Persistent, earnest prayers are a major threat to the devil’s kingdom. He seeks to discourage all Christians in this ministry. Psalm 55:16-18 says, “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. He has delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.”

Of all ministries in the church, the prayer ministry is the one that the devil attacks most. We have only to look at the small numbers of people attending prayer meetings compared to the crowds that gather at the so-called “main services”. Prayerful communion with God is the only way to truly get to know Him. There was one thing that Daniel knew about God. He knew His God was a mighty prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God. Daniel put this knowledge of God into daily experience. It was this knowledge of God that caused him to do mighty exploits.

We must be very wary of attaining knowledge about God purely for prideful and academic reasons. A quest for knowledge that does not find its fulfillment in laying hold of God to intervene in the wayward affairs of fallen mankind is not the knowledge of God that will result in exploits. The true knowledge of God, for which we all need to hunger, will always cause our hearts to be lifted up in praise and adoration to the only one to whom all praise is due. The knowledge of God that is sought for purely intellectual reasons results in pride. This knowledge is dangerous and puffs up. (1 Corinthians 8:1)

The knowledge of God that Daniel experienced enabled him to do exploits that still affect us to this day. Almost every chapter in the book of Daniel is full of the miraculous, e.g. interpretations of dreams that affected kings of powerful nations. Many chapters are full of visions that have grasped the attention of theologians down the corridors of history to this very day.