The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Daniel 2:20-23, “Daniel answered and said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For
wisdom and power belong to Him.
21 “And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He
gives wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to men of understanding.
22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the
light dwells with Him.
23 “To Thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For Thou hast given me wisdom and
power; Even now Thou hast made known to me what we requested of Thee, For Thou hast made
known to us the king’s matter.”

Who among us has not had a dream? Sometimes our dreams are clear to us when we awaken, sometimes they are not. But don’t we all wonder what they mean or why we dreamed in the first place? Nebuchadnezzar had such a dream and he called in all of his magicians and sorcerers and demanded that they reveal to him what the dream was and also give him the meaning. We’re not told whether he
had forgotten the dream or whether he simply wanted to be sure they did not give him a meaning unrelated to the dream.

When his interpreters could not even reveal the dream, he was at a loss to ever know what it meant.
But, Daniel, who had forged a friendship with Arioch, the captain of the kings’ bodyguard, was then allowed to give the interpretation of the dream. But, before giving the interpretation, Daniel engaged in serious prayer with the LORD God. His prayer is noted in our verses above.

Daniel commenced praying by giving praise to the LORD. He acknowledge the LORD’s sovereignty in all matters. He credits the LORD with both removing and establishing kings. He notes the LORD’s divine provisions and confesses his sin, asking forgiveness. He prayed for deliverance from all evil, and concludes his prayer with overt praise to the LORD!

Nearly 20 years ago, the LORD led me to see a definite parallel between Daniel’s prayer and the Model
Prayer of Matthew 6:9-13. Serious, continueal prayer is the key to peace within ourselves and within our nation. With every notation of political leaders, we should look beyond their declarations and trust the LORD. Some are themselves true believers; some are not. Yet, this nation –the United States of America—was founded upon the principles of God’s Word.

It was Alexis de Tocqueville who said,

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers—
and it was not there. . . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests—and it was not there. . . . .in her
rich mines and her vast world commerce—and it was not there. . . . in her democratic Congress and
her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and
heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.
America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom