forsake
genuine fellowship with godly companions. Psalm 2 and the book
of Revelation speaks of the way that wicked men can go to
unfathomable depths of wickedness as they gather together and
make each other emboldened in perversion, murder, and demon
worship. The opposite is also true of those who seek righteous
together; as godly companions come around each other, they are
provoked to greater depths of obedience, abandonment, and
wholehearted love. One can go much farther in righteousness in
community than one can go alone. In the midst of the rule of a
wicked regime, companionship and community is essential to
steadfastness without compromise.

Daniel and his friends also exhibited a confident trust in the

leadership of God over their situations, over the destiny of Israel,
over the kings and rulers, and over the affairs of men (a lesson
Nebuchadnezzar had to learn the hard way). This trust will
safeguard our hearts from offense, it will purify us, and it will
refine us (especially in the context of a massive crisis). Part of
trusting God’s leadership is a confidence in His tender kindness
and never-failing mercies. If we are rooted and grounded in these
realities, then we will run to Him in confidence to receive grace
when we fail, rather than draw back in shame and condemnation,
and remaining powerless. Trust in His leadership is what brought
Daniel the courage to speak the word of the Lord boldly before
wicked kings, and is undoubtedly the reality that Daniel’s three
friends were immersed in when they boldly declared that they
would not bow to the image (when the only alternative is the fiery
furnace), but that their fate has been entrusted with the Lord. If
we are to be bold and have courage as we refuse to bow to the
image of the Beast, it is essential that we trust our lives into the
leadership of Jesus.

Another key to sustaining the heart in the midst of darkness

is found in Psalm 2:11-12: “Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice
with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in
the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all
those who put their trust in Him.” No one could have said it better
than Nebuchadnezzar himself, “All men must fear and tremble at
the God of Daniel.” The key to not trembling and fearing at the
fullness of transgression, the expectation of things to come, and
the man of lawlessness is to get a greater fear: to fear God and to
tremble at His Word. Intimacy and gazing on the beauty of God is
also suggested in the commands to rejoice and kiss. As we behold
the beauty of God we are transformed into His likeness and as we
receive the revelation that we are “greatly beloved” of God (as
Daniel was shown many times) we will grow even deeper in
confidence and steadfastness in wholehearted love.

If we purpose our hearts to prayer and fasting now, pursue

righteousness, search for the knowledge of God, ask for
supernatural revelation fear God, and give ourselves to the
lifestyle Jesus prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount, our heart
will be prepared for and sustained in the midst of the wicked
regime to ever come upon the earth. In the words of Paul,
watching our life and doctrine closely will save not only ourselves,
but many others as well when the crisis is upon us.