17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel was concerned. He had heard that the king wanted to kill everyone because he couldn't find anyone to interpret his dream. Daniel bought some time for himself and his friends. He then asked the his friends to plead with God that they have revealed to them the king's dream and save them. God gave Daniel the knowledge of the dream. Then what did Daniel do? He stopped and praised God. He didn't run to the king and take the credit, he thanked God for his wisdom and his revelation.
Sometimes we get so excited we forget to thank others, don't we? And especially, we get an answered prayer and then forget who made it happen. We all do it. I try, even the little things, like paying the bills, or a good day, to thank God for them. And, I feel guilty when days later I realized, Oh, I forgot to thank God, and then I quickly send up a prayer of thanks.
As I just wrote that, I realized that this is the first day of November, or in my mind, the Thankful Month. American's celebrate Thanksgiving this month and I am grateful for all we have. Last night, Mike came home and told me that he now officially on mandatory overtime. This means that starting Friday and through Thanksgiving, he may have to work almost everyday. He can take a couple of days off for things already planned, but he will be working a lot. He is not crazy about it, but he did confess that he wasn't too upset. I see the sunny side in everything, and thought, Yay! that will pay some bills and Christmas! As we talked last night, I thanked God that we both have jobs. Not everyone does. So, this month, let's focus on being thankful and making sure everyone is aware they have something to be thankful for. It will make you feel better.
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