Daniel 2:16 "Appointed Time." with Pastor Michael Petit. Calvary Chapel Devine's weekly Devotion.

Do you have an appointed time with the Lord daily? 

Daniel 2:16 ESV
And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

Back Story: The King wanted his dream interpreted and the wise men (worshipped demonic false gods) couldn’t tell the king the dream and now the king has called for the all the wise men to be killed. 

Daniel 2:12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.

Daniel was forced and taken during the exile was appointed to be a wise man but he was a man of God. Daniel was included in those to be killed. Yet Daniel a young men fourteen or fifteen years of age shows his spiritual maturity by asking for an appointed time with the king. He knew only God could interpret the dream.  Another thing that is so cool about chapter two in the midst of this turmoil Daniel grabs his friends to seek the Lord that night. 

Daniel 2:17-18 ESV
Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, [18] and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

We need help, God never attended us to go it alone. How awesome is it to have strong Godly brothers and sisters that will seek an answer from the Lord alongside of you? We need and should be there for each other. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ESV
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. [10] For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

We are not supposed to go it alone. Sadly, prayer isn’t a priority for many. We need to initiate prayer. For me if I like stop the conversation before we see goodbye and I say let us prayer about that. We need to be that way in this church. To often we will say I’ll pray for you, and we will forget. 

Appointed Time: Daniel made time to seek the Lord. It was something that he had to have learned and put in to practice on a daily basis. We should have the same discipline as well. 

Daniel 2:16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

It takes time to wait on God. We live in a very instant world. We want answers immediately, unfortunately that is what google has done to us. Also, we do not know how to be quiet and wait to listen for the Lord’s answer. We are rushing and not willing to sit and listen to the Lord. 

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word, I hope.

This is not the waiting on hopeless resignation but of hopeful anticipation, for each new day brings new blessings from His hand. Longer you wait and linger the louder it will be as you hear from him. Spend at least 15-20 minutes a day but the more you can the louder he gets. Wait quietly and listen. 

Lamentations 3:22-26 ESV
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; [23] they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. [24] “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” [25] The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. [26] It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Less talking, we may spend a lot of time in prayer but are we listening. Are we zoning out? 

1 Kings 19:11-13 ESV
And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. [12] And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. [13] And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

So as your waiting do understand, seeking the presence of the Lord, do you understand who it is your spending time seeking?  

Revelation 4:2-8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

The worship to the Lord never ceases, I am guilty of rushing in sometimes and when I read this verse, I realize just how much I take this for grant. Do give the Lord your leftovers. Linger, patiently wait to hear from God. Answer may not come quickly but are you willing to wait?

Church I know it isn’t easy to wait.  I mean we are impatient people. We can order stuff and have same day deliver from Amazon. We have been spoiled; we really do not know what it is to patiently wait for things. I tell you when you have an appointed time with Jesus it changes my day. Spend time daily in his word, meditating on his word, seeking to hear from him and in prayer. Your relationship will change in very radical way. You want to hear from the Lord read his word, you want an answer sit and be ready to listen. Linger don’t rush away. 

God Bless 
​Pastor Michael