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“Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven…”  Daniel 2:17-18

The Old Testament Book of Daniel is pretty exciting. Even if you haven’t read it through, you’re probably familiar with at least a couple of its action-packed events. There’s the time Daniel’s buddies were thrown into the fiery furnace after refusing to bow down to an idol, confident that God would rescue them—and even if He didn’t, they still would not worship any other God. (I won’t tell you what happens, but you can read about it in chapter 3.) Then there’s the famous lion’s den saga—another nail-biter found in chapter 6—when a group of the king’s advisors set up Daniel to get rid of the pesky do-gooder.

But at the beginning of this book, tucked away in chapter 2, there are a couple of lines that speak to the importance of reaching out to our friends for prayer support. Here, the king has a disturbing dream that he wants interpreted. He asks all his magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers to help, but he refused to tell them the actual dream itself. They needed to reveal his dream and its meaning. When none of them could, the king decided to kill them all (well, cut into pieces, to be exact). Because Dan and his friends were among the king’s counselors, they were on the literal chopping block as well.

So once Daniel heard about the king’s decision, he went home and shared the matter with his friends. The Lord had already shown Himself to be merciful and powerful to this group of faithful young men, blessing and protecting them after the Babylonians took them captive. They knew the power of prayer. And although Daniel knew that he could go to the Lord on his own with his request, he chose instead to share the matter with his buddies.

When we reach out to others with the “matters” of our life and ask them for prayer, there is a multifaceted result as beautiful and precious as a diamond. First, we benefit from a shared burden (Gal 6:2). Of course, the ultimate Load-bearer is Jesus Himself—He tells us to give Him our burdens (Matthew 11:28-30). But when we lean on our brothers and sisters in Christ, our weight is shared, and thereby lightened.

Second, we grow in love with one another. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). He’s encouraging us to look at others through the perspective that God sees us: as sinners in need of grace, mercy, and a Savior. Praying for others helps us move forward in this endeavor.

Finally, we are being obedient to God’s Word. From Job (42:1) to James (5:16) to Paul (1 Tim 2:1, Ephesians 6:18, Col 1:9)) to Jesus Himself (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:28, Luke 22:32), we are called to pray and intercede for others. It is a step of obedience that brings us closer to our Lord as we spend time with Him. Plus, when we lift up others in prayer, our fellowship with the Lord becomes a little less about us.

“Lord, thank You for my brothers and sisters who lift me up and share my burdens. Let me be a faithful load-bearer to others as well.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life