“But you, Belshazzar… have not humbled yourself… Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from His temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways” (Daniel 5:22-23).
Our Father in heaven, we bow before Your throne today, acknowledging that You alone are God. No one is like You, Lord; You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. Who should not fear You, King of the nations? This is Your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like You (Jeremiah 10:6-7).
Father, the powerful king Nebuchadnezzar, who raised his boast against heaven, was humbled by insanity until he acknowledged that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone He wishes (Daniel 4:32). Yet, his successor, Belshazzar, did not humble himself, though [he] knew all this (Daniel 5:22).
O Lord, we too have the accountability that comes with knowledge of the Holy One (Proverbs 9:10): For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20).
We see around us many who do not honor the God who holds in His hand [their] life and all [their] ways” (Daniel 5:23). But search our own hearts, O Lord. You know all things. Show us where we too, dishonor You.
Show us where we profane holy things, and where we carelessly and recklessly employ what is sacred in praise of the idols of this world. Show us the subtle areas of pride and deception that lead us to compromise. Show us where we are found wanting in the scales of Your just and righteous judgment (Daniel 5:27).
We pray for those among us who are in peril because they, like King Belshazzar, have set themselves up against the God of heaven. We lift them to Your throne of grace as You asked us to. We pray that You would break through barriers of pride and rebellion as we work and pray in Your harvest fields.
We know that ultimately All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations (Psalm 22:27-28).
But we pray for willing surrender now in this the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2), knowing the choice You have given us regarding Your Chief Cornerstone the Lord Jesus: "Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matthew 21:44).
Lord, both King Nebuchadnezzar and his descendant King Belshazzar found out in painful ways that those who walk in pride You are able to humble (Daniel 4:37). Teach us to walk before You with humble and contrite hearts so we would be spared the painful fall and the crushing of pride.
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