The King's Food

And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. … As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams … As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.
Daniel 1:1-21.




Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven Daniel 2:19.


Have you ever wondered why God does not seem to hear or answer your prayers?

This was the opening question of my last post and in my meditations; I have been led to consider deeply the lessons of Daniel in an attempt to experience the “supernatural prayer” Daniel had access to. The first thing we must do in order to walk in to this victory is to meditate and pray on the words of Daniel. I have more insight than all my teachers. For Your testimonies are my meditation. Psalm 119:99. We must become as little children kneeling before the Creator of the universe. Deuteronomy 6:1-14.

This is the Word I bring to you today, my friends. MEDITATE ON THE WORD AS LITTLE CHILDREN.

In order to gain wisdom “ten times better” than all the other wise men of our day; we must at the very least humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift us up. James 4:10.

We must understand that these young men were not only under captivity of the king of Babylon; the purpose of their captivity was to be conformed and transformed to the Babylonian beliefs, customs, and gods; so that they could be of use to the king. This was contrary to God's purpose for each of them. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2. Each of their true names translated to a reference to the God of Israel. Daniel means; “God is judge.” Hananiah means; “Yahweh is gracious.” Mishael means; “Who is what God is?” Azariah means; “Whom Yahweh helps.” The captors gave them new names that referenced the Babylonian false gods: Belteshazzar means; “may Bel protect his life” Shadrach means; “command of Aku” (the moon god), Meshach means; “who is what Aku is?” and Abed-nego means; “servant of Nebo” In each case the Hebrew name contains a name for the true God of Israel and the Babylonian name contains the name of a heathen god.

Isn't it interesting how our leaders would have us accept and acknowledge the false gods so prevalent in our society today as valid and meaningful? They want us to be politically correct and somehow validate these false religions. But we have many other gods bringing us under attack as well; gods such as our jobs, homes, cars, computers, television, other people, and the teachings of the world, to name a few.

These young men were in a spiritual battle for the control of their lives and the Babylonians were being used as tools of the forces of evil. The messenger from the Lord said to Daniel: “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.” Daniel 10:1-14. It is clear that spiritual strongholds were established that contributed to this spiritual blockage of the answer to Daniel's prayers? All of us ... yes even Daniel, are subject to potential spiritual blockage, regardless of the depth of our focus on the Lord God. Paul gives us a clearer description of our enemies: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-18 A good example of how the forces of evil will use men to attack Godly men is outlined in: Daniel 3:1-30 "For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “O king, live forever! “You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire." and Daniel 6:1-28 "Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”


WE MUST REJECT "THE KING'S FOOD"

So in order to step into Daniels shoes, a key area of focus in our meditations must be “The King’s Food.” For our purposes, the king’s food must be converted into our modern king’s food. Therefore we must each identify the "portions" the world forces of darkness have prepared for each of us individually and take the same stand Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah took. We must reject the king’s food which clearly includes the false gods of our enemy: “the world forces of this darkness.” This evil food may be presented to us in a hundred different ways ... many of which are not actual food at all. We must look at and isolate any habit, action, exposure, freedom, indulgence, benefit, or sin that can be used by spiritual enemies to separate us from the love of Christ; and then consider setting aside this King's Food. Then we may receive supernatural answers to our prayers.

Does this teaching sound strange or peculiar to you? If your answer is yes, that is because you may be looking from a worldly viewpoint. We are a peculiar people so from the worlds perspective spiritual views will appear strange. A peculiar person is one of my favorite writers. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people … so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: 1 Peter 2:1-12.

This is the Word I bring to you today, my friends. MEDITATE ON THE WORD AS LITTLE CHILDREN.


How do you identify your king’s food? Ask God in prayer and meditate on these verses. God will make it clear to you. We must be careful here. Pray for protection. Daniel prayed and meditated and put aside the king’s food for twenty one days: "In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz." Daniel 10:1-21. The agents of darkness will not give up the positions they have established in our lives easily. You must put on the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18.

In case you might need some hints as to how to identify the King’s Food in your personal life, here are some passages to meditate upon to gain insight: “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.” Romans 14:10-23. “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:1-14. “How blessed are those who’s way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness; they walk in His ways." Psalm 119:1-176.


Twenty one days of seeking an answer from God. He hears our prayers on the first day, and He sends help but the King’s Food gets in the way and the blessed messenger cannot get through to us. Will you pray with me that God will send Michael to the aid of our messengers so that the answers to our supernatural prayers can get through as well?

Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince. Daniel 10:1-21

This is the Word I bring to you today: MEDITATE ON THE WORD AS LITTLE CHILDREN.

God Bless you my friends, Bob