Super Power

​Who’s your favorite superhero? Growing up, I knew Superman could handle anything. X-ray vision. Superhuman strength. The Man of Steel. “What a super man!”
 
When I was little, the heroes in the Bible seemed a lot like super heroes. How else did one follow God and remain faithful in such challenging circumstances?
 
Subconsciously, I believed it was easier for them than it would have been for us. Anyone relate?
 
Daniel is no exception to this misaligned way of thinking. Every challenge that He stood against, he did so in strength and humility, exalting the name of God without fail. If I could be so bold!

​Even with Daniel’s displacement as a youth and the loss of everything he had ever known, he excelled. God had his hand on Daniel, but that is not the only place we see it. In fact, the supernatural works of God are on full display throughout our reading this week: writing on the wall, shutting the mouths of lions, a heavenly battle!
 
Maybe Daniel really did have a super power. He wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider or from another planet, nor did he have access to amazing technological breakthroughs.
 
He prayed.
 
Not just in emergencies, but as a daily routine. Daniel was so committed to prayer that when jealousy overcame the chief satraps, they knew his steadfastness in communing with God through prayer was how to trap him.
 
When Daniel received a troubling vision and needed comfort, he prayed and fasted. Answering, God sent a warrior angel to his aide and we got a glimpse of heavenly warfare that could have come straight out of the comics.
 
As the angel began to speak, he said something that blew my mind. He was on his way to answer Daniel’s prayer from the moment it was prayed. FROM THE MOMENT.
 
It turns out that Daniel did not have power of his own; he was merely in relationship with the one who was Power. It is this relationship that he carried with him which gave him the strength and ability to interpret the writing for King Belshazzar and that gave him the courage to defy the decree of Darius and address him with wisdom and respect after surviving a night with the lions.
 
Relationship with our Heavenly Father blessed him with the ability to not just receive visions, but interpret. And when the vision for God’s people, whom Daniel loved, became too troubling for him to bear, it was relational prayer that brought the warrior angel to help him.
 
Saying there is power in prayer seems a bit cliché, but it doesn’t make it less true. However, I would add that there is power in relationships too.
 
In my own life, there have been many times when I wished a superhero would swoop in and save the day. Funny though, that never happened. Instead, I would pray and cry out to my Heavenly Father and be strengthened.
 
And help would come.
 
An encouraging text, a check in the mail, a miraculous change of heart, life blossoming when the circumstances spelled death. Friends, it was not by my might nor my strength; it was never due to my striving or attempt to persuade circumstances.
 
It was the Spirit of God, acting relationally through His people. 
 
As Christians, God’s Spirit is available to all of us. His power is not just for salvation, and when we are rooted in Him, His power becomes palpable in our lives. Daniel prayed out of relationship, not just ritual. As a result, Daniel’s spirit and God’s Spirit were in tune and he lived life in supernatural power.
 
So, “dare to be a Daniel.” Commit to being in relationship with God and others, praying consistently, rooting your spirit in His.

Memory Verse: “So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.’” Zechariah 4:6 NIV

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About the Author

Hi, I'm Martha Rudolph! I have been married for 14 years to my husband, John. We live Northwest of Atlanta with our four children. Our family is on a journey that continues to teach me about God's love and faithfulness on the mountaintop, in the valley, and everywhere in between. I love being outside, sipping coffee, and finding quiet moments to steal away and write about how God reveals Himself through the course of everyday life. Connect with Martha at her blog: www.martharudolph.weebly.com