We have previously discussed two requirements for waiting for God’s counsel. They are time and attention to God’s word. The third element is prayer. King Nebuchadnezzar placed an unusual demand on the wise men who lived in his realm. He had a dream which he could not remember, much less interpret. By executive fiat, he commanded the wise men to tell him his dream plus its interpretation. Failure to do that would mean a certain death for them. The executioner was well on his way when Daniel intervened. He asked for time (the very first thing we mentioned as a requirement for knowing divine counsel). He then implored his colleagues “that they might seek mercies from God of heaven concerning this secret”. The idea here was to pray. In response to their prayer, God replayed the king’s dream for Daniel and gave him the interpretation as well.

Prayer is to help us understand the counsel of God and supply the strength to carry it out.

Jesus spent great amount of time in prayer. However, He did not pray like us nor for the same reason. He claimed that whatever He saw the Father do was His benchmark. Prayer was His way of deciphering what the Father did or wanted. It is important to realize that prayer must not be restricted to asking only for things that will satisfy our human appetite. Prayer is to help us understand the counsel of God and supply the strength to carry it out. When prayer reaches the depth that God designed it for, we will begin to see the kind of effects that accompanied Jesus.