Pray & Don’t Forget

Hey church family. I wonder if you’ve ever noticed that when the Bible tells us not to forget something, the reason most often is, because without that warning, we have a real tendency to forget whatever it is, that God’s Word is telling us to not to forget. So it is with the instruction found in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 6 where it says . . . “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.” 

Notice - - - when it comes to prayer, the instruction is not just to pray about everything . . . telling God our needs . . . Along with that is the reminder to not forget to thank Him for His answers. One of the best examples of someone who put this principle into practice is God’s servant Daniel. In the Old Testament book that bears his name, the book of Daniel, chapter 2, we read about a desperate prayer that Daniel prayed.

Let me set the context for you . . . Daniel and his three closest friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were living in captivity far from home. They had been taken from Jerusalem, and transported to Babylon where they were serving as advisors to King Nebuchadnezzar.

One day King Nebuchadnezzar had a series of dreams that troubled him greatly. The King summoned before him all of his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they provide him with an interpretation of the dream that he had had. They agreed. They answered the king saying. . . “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means” (Daniel 2:4).

King Nebuchadnezzar told them.. . . “If you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!” (Daniel 2:6). Oh, and BTW, he also told them . . . . If you don’t tell me what it was I dreamed about and what it means. . . . “You will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!” The wise men pleaded with him once again, saying . . . . “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means” (Daniel 2:7).

"The astrologers replied to the king, 'No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people'” (Daniel 2:10-11).

How did the king react to their refusal?  "The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends” (Daniel 2:10-13). Thankfully, this is not the end of the story . . . Verse 16 tells us that . . . “Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant” (Daniel 2:16). Thankfully, the king said yes to Daniel’s request. And using that “more time” Daniel gathered his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and urged them to pray to God. . . asking Him to reveal both the dream and its meaning so that these four would not be executed along with all the other wise men in Babylon.

The prayer they prayed was a desperate prayer. They were praying for their lives. After an all-night prayer session, God answered and revealed the king’s dream to Daniel. Can you imagine the relief that Daniel must have felt when his prayer was answered? Daniel and all the king’s advisors were saved. However, it’s what happened next that is the truly amazing part of this story. Before running back to the king with the answer, Daniel stopped to pray and thank God for answering his prayer.

I wonder. . . How many times have we prayed in desperation for God to do something, and then when He does, we immediately forget to thank Him? We move on so quickly to the next problem without the slightest acknowledgment of the miracle that God just performed. Daniel not only thanked God for the answer, but he gave Him all the credit. I pray that the next time God answers your desperate prayer, you’ll remember to thank Him – just like Daniel did. Amen