Let’s think about Daniel and his three friends.  Their lives are in jeopardy.  The king has issued his ultimatum.  Tell me my dream or all the Wise Men are dead!  What to do?  You know…pray.  Not a solo flier or long-stem red rose, Daniel turns to his friends to join him in prayer to the Lord.

That night, one that should have been filled with dread, God causes a deep sleep to fall on Daniel.  God reveals to him both the King’s dream and its meaning.  Daniel goes to the King with what has been revealed to him from the true God of heaven.

Daniel says, ‘This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king'(v. 36).  We?  Did they all have the dream?  Not only Daniel?  No.  He is giving credit to God for the prayers he and his friends said together.  We need each other…in prayer.  To pray for.  To be prayed for.

A number of years ago my wife and I flew to Florida to see my mother who was in assisted living in her retirement home.  She was doing better than we imagined.  When we flew back home, it nagged at me that I still had this uneasy feeling that my sharing Jesus with my mother had never been well received.  Needed to share more with her.  She never showed any interest in the Lord, at least with me.  Two weeks later, we got on yet another plane, back to Florida.

Really opened our hearts with her.  Shared Jesus and His plan of salvation.  Her reaction?  No comments were made.   I received that steely-eyed look I’ve seen before.  As if saying, without words, ‘how dare you’.  My final words to my mother were ‘I love you’.  She had some tears but only said ‘goodbye’ to us.  A few days later I got a call from my sister that our mother had had a massive heart attack and was gone.

Did what we share about the Lord sink in?  Don’t know.  No evidence I could point to.  No success stories like those I’ve heard by others over the years.  Nothing.  I began to be plagued with nightmares.  Horrifying dreams.  What had happened to my mother?

We were at a Christian conference center in Oregon, which we loved to attend.  At their prayer time, I mentioned about my mother, those dreams and fears.  Most didn’t know me.  But they all knew the Lord.   Surrounding me, they prayed to Him.  Prayed together for me.  From that day forward, no more nightmares!  They were lifted from my shoulders by ‘friends’ praying together to our Lord.  Like Daniel and his friends.  We can help each other…through prayer.  Who needs our prayers?  Who do we need to pray for us?

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for lifting burdens.  We trust you above all else.  Amen.