{"id":2555,"date":"2015-11-16T09:43:38","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T14:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?p=2555"},"modified":"2015-11-16T09:43:38","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T14:43:38","slug":"a-prayer-for-wisdom-when-your-backs-against-the-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2015\/11\/a-prayer-for-wisdom-when-your-backs-against-the-wall.html","title":{"rendered":"A Prayer for Wisdom When Your Back\u2019s Against the Wall"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Arioch, the commander of the king\u2019s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. (Daniel 2:14)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Daniel was scheduled to be executed along with all the wise men in Babylon\u2019s court. Daniel was an exiled Jew who had proven himself valuable to the Babylon elite through his wisdom and prowess. Yet, because a few of his Babylonian colleagues couldn\u2019t meet the King\u2019s unrealistic expectations, they were all to be\u00a0sacked (i.e. executed). Read the entire story in Daniel 2, but here is an outline of Daniel\u2019s strategy to save not only his neck, but that of his colleagues’ as well. Try these steps next time you\u2019re up against a challenge bigger\u00a0than yourself:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t panic.<\/li>\n
  2. Ask for more information. Get the context.<\/li>\n
  3. Go directly to the source and respectfully ask to buy time.<\/li>\n
  4. Ask your friends to pray! (This precludes that you orbit with praying people.)<\/li>\n
  5. Trust God for a download.<\/li>\n
  6. When the download arrives, give thanks where thanks is due.<\/li>\n
  7. Stay humble. Daniel said, \u201cI am not wiser than anyone else.\u201d He explained that he simply had connections with the King of the Universe.<\/li>\n
  8. Put in a good word for God to your superiors! They need Him as much as you do.<\/li>\n
  9. Use the pronoun \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cI\u201d when explaining how you solved the problem. You asked your friends to pray, and their prayers brought this victory, not just you. It was a team effort.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Father,<\/em><\/p>\n

    I want the kind of access to Your wisdom that Daniel had. Help me to pay the price Daniel paid in prayer, love for you, and study of your Word and your ways. Grant me a willing spirit to walk with you day by day, partnering with you, pursuing godly friends, seeking your wisdom, always giving you glory, and, with your supernatural wisdom, bringing solutions to those in need all around me.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Amen<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When Arioch, the commander of the king\u2019s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. (Daniel 2:14) Daniel was scheduled to be executed along with all the wise men in Babylon\u2019s court. Daniel was an exiled Jew who had proven himself valuable to the Babylon elite through his wisdom and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,7,4,25,3,1],"tags":[1482,1480,1481,1483,1478,703,1479,225],"class_list":["post-2555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-bible-prayer","category-daily-prayer","category-god","category-jesus","category-prayer","category-uncategorized","tag-avoiding-execution","tag-babylon","tag-daniel","tag-discretion","tag-faith-in-the-workplace","tag-favor","tag-job-security","tag-wisdom"],"yoast_head":"\nA Prayer for Wisdom When Your Back\u2019s Against the Wall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2015\/11\/a-prayer-for-wisdom-when-your-backs-against-the-wall.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Prayer for Wisdom When Your Back\u2019s Against the Wall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Arioch, the commander of the king\u2019s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. 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