Giving Thanks (Part 3)

Daniel and the

King’s Dream
Daniel 2:1-23
Daniel was a man who prayed regularly and
gave thanks to God
 Daniel and his friends - Hananiah
(Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and
Azariah (Abednego) - were Israelites
slaves in Babylon.
 They were faithful to God even though
they were slaves. They obeyed God and
did not associate with evil things.
 And God blessed them; in fact, any
exams they took, they were 10 times
better than others.
 They prayed all the time and gave
thanks to God always
 The King of Babylon
did not worship God
 King Nebuchadnezzar worshipped false gods
and his wise men (astrologers, magicians,
etc.) also worshipped these gods.
 The king had been dreaming and could not
sleep. His mind was troubled because he did
not understand the dream.
 He called his wise men and told them to tell
him the dream so that he will know that they
could interpret it; or he will kill them!
 These men knew that it was impossible to do
what the king required. Seeking answers from
anyone/anything but God will lead to anger
and frustration.
The King commanded ALL the
wise men to be killed
 When the wise men could not do what the king
asked, they told him so; he was very angry.
 He commanded that ALL the wise men living in
Babylon be put to death.
 Men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends
to kill them too.
 Daniel showed respect to the king’s messenger
by speaking to him wisely and carefully, and
obtained the reason for the decree.
 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh
word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
 Daniel and his friends prayed to
God and thanked Him for the
answer

 Daniel then went to see the king and asked for

some more time, and the king gave it to him
 Daniel went to meet his friends and told them
everything. They agreed to pray to God for His
mercy so that He will show them the dream.
 They didn’t go home and search the internet for
ways to know what others dream and how to
interpret them. They prayed directly to God.
 And God answered their prayers! During the night
God revealed the dream and its interpretation to
Daniel.
 Then Daniel praised and thanked the God of
Heaven.
Thanksgiving is an expression of
gratitude to God, showing
appreciation to Him.
 It is something we must do every day as children
of God, as we pray like Daniel (Daniel 6.10b)
 God deserves our praise and thanks for who He
is and all He has done for us.
 Jesus Christ gave us an example of always giving
thanks:
– when He multiplied five loaves and two fish
to feed the 5,000 (John 6:11)
– when He raised Lazarus from the dead (John
11:41)
– at the last supper (Matt 26:26-28)
 Giving thanks to God is an important part of prayer
 Thanksgiving magnifies the blessings of
God in our life.
 He has given us all things necessary live
as He pleases and to live well on this
earth (2Peter 1:3).
 We have countless reasons to give
thanks to God. Can you name some?
 We must be thankful to God in all
situations, both pleasant and unpleasant.
 When we thank God, we remind
ourselves of God's care, loving kindness
and faithfulness.
 MEMORY VERSE
Psalm 107:1
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He
is good! For His mercy endures
forever.