Have you asked yourself why great men and women in the Bible, powerful as they were, still prayed? 

We’ll share stories from three prayerful characters in the Bible:

• Joseph
• Daniel
• Esther

You’ve probably already heard of Joseph “the dreamer.”

He grew up to be his father Jacob’s favorite son. Jacob even made him a beautiful, colorful coat (Genesis 37:3, ESV). Hence, his eleven brothers became jealous of him.

Besides, Joseph would share his dreams, wherein his family would someday worship him. 

For instance, eleven bundles of grain bowed to his pile. Also, the sun (his father), moon (his mother), and eleven stars (his brothers) worshipped him (verses 7-9).

For his brothers, Joseph was a very ambitious dreamer. Would you also call him such?

One day, they plotted to kill him. Specifically, they threw him alive into a well and sold him to the Egyptian merchants as a slave (verses 12-36).

If you were Joseph, what would you do?

Joseph’s life as a slave in Egypt was tough. For instance, Potiphar’s wife imprisoned him for a crime he didn’t commit (Genesis 39).

Can you imagine this?

Nevertheless, Joseph became a blessing to his inmates by interpreting their dreams through prayer and divine wisdom. Significantly, his predictions came true (Genesis 40).

Do you know someone with this God-given talent and wisdom?

Later, one of Joseph’s inmates, who was a cupbearer, was released. When Pharaoh dreamed, the cupbearer remembered Joseph and recommended him to interpret the king’s dream.

Through prayer, Joseph determined the dream’s interpretation (Genesis 41:1-36). Specifically, there would be seven years of abundance and another seven years of famine all over Egypt and neighboring nations.

As such, he advised the king to store up grain in preparation for the famine. Convinced by this counsel, Pharaoh made him governor of Egypt (verses 37-57).

One day, ten men from Israel came to buy food (Genesis 42-46). Joseph recognized them as his brothers, but they didn’t yet. So, he took the opportunity to test how they had changed through the years.

Convinced by their honesty and sincerity after a series of tests, Joseph finally revealed himself. Can you imagine how dramatic this revelation was?

More so, when he asked his brothers to bring their father and youngest brother, it was an unforgettable reunion.

Have you experienced something like this? How much do you think prayer helped Joseph get through all these?

Joseph, Daniel, and Esther are just a few of the Bible’s best examples of prayer and faith.

In the case of Joseph and Daniel, you can see that prayer was significant in interpreting dreams. As humans like us, they had no power to determine their prophetic meanings.

Hence, they needed God’s wisdom because only He knows the future. He is in control of the universe and everything that happens in it.

Meanwhile, Esther knew she had no power to control her king’s decision. Neither could she convince Haman to take down his deceitful plan.

Thus, prayer was all that she had to get through the trial. As you have seen from her story, she did her part and surrendered the rest to God.